Applecross peninsula

Applecross ( , 'The Sanctuary', historically anglicized as 'Combrich') is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its western side is Applecross Bay and the Inner Sound. The peninsula is mountainous, sparsely populated, and has only two small roads joining the mainland. One of these roads traverses the famous Bealach na Bà. The former Celtic Christian monastery of Applecross was founded in the 7th century by Saint Máel Ruba, a missionary from Bangor Abbey in Gaelic Ireland; a sculptured stone is all that remains.

==Geography== thumb|left|Bealach na Bà was until the mid-1970s the only road linking Applecross with the rest of the country Extremely isolated, Applecross was accessible only by boat until the early 19th century, and for many years after that the only road access was over one of Scotland's most notoriously treacherous roads, the ('Pass of the Cattle'), which crosses the peninsula and reaches a maximum height of , below the high Sgùrr a' Chaorachain. In 1975 the settlement was connected via a winding coastal road which travels around the edge of the peninsula to Shieldaig and Torridon. The road skirts the shore of the Inner Sound and Loch Torridon.