NC500 From Gairloch to Skye: Read This Before You Set Off
You wouldn’t believe it, but before coming to Scotland, I had never heard about the famous NC500. Obviously, as soon as I started posting about my Scotland Road Trip, the social media algorithm would show me all the possible posts about Scotland and Route 500 was one of them and driving along this road became my main obsession and trip goal.
If you have been following me for a while, you may know that I am a very bad planner, and yet I plan trips for others. But in my defense, I do it on purpose. When I travel, I do it to learn about the place and share what I learn with my readers, which is why I generally don’t like to follow other bloggers’ recommendations and suggestions, because I don’t want to affect my own judgment.
A more personal reason is that I love letting the world surprise me and finding special places by chance on my own. Just like I didn’t look for where to stop along the Applecross Pass. I just drove and stopped when I felt like it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love exploring popular places, but I love finding them on the map and checking them out on my own. The same way I found amazing lookout points in the Azores Islands by myself and nobody else was talking about it.
Across the road from Gairloch to Applecross, I found many amazing lookout points, but I didn’t have the time to stop everywhere, so I don’t have pictures of everything. I still want to share with you the photo I took with my drone and the ones I could extract from my GoPro videos.
If you want to check out my full Drive POV video in 4K, you can find it here.
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The itinerary choice
Before moving forward with the actual Itinerary, I need to explain why I drove this road backward, and I’m going back the same way next week to make more stops and update this article.
I built my itinerary around my housesitting gigs, which I also booked with an itinerary idea in mind. What I didn’t consider was that booking the ferries to the Outer Hebrides too late wouldn’t let me choose the itinerary I wanted, so I had to rearrange the pieces of the puzzle. In the end, I was happy with how I structured the trip because it let me return to places I hadn’t fully seen and build this itinerary from my mistakes so you don’t have to make the same ones.
PRO TIP – My first recommendation is to book ferries and hotels in advance, especially if you are traveling on a low- or mid-range budget. The only hotels I found last minute in September were above 300 pounds most of the time.
What I did was Lewis – Ullapool – Gairloch – Applecross peninsula – Skye, and then I went back the same way to Ullapool to continue on the north eastern coast until Thurso, where I will catch the ferry to Orkney. I will then go from Thurso to Edinburgh, where I will spend my final 5 days in Scotland before going back to Italy.
If you want to know about what’s happening during my road trip and personal stories, you can check out my dedicated post.
I will add all my itineraries on the Scotland road trip page.
Gairloch to Skye Road trip: Recommended Stops
I did this road trip in one day, but I wish I’d had more time, as there are many stops where I would have loved to spend more time walking around, sitting in the Walled Garden Cafe and enjoying one of their delicious cakes, or just watching deer and looking at their flowers.
If you have time, here are the places where you can stop for a stroll or a hike.
👉 Applecross Sand Beach
👉Applecross Walled Garden –
The Applecross Walled Garden is a restored 19th-century garden in the grounds of Applecross House, just outside the village. Inside is the Potting Shed Cafe & Restaurant, which cooks with produce from the garden and local seafood.
Unfortunately, I could only stop for a quick late lunch/dinner and a coffee to go because I was in a rush to get to my housesitting place on time. Deer wander around, and there’s a beautiful flower garden to walk through. It’s the main reason I’m driving the pass again in the opposite direction.
PRO TIP: Opening hours change with the season, so call ahead (01520 744440) or check their Facebook page before you plan lunch.
👉Applecross Village
Applecross is basically one street along the bay, and that’s the charm of it. Shore Street looks across the Inner Sound to Raasay and Skye, and on a clear day you can see the Cuillin. The Applecross Inn is the center of village life, with a food truck beside it for quick fish and chips.
If you have an extra hour, the Applecross Heritage Center and the old Clachan Church tell the story of the monastery that was founded here in the 7th century.
PRO TIP: The Applecross Inn has had midweek closures (Tuesdays in recent seasons), so check before you count on it for dinner.
👉Applecross Sand Beach
About 4 miles north of the village, you’ll find Applecross Sands, a golden beach behind a line of dunes. There’s a small car park, then a short walk through the dunes to the sand. People have been coming here for a long time: shell middens and rock shelters nearby date back to around 7,500 BC.
