Skye to Ullapool via the west coast

Saturday 17 July 2010


We woke to another overcast day & were glad to get an early start on the road. Our plan for the day was to reach Ullapool by driving around the coastal road as much as possible. We stopped on the road to take photos of a waterfall and detoured a couple of miles back to the castle Eilean Donan to see it with the tide in. Then we drove to Stromeferry where we picked up the railway line for a few miles. The views from the road were stunning, but unfortunately, the weather was also getting worse. We went through Lochcarron but didn't take the turn-off to Applecross. It continued to rain off and on, but when we reached Loch Maree it cleared up enough that we were able to stop and have our picnic lunch in a bit of sunshine. This was a lovely picnic area with trees covered in moss and wildflowers growing in amongst the grass.

We got into Ullapool late afternoon & we booked into our accommodation – The Ferry Boat Inn which is right on the waterfront. The town is delightfull – very pretty harbour but also a sense of being a real working fishing village and also of course the place where the ferry goes to the Outer Hebrides. We found a great bookstore and a couple of likely places to eat, but ultimately the discovery of a hotel with a separate menu for vegetarians clinched the choice for us.