Ullapool

It was Friday, two weeks ago, and we realized we had no plans for the weekend. The next weekend we would be staying in town because that Saturday would be the Highland Games in Halkirk and we absolutely had to go to that. I expected it to be THE Scottish event and not to be missed. So we thought we should “do something.” But what? Frankly, I was not feeling inspired.

beach just before Durness

I rifled through a wonderful travel book of Scotland that my friend Jenn gave me before leaving WA to see what might be nearby. And a little trip caught my eye.

I love the way the book puts it - “though