Gairloch is situated on the West Coast of the
Scottish Highlands, some 70 miles west of Inverness. From the south, there are 2 possible
road routes by which to
approach.
Firstly, the more scenic but rather
longer and slower route
follows the A82 along the shores of Loch Lomond, across Rannoch Moor and
through Glen Coe to Fort William; thence, continuing on the A82 north to
Invergarry, and then via the A87 and A890/A896 to Strathcarron and
Lochcarron. From there the route follows the A896 north through
Shieldaig and Torridon to Kinlochewe and then finally the A832 north
west along the side of Loch Maree to Gairloch. From Fort William onwards
you will pass several famous
landmarks on the way - the Commando Monument at Spean Bridge,
Cluanie Inn, the 5 Sisters of Kintail, Eilean Donan Castle, the beginning
of the spectacular road over the Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) to
Applecross (which you could include in your itinerary if you wish and
time permits) and Loch Maree.
Secondly, the somewhat faster
and more direct route
which quite simply takes the A9 north to Inverness, thence via the A9/A835 to
Garve and then west on the A832 to Achnasheen, Kinlochewe and Gairloch. This route
encompasses mostly good fast roads, although the A9 can sometimes seem frustratingly slow in heavy traffic.
For those wishing to travel here by air, Inverness Airport is
some 77 miles from Gairloch and car hire is readily available
either from the airport or from Inverness itself. The drive from
the airport to Gairloch is comparatively easy, mostly on good
roads, and normally takes less than 2 hours.
For rail travellers, there is a railway station at Achnasheen
which is some 29 miles from Gairloch. There are local taxi and bus
services operating in Gairloch - please see our
"Useful
Links" page for links to the relevant websites
where current bus timetables can be found.
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