#NC500 Day 10 - From Gairloch to Kinlochewe (Via Bealach Na Ba - The Applecross Pass)
Published On Saturday 15 Jul 2023 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Holiday Reviews | See All Recent Reviews
Both of us had had a superb slumber at the Gairloch Hotel, and I’d had a relaxing soak in the large bathtub before bedtime as well, so I was definitely spark-out! Having woken and showered, we made our way down to the breakfast room where a lovely young lass greeted us and showed us to a table by the window, overlooking the sea.
His Nibs had spied the hot counter as soon as we’d walked in and, after grabbing a couple of glasses of orange juice for us, went over and filled up a plate full of scrummies: Bacon, Fried Egg, Sausage, Haggis, Tattie Scones, and Baked Beans. I was surprised he hadn’t put any Black Pudding or Fried Bread on his plate, too! I also helped myself to a mini fry-up: Bacon, Scrambled Egg, Grilled Tomato and Mushrooms.
Everything was nice and hot, and surprisingly good for a buffet style offering, though I did scoop the top layer of Scrambled Egg off to reveal the ‘wetter’ stuff underneath. As soon as we’d finished, a member of the team was clearing excess plates out of our way, in case we wanted anything else.
I got a bowl at the side of the cold counter, and filled it with fresh and dried fruits then topped it all with natural yoghurt. There was a multitude of different cereals here too, as well as cold meats and cheeses for those who like more continental breakfast. Further down the room there was bread and a toaster and The Man went to this station, coming back with a couple of slices of toasted wholemeal and pots of Honey, Marmalade, and Blackcurrant Jam.
To save to-ing and fro-ing, the hot drinks station allowed you to make pots of tea and take them to your table – genius. Our early morning thirsts were slaked and our bellies full, but before we left Gairloch we paid a visit to the little beach opposite the hotel. The short, steep steps are sorely in need of maintenance; we had to fight our way through nettles, brambles and ferns to reach the shoreline!
Finally it was time to wend our way to the first stop of the day: Victoria Falls at Achnasheen (not far from Gairloch). There’s a small amount of parking and no toilets, but there were some bitey things hovering around, so we ‘Smidge’d’ up before we started walking. The falls themselves are lovely, though not the most spectacular you’ll see on the NC500, and there’s a little viewing platform that gives you a super spot to take photos from. You can walk a bit further on, to their summit, but to be honest the view isn’t any better than it is from the platform.
Beinn Eighe is a stunning mountain and, as we were admiring it, a chap was driving up his long driveway at the foot of it to collect his post and he took the time to have a lovely chat with us. I have to say that the myth that Scots up here don’t like tourists and are cold and unfriendly certainly hasn’t been our experience; everyone we’ve met has been lovely, and very helpful when needed. The whole area around Beinn Eighe is marvellously rugged and its beauty is truly something to behold; we found ourselves pulling in so many times, just drinking in the views!
As we drove through Kinlochewe, The Man stopped for petrol and we noticed that there’s a rather fab cafe here that does breakfasts and lunches, as well as a toilet. If weather permits, there’s also an outdoor seating area for cafe customers to sit in and enjoy their refreshments – check opening times though, as it changes in peak and off-peak times. Bonkers to think that we were going to be back here for the night after having driven further down the coast, round the Applecross Peninsula and over the pass (Bealach na Ba), a mere 10 miles from where we had begun the morning in Gairloch!
It was the moment we’d been waiting for (or rather the one I had!), driving round the twisting, narrow roads of the Applecross Peninsula and then over the pass itself. Imagine a narrow track, vehicular roller-coaster; that’s the type of drive we were going to be doing...and the rain chose this moment to come down. Our spirits weren’t dampened however and we journeyed on until we spied one of the peninsula’s viewpoints and pulled over; there was a war memorial and we took a moment of remembrance. Then, out of the ferns, as we just stood quietly, came a young stag, his antlers still covered in velvet,making his way towards us as he munched away. We held our breath, not wanting to spoil the magic and were lucky enough to watch him for 10 minutes, getting some lovely photos in the process. Humbled and honoured is the only way I can describe this short moment of time.
