General Britain's highest road

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General Britain's highest road

euroben

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Anyone taken their panda 4x4 over the Bealach Na Bá? It's the UK's highest road and only true Alpine Road. Frequently impassable because of snow, single track and sheer drops...... Thinking I might give it a try in a few weeks time:) will post photos if I do.
 
Looks a great drive. Enjoy yourself. As for a Panda, any Panda will walk it. It's no real test of the car, but a fantastic road that requires concentration from the driver. Most modern small cars will do things that even large cars of years ago would struggle with.

A road we take most years is the Col du Mont Cenis - check it out. It goes over the Alps from France into Italy, and by the time you've reached Susa you feel like you've been on a rolling ship!
 
Took my 2006 Active over Kirkstone pass in the lake district the other week which is the highest road in that region . The car itself managed it , it was however slow at times . The hardest bit though was concentrating and when the brakes started to fade on the way down .
 
Went over it last August, nice road but too many slow people in the road who weren't in the "let's use the passing places to let faster cars pass" category. Ho hum.

Camping next to Applecross Bay in the gales was much more of an adventure....
 
Went over it last August, nice road but too many slow people in the road who weren't in the "let's use the passing places to let faster cars pass" category. Ho hum.

Camping next to Applecross Bay in the gales was much more of an adventure....

(didn't bother Google'ing)

is it the road in + out of Applecross.. done that.., ( staying at LochArran)
saw it on TV recently "Winter Road Rescue"..,

laughed because they'd Subtitled the 3 x Scots fellas driving the Plant:rolleyes:

Charlie
 
Stunning scenery. Pointing out the obvious, this is not a road to speed on, or take silly chances. Never taken my Coop there due to the bad turning circle it has.

Take it easy & enjoy the views. When you reach Applecross enjoy some food & refreshments at the Inn. Might be a bit of craic if there are people on the same as yourself.
 
Can you put one of those Google streetwiew cameras on the roof so the poor people living at the other end of the country can share the fun.

Ask and ye shall receive




Fiat-Scotland did this run last year as part of our 10-year celebrations. The film was shot by @M60TYN who was driving a 1.1 Panda, hence why there are times when it appears we shoot away from him at speed. Hopefully he'll pop on sometime today and say how he felt the car coped with it

it was much fun though and here's a picture to prove there was a panda on that road

IMG_0197.JPG


and one of the views

IMG_0199.JPG
 
You know what...that wee panda was ace.

Despite the Puntos pulling away in the video that was usually simply a case of being the lead cars. The 1.1 coped well until about the point of the heavy cornering, by which point she was beginning to struggle a little on the air intake. However, she coped beautifully with the journey.

The biggest failing was on the way to Applecross, we set off from Alford and took the Cock Bridge to Tomintoul road. She struggled there, more on the basis that she had a ton or two of gear at the time.

If you guys decide to do Applecross and fancy having a few others in tow I'd be well up for it. I might even have another Fiat by then ;)
 
I've taken a crappy hired Opel Astra over the southern switchback lanes to the Teide caldera on Tenerife. It's an amazing drive with hairpins and stunning views. Due to altitude, it would not pull second gear on the steeper bits but it got there.

A Panda will be fine on any UK road.
 
Looks like the OP's photos are taking a while to upload ;)

We were obviously fortunate (ish..) in Tenerife

We did it in a 205 with a willing little 1.1.. it had around 100 miles on clock :)

So relatively impressed we bought a UK one on our return.. owned it a month..

The penny pinching of the build was just too much in a daily..

Did the same with a basic spec panda.. shame really could've been so much better
.
 
I should have mentioned El Teide caldera is 10,000 ft, so any non turbo car would struggle for power. The resorts in the south are not to my taste, but the west side lanes of Teneriffe and the south side of Teide are well worth the visit.

Scottish Highlands are always stunning.
 
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There is no problem in getting any car over the Bealach Na Bá in the summer - 4 wheel drive not required. (Hint - the clue is in my username)


The big problem is that it is a single track road with blind bends, and the publicity around the North 500 has made it far too popular - to the extent that the road cannot handle the amount of tourist traffic. There are warning signs at the start of the road about unsuitable vehicles, but tourists sometimes ignore these, and two campervans not knowing the rules about passing places and meeting head on makes for interesting driving.

The Applecross Inn deserves its good reputation, but I have not been there this year, and there may be problems with the Covid-19 restrictions - the inside layout might be difficult for social distancing and sitting outside is at the mercy of the weather. (Hint - it sometimes rains on the West Coast, and when it does not rain there are midges. Fresh tourist blood is a delicacy)
 
I took a break in Oban about 20 years ago specifically going early to avoid the midges. I still carry the scars. It's stunningly beautiful but the wildlife really does spoil it.
 
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