👉 Applecross Pass
This is the reason you come. The Bealach na Bà, Gaelic for “pass of the cattle,” climbs from sea level to 626 meters (2,054 feet) in about 11 miles between Applecross and Tornapress. It’s single track the whole way, with passing places and hairpin bends at the eastern end that look like they belong in the Alps.
I drove it on one of my only three sunny days in Scotland, with the GoPro running. Too bad a shower left drops on my GoPro lens, and most of the crossing is blurry because of the water drops, as you can see in the pictures I share below.
Stop at the lay-by at the top. On a clear day you can see across to the Cuillin on Skye and out to Rum.
What you should know Before Driving the Applecross Pass
The road is one lane with lots of passing space. You are not allowed to stop in those spaces because they are made just for letting other cars overtake. However, if you want to stop for a second, make sure no other cars are coming; otherwise, you will block traffic.
Also, for no reason should you park or stop on the right. Always keep left, even if you are waiting at a passing stop on the right; the other car will use it to let you pass.
This is always the case, but especially along this pass where the road is steep and dangerous, especially if it has rained.
Can you drive the Applecross Pass in a motorhome or with a caravan?
The short answer is no, and please don’t try. The Bealach na Bà is a narrow, single-track road with gradients of up to 20% and hairpin bends so tight that a long vehicle can’t get around them without swinging into the other lane. There are warning signs at the bottom of the pass telling you not to take caravans or large motorhomes over the mountain, and they’re there for a reason.
The real problem is what happens when you meet someone coming the other way. There are only a few passing places, so one of you has to reverse, sometimes down a steep, exposed slope with a drop on the side. That’s stressful in a small rental car. In a motorhome, it’s a nightmare for you and everyone stuck behind you.
If you’re traveling in something big, take the coastal route instead. Follow the A896 through Torridon and Shieldaig, then the smaller road around the peninsula to Applecross. You skip the hairpins and the worst of the climbs, and the views along the coast are worth the extra time.
PRO TIP: Even in a regular car, drive the pass early in the morning or later in the afternoon, when there’s less traffic coming the other way. Fewer cars means less reversing and more time to stop and actually enjoy the view.
Applecross Pass images
I took some stills from my video to show you how narrow it is. The images are a bit weird because of water drops on the camera. My apologies, but you get the idea.
How long should you stay in the Applecross area?
If I had the time, I would stay a week. I am not joking; there are so many amazing hikes that require time. Most of us want to explore more, especially if you are coming from far away; you want to make the most of your travel time and money. I know it very well. I recommend staying at least two nights, so you have one full day to explore and maybe drive the entire loop or do a couple of hikes.
I found an amazing app called Walkhighlands that has all the official hikes, and you can even download the map for a specific one and use it offline. It’s free. Download it and poke around to familiarize yourself with it before the hike. Here is an example of the hike I would do here.
Where to stay in the Applecross Area
Where to Stay in Applecross
There isn’t much accommodation on the Applecross peninsula, and what there is fills up fast from spring to early fall. Book as early as you can. I use [Booking.com](BOOKING.COM LINK) to compare options, but some of the smaller places aren’t on it at all (more on that below).
Higher End: Applecross B&B and Cabins
If you want to treat yourself, it has B&B rooms and luxury self-catering cabins close to the village. It’s the place for a splurge after the drive over the pass. Check rates and availability on Booking.com
Budget: Sanachan Bunkhouse
For a cheaper option, Sanachan Bunkhouse is in Kishorn, right at the bottom of the pass on the eastern side. It’s a good base if you want to drive the Bealach na Bà first thing in the morning, before the traffic. They don’t have private rooms, so it’s up to you. I wouldn’t stay there, but I included it as an option just in case.
Local B&Bs
Many of the small B&Bs around Applecross aren’t on Booking.com. Search “B&B Applecross” on Google Maps and contact them directly by phone or email. It takes a bit more effort, but these are often the best value on the peninsula, with reasonable prices.
Gairloch Accommodation
In Gairloch I stayed at Macre Croft, and I can’t recommend it enough. The room is beautiful and spacious, with my own bathroom, and it was made up fresh every morning. The towels and sheets are fine quality, the shower is hot with great pressure, and from the window you look over sheep grazing in the garden and out to the sea on the horizon. WIFI is great. After a night in a bunk room in Ullapool, it was exactly what I needed.
Marie, the host, is lovely. She gave me tips on where to eat and what to do in the area, and we had a nice chat. You can check availability on Booking.com.
