Glenbrittle (Isle of Skye) to Gairloch – Coastal Road Trip

Day 20 – Glenbrittle to Gairloch

A long drive today, about 150 miles, so we made an early start… and a good job we did. So much to see as we headed from the Isle of Skye back on the Scottish mainland.

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Maree — Slioch reflecting in Loch Maree

Glenbrittle

Coastal Road Trip, Glenbrittle, Fairy Pools, Waterfall, Julian, Jarno — After first stopping at Glen Brittle Bay we headed back to the Fairy Pools, got on our waterproofs and headed out… we were going to get VERY wet in the driving rain.

Coastal Road Trip, Glenbrittle, Fairy Pools, Waterfall, Jarno — Stepping stones along the hike to the the Fairy Pools.

Coastal Road Trip, Glenbrittle, Fairy Pools, Waterfall — I’m not sure what was wetter, us or the rocks.

Coastal Road Trip, Glenbrittle, Fairy Pools, Waterfall — Despite the pouring rain the tiers of waterfall were still hypnotising to watch.

Loch Carron

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Carron, South Strome Picnic Site — Heading back on to the mainland we looped around Loch Carron on the A890, and managed a few pics at the South Strome picnic stop, before the clouds descended again.

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Carron, A896, Waterfall — Another waterfall along the side of the road, just past Loch Carron heading to Kishorn.

Pass of the Cattle

Coastal Road Trip, Pass of the Cattle, Bealach na Bà, Bridge — The start of the small windy road over the Pass of the Cattle (AKA Bealach na Bà), more waterfalls!

Coastal Road Trip, Pass of the Cattle, Bealach na Bà, Bridge, Julian, Jarno — For the next hour our so the scenery was so dramatic, and the clouds somehow added to that.

Coastal Road Trip, Pass of the Cattle, Bealach na Bà, Bridge, East — Looking back down the east side of the Pass of the Cattle, you can see the road we had just come up, snaking its way down to Loch Kishorn in the distance.

Coastal Road Trip, Pass of the Cattle, Bealach na Bà, Bridge, Top, AA, Viewpoint — Reached the viewpoint at the top. Today the only view was the thick dark clouds. Our fellow road trippers seemed to be mainly made up of motorbikers and people trying out their new sports cars, as we pootled along in our SUV.

Coastal Road Trip, Pass of the Cattle, Bealach na Bà, West — And heading back down the west side towards Applecross and the Inner Sound.

Callakille

Coastal Road Trip, Callakille, Lonbain — Driving north from Applecross, Lonbain and Callakille the coastline turned flatter, with gentler slopes down to the sound.

Coastal Road Trip, Rona Lighthouse — As we drove along we could glimpse the east side of Raasay and South Rona (plus its lighthouse), and in the far distance The Isle of Skye that we’d only left this morning.

Loch Torridon

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Torridon, Kenmore — And the scenery changed again as the road hugged the steep mountainside near Kenmore…

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Torridon, Kenmore — …and more of Loch Torridon came into view. The roads were so so quiet too… lovely.

Ardheslaig

Coastal Road Trip, Ardheslaig Bay — The calm bay of Ardheslaig.

Shieldaig

Coastal Road Trip, Shieldaig — Shieldaig was a surprise, with some smart properties and even a posh coffee shop (perfect timing for an afternoon pick-me-up).

Beinne Eighe

Coastal Road Trip, Beinne Eighe, Glen Torridon — We then headed inland to Loch Maree, as there was no way (by car) to continue along the coast at this point. Our journey inland took us straight through the heart of Glen Torridon and the magnificent Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve. The area is know for wild cats and golden eagles, though we saw neither (maybe next time).

Loch Maree

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Maree — Time to reflect along Loch Maree.

Coastal Road Trip, Loch Maree — Slioch towering over Loch Maree. I read after that this is a very typical calendar shot, and there we were thinking we had that one in a million shot… 😉

Gairloch

Coastal Road Trip, Gairloch, Harbour — A tranquil evening at Gairloch Harbour.

Coastal Road Trip, Gairloch, Loch Gairloch, Sunset — We seem to get lucky with our hostal room views, this time sunset over Loch Gairloch.

Daily video