The road with no name...

While the A832 is just a number it’s up there with the Snake Pass et al…

Every road has a number, but some roads get named as well – think Cat and Fiddle, Snake Pass and the Atlantic Highway. The A832 is one that sadly lacks such a name but if it were down to me I’d call it the Great West Coast Rollercoaster (GWCR). The GWCR is a spectacular and varied 90-mile blast, a two hour diversion off the A835 between Ullapool and Garve, Scotland. And for two-thirds of its distance the A832 is also one of the best bits of the NC500. But it doesn’t feel like that at first…

Head south from Ullapool on the A835, taking a right turn onto the A832 after about ten miles, at the Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve. Here there is no great mountain panorama, instead you sweep towards the coast across open moorland. But soon the bends become tighter and more frequent, you’re riding between trees with steep rocky hills either side as the GWCR traces towards the Dundonell Hotel and the head of Little Loch Broom, before pivoting inland.

A few miles on and the A832 has changed character again, running down to Gruinard beach, one the many sandy coves dotting the coastline with bands of bright sand and crystal clear sea. Things carry on like this for mile after mile, with dramatic views across to the Isle of Ewe, diving in and out of nooks and crannies along the coast, twisting up inland over rugged rocky outcrops, always busy and doubling back and forth. Along the coast lush trees and dense shrubs feel oddly out of place against bare Scottish hillsides – it’s the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, and a unique collection of plants from around the world thrive at Inverewe Gardens. But the climate also means it rains a lot, so take waterproofs.

After Gariloch the A832 opens out and turns south alongside Loch Maree, eventually drifting into Kinlochewe. Just past the petrol station, the NC500 turns right onto the Torridon and Applecross roads – more winding coastal turns and eventually the mighty Bealach na Baà. But sticking to the A832 has its own reward as it climbs between steep hills to the majestic viewpoint at Glen Docherty. Sticking with the GWCR you eventually return to the A835 at Garve, that’s if you decide to pass on the Pass of the Cattle! Which you really shouldn’t (turn to page 62 for further evidence).

If the A832 was in Yorkshire or the Peak District it would have a name of its own, for sure…

‘Sandy coves dot the coastline with bands of bright sand and crystal clear sea’