The (Bealach na Ba Gaelic: Pass of the Cattle) is a famous, twisting, single-track mountain road, rising to 626 metres (2053 feet) in the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It is one of very few roads in the Scottish Highlands which is engineered in a similar fashion to the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends which switch back and forth up the hillside, with gradients approaching 20%.

The road was featured in several episodes of the television series Hamish Macbeth (much of which was filmed in nearby Plockton), in which is it pictured as having a road sign indicating: “Narrow road – no more than three sheep abreast”.

This is the view looking back as we arrived at the peak. We tackled it in a motor home, and to say that as a passenger, I was nervous, is an understatement. Once setting off, there is no turning back as there is nowhere to turn round.

canon 400D 18-55 IS

Bealach Na Ba, “The Pass of the Cattle”
by Michael McDermott

The men they gather.
And create such a stir.
With dogs by their side,
The cows in the field…
They come from Hills and Glens.
To climb Bealach Na Ba…
The Pass of the Cattle.

Men and Beast alike,
Swim the fridget waters of the Strath.
The herding dogs barking,
As the cattle make rythmic panting.
Stroke after stroke they move…
From Island to Mainland shore.
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

For Generations they came,
Crossing Bealach Na Ba.
The pass of the Cattle.
Fortunes are made …or lost with each crossing.
Bealach Na Ba…
The Pass of the Cattle.

With each crossing…
Man and beast grow strong.
Generation after generation…
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

Then one day… no more,
Not a sound…
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

The men, they are gone!
Cattle, replaced with Sheep!
In Silence, neither man nor beast,
Tests their honor.
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

Who owns this land?
We held in common.
What right …Have they to take,
Freedom…
From Man and Beast?
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

So, " Lost Children orf Kintail."
Remember the sound,
Of Cattle Crossing…
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

One day again…
The sounds of the crossing,
Bealach Na Ba.
And the Highlands…
Every Glen, every Hill,
Will be filled with proud voices.
As Highland men and cow,
Again Cross…
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the Cattle.

And Scotland, a Nation will be born, renewed!
As the Cattle return,
Bealach Na Ba,
The Pass of the cattle.