Driving further along, towards Applecross, we spied a sign for Applecross House and its Walled Garden and Cafe; located right on the bend, we missed the turning – doh! - and got as far as Applecross Inn before realising our error. A swift turnabout in the Inn’s car park got us righted and we didn’t miss the turning a second time, making our way to the ample car park of Applecross House.
What a blooming fantastic place! The Walled Gardens are a total delight, and we put some money in the honesty box as we walked around them before making our way into the cafe...another overlooked treasure. There’s a separate area for customers that are stopping for coffee and a bite, with those staying longer for a meal seated elsewhere. Our pit-stop side was furnished with stools and whisky barrel tables, giving it a relaxed informal feel that we soaked in whilst supping and nibbling on Date and Apple Shortbread and Chocolate and Walnut Brownie – both absolutely delicious and very, very moreish!! I’d heartily recommend stopping here on your travels.
Suitably refreshed, we carried on over the Bealach na Ba, to the really harem-scarem bit, having a couple of squeaky bum-bum moments as the 20% gradient kicked in! This stretch of road is regarded as one of the most dangerous in the world, so our botty squeaks had been justified, we weren’t just being wussies! Remember that priority is given to those going UP the pass, something that the dingus (and I’m being very polite and restrained here, cos dingus isn’t actually what I called him!!) who caused us to have to reverse DOWNHILL and on to the bend, back to a passing place just because he couldn’t be arsed to reverse to the one he’d just passed about 30 metres ago; arrogant pr**k!! Not even his blatant stupidity killed our buzz, though; this was what we’d been waiting for on our trip.
Having high-fived each other at successfully traversing the Applecross pass and peninsula, we were hopeful of catching the Lochcarron Highland Games but, sadly, there was only about an hour of them left so we drove on. Lochcarron looks a lovely place though, with shops, fuel, a cafe, plenty of parking and toilets there.
We had planned to visit the Deer Museum at Torridon, but couldn’t find it so we assume it’s an old listing on Google; the building is there, but it isn’t a Deer Museum anymore. It was mid/late afternoon though, so we made our way to The Kinlochewe Hotel, our accommodation for the night, and where we’re also dining at The Stag Restaurant.
Our room is very spacious (a King-size Bed and en-suite with bath) and is decorated in traditional country style with wonderful feature wallpaper on one wall. There is a large, mirrored wardrobe for hanging clothes in, and a nice desk and chair for working at. A well stocked host tray and kettle allowed us to make plenty of drinks and there was a caramel biscuit bar for us both, too; handy for peckish moments at night when watching the wall-mounted TV.
My tummy rumbled, letting me know that dinner was going to be very much appreciated; I’ll let you know what we had in The Stag Restaurant and what it was like next...
For a hotel restaurant, The Stag had quite a nice, homely feel to it and, with plenty of diners in, had a lively bubble of chatter. 80s music provides the background tunes, so His Nibs and I were having a bit of a singalong. We eschewed starters, thinking that we’d go for pudding (of which we haven’t had that many on our NC500 adventure) after mains.
His Nibs discovered the charms of Saltire lager (that was the only draught choice) and it was a lovely brew, and I had my tried-and-trusted Argentinean Malbec. The menu wasn’t the largest in the world, ut sometimes too much choice makes your head spin...and lord knows we didn’t need that after the arduous (but fun) drive over Bealach na Ba/Applecross Pass/Pass of the Cattle!
I went for the Veni-Rib burger, a tempting combo of 5oz patty, sticky IPA-braised short rib, hot redcurrant sauce and Cheddar cheese, served with chips (£19.50) and The Man chose the slow-cooked Venison Casserole with red wine, creamy Mash and Seasonal Veg (£21). I also fancied a bit of salad, so ordered a side of that for £4.
