From Bettyhill to Applecross … stunning from start to finish.

The first panorama is from my window at the Bettyhill Hotel looking over Torrisdale Bay to Neave Island with a single white cottage on the headland. Following the coast along the top of Scotland took us past so many stunning vistas that it was impossible to capture them – every turn opened up something spectacular and largely empty – the view of Loch Eriboll is one that just appears as you crest the hill to drop down from the glen to the loch.

The roads in this part of the world are clearly best described as Top Gear Roads – the kind of place you’d expect to see Jeremy Clarkson hurling round the bend testing the latest Porsche Turbo with a helicopter capturing the ride and the spectacular scenery. Along the way we saw peat bogs still being used to collect and dry fuel and we could not resist the urge to ride out onto this abandoned jetty for the photo-op by the loch at a village called Tongue.

Finally we climbed over Bealach na Baa, the Pass of the Cattle, over the Applecross Peninsula – a winding road like crossing the Alps. There are no safe places to stop and take photos so this picture was nicked from the internet. At the top of the pass there is another spectacular view – this time of the Isle of Skye in the fading light.