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Is this remote, exposed Scottish bicycle climb Britain鈥檚 wildest?

20 September 2018

If you cycle the wildest climb in Britain but the whole journey’s in the the clouds, did it really happen?

This may well have been the question going through Paul Murton’s mind as he set off on his gruelling climb of the Bealach Na Ba — just another day in the office for the Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs presenter.

The remote road in North West Scotland was only tarmacked in the 1960s and was, for years, the only access road to the remote Applecross peninsula in Wester Ross.

Paul Murton cycles over the infamous Bealach na Ba, one of Britain's highest and steepest mountain passes

The pass climbs relentlessly for eight kilometres and wasn鈥檛 tarmaced until the 1960s.

Pass of the cattle

Bealach Na Ba means ‘pass of the cattle’ in Gaelic. For centuries, cows were herded through the pass to grazing pastures in Applecross.

For the most part, the cows are now gone from the road and instead, the Bealach has risen in popularity as a cycling challenge.

With its addition to the popular North Coast 500 tourist route Paul lamented that “in the summertime it can be very busy indeed, making the Bealach Na Ba perhaps a little less than wild.”

So, perhaps the best time to attempt this challenge is in the cold wet months of winter!

Grand Tours of Scotland鈥檚 Lochs

Paul Murton sets out to explore the lochs of Scotland, travelling from the wilds of the west coast to the Grampian Mountains, discovering the secrets of these iconic features of the Scottish landscape