Having completed North Coast 500 Day 1 in the rain, the morning of North Coast 500 Day 2 at least began dry. The strong winds forecast, it seemed, would present the greatest challenge … or perhaps not. On our journey from Lochcarron to Applecross we had Bealach-Na-Ba standing in our way today.

Upon leaving Lochcarron Hotel we continued our cycling along Loch Carron.

We followed the loch for about four miles, and in doing so taking a slight detour.

The reason being we wanted to visit Strome Castle.

Strome Castle was built in the 1400s. It lies on a rock overlooking Loch Carron as well as an ancient ferry crossing.

It was blown up in 1602 following a siege and never rebuilt.

Returning to our NC500 route we made our way along the A896.

We followed the River Kishorn estuary.

Before reaching Bealach Na Ba we stopped to refuel ourselves at The Bealach Cafe and Gallery. The food here was excellent.

Fuelled up, we got back on our bikes and turned onto the Applecross Pass. The windy conditions had now begun to be supplemented with rain.

Rising from sea-level, Bealach Na Ba provides the steepest ascent of any road in the United Kingdom. It eventually rises to 2054 feet, with some sections approaching 20%.

It begins as a steady climb.

It is a single-track road with passing points. We regularly had to use the passing points to allow cars and campervans to pass.

At one point the wind was blowing so strongly it brought us to a complete halt.

The further up you go the steeper the gradient. It was on one of these single track sections towards the top, crash barriers to my left, wobbling up a 15% section, that one particular a**sehole of a driver decided not to wait and felt that few inches of tarmac was enough for me to pass by! Grrrr … !!!

Thankfully, eventually, we reached the top of Bealach Na Ba.

The weather at the top was windy as you might expect. However, it was also beginning to rain.

To prevent getting a chill we began the downhill. At stages, the conditions made this quite a tricky descent.

Finally, we reached the edge of Applecross and the Applecross Campsite where we were staying for the night.

We’d be sleeping in rudimentary pods.

Feeling damp and cold we tried to stay warm. There was at least a small heater inside.

In the evening we visited Applecross Walled Garden Cafe & Restaurant for a fine meal. At least we were eating well!

We had cycled only 25 miles today, however, this had been another challenging day. After all, we had cycled over Bealach Na Ba. Once again the wonderful scenery had made the challenge worthwhile.

You can view our North Coast 500 Day 2 route from Lochcarron to Applecross below:

Tomorrow we are off to Gairloch.