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| Fishing boats in the harbour |
Ullapool is on the shores of Loch Broom, with the Summer Isles just off shore. Latitude nearly 58ºN, longitude 5ºW.
Whenever we've been in Scotland we've always called in here, For a small village - population around 1300 (the high school intake must swell it by several hundred, or at least contribute a high proportion of this figure) - there's a surprising amount to do here in the way of shops and eateries. It's good place to visit on a day, like this Monday, when the weather's not really cooperative or conducive to the outdoors. There's the Ceilidh Place, the cafe above the gear shop and two independent bookshops which have a remarkably well chosen selection. Between us we bought from both of them today. Munros Man has camped several times at the campsite on the shores of the loch.
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| Highland Stoneware |
We woke up to mist, shrouding the mountains and, at one point, right down to the shore of the bay. As the crow flies from the west side of Gruinard Bay, Ullapool is just long the coast to the north, up the next inlet but one. By road,however, it's 42 miles each way (about the same distance as it is from Scourie). The first 30 miles of this along the windy, bumpy, potholey A832 to the junction at the Corrieshalloch Gorge. Occasional sheep and goats in the road. The drive took about an hour.
After browsing the bookshops, we had morning coffee / tea scones in the cafe above the gear shop. A photography gallery here, too. Afternoon tea in The Ceilidh Place cafe. The mist lingered all day, though cleared a bit in the afternoon, with a view north from the higher ground back to Loch Broom from the Laide road on the way back.
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| Highland Stoneware |
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| Highland Stoneware |
In the afternoon, we looked round Highland Stoneware, the outside walls were decorated with mosaics made up of broken pots and tiles. Munros Man bought another half pint mug, rock pool design, to add to the other three this size back home. A wide variety of designs on their ware: birds, flowers, sheep, various l NW Highland landscapes. Their main shop is in Lochinver, visited on our last trip up this way (2007) - recall the big ceramic / mosaic sofa outside with a view of Suilven behind.
http://www.highlandstoneware.com/