The smells emanating from our dishes when the young lass brought them out were a-ma-zing!! I knew, just by looking at my choice, which I was going to have to cut it in half if there was any chance I was going to be able to handle it! There’s no way you can eat this burger with any semblance of dignity...even when you’ve chopped it down to size: it’s juicy, it’s tender, it’s meaty, it’s HUGE. Between the toasted bun halves was a flavoursome patty topped with shredded short rib, oozy cheese, a squidge of mustard and fruity sauce; this was a proper symphony of tastes and textures, and I loved every mouthful.A large bowl of mixed leaves, sliced Tomato and crisp, cool Cucumber had been tossed in a tangy dressing and their coolness was very welcome against the warmth of the burger.
Across the table, The Man was chowing down on tender pieces of Bambi that just melted on his tongue. The rich red wine jus complimented the deep flavour of the venison, with the creamy mash seeming to enhance its intensity even more. Texture came via the Tenderstem Broccoli and Root Vegetable crisps,as well as even more layers of taste. What a super meal.
Our portions certainly weren’t wanting and it was only me that plumped for a pud; the Frozen Whisky Cream Parfait (£8).On top of a pale, creamy Parfait was pureed and fresh Raspberries, and a golden, nutty-tasting Oat crumble that had a good slug of Whisky over it. Although a relatively simple pud on the surface, this actually revealed itself to be multi-layered on the palate and was a delicious conclusion to my meal.
If we stayed this way again, The Stag restaurant would be a venue we’d happily revisit...if only to have the massive Fish and Chips that a table adjacent to us were enjoying! What a fab end to an excellent day. Hopefully, given the comfort of the bed, we’d be having a good nights’ kip, too.
| #NC500 Day 15 - Our Final Day Was Spent In Northumberland Normally I moan like heck about GB's ruddy bed; honest to goodness, it's impossibly soft and I've never managed to get a solid nights' sleep in it ever....until now!! Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 14 - Edinburgh to Northumberland Via Holy Island Ooooooh, my poor tootsies had been sore from all the walking in Edinburgh - thank the lord for Palmer's Cocoa Butter Foot Relief and a superbly comfy bed that had afforded Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 13 - Blair Atholl to Edinburgh And The Kelpies His Nibs and I both awoke refreshed and ready to get going for another days activity, thanks to the comfy bed at Ptarmigan House. Gordon (Lin's husband) was already sorting Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 12 - From Inverness to Blair Atholl Via The Highland Folk Museum Aaaaah, that was better! Shame the traffic started in earnest about 6am though; wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't got the windows open to help cool the room down. Mind you Read The Article | |
| NC500 Day 11 - From Kinlochewe to Inverness With A Visit To Culloden Oooh, the bed at The Kinlochewe Hotel is a fibber! You sit on it and it tells you that you'll get a nice nights sleep in it, but you don't; instead it suddenly becomes very Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 9 - From Lochinver To Gairloch Kirsteen (our host at Bonnie Haven) was up bright and early to ensure that we had a selection of cheeses, crackers and Ham on our table when we came down, and directed us Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 8 - From Tongue to Lochinver With Caves, Bridges & A Zipwire Blimey, that was the best nights kip so far! If I could take the bed at Tigh-Nan-Ubhal back to the shire with me, I would. For once, when the alarm Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 7 - From Scrabster to Tongue With A Detour Back To John O Groats What should've been a straight-forward onward journey to Tongue, actually had a bit of Deja-vu to it! Thanks to us not realising the Castle of Mey and Gardens is Read The Article | |
| #NC500 Day 6 - Helmsdale To Scrabster Via John O Groats Warm Croissants, Blueberry Muffins, a Full Fry-Up (Him), and Avocado, Cherry Tomato, Poached Egg and Mushroom on Toast (me) got The Man Bird and I off to a flying start on what was Read The Article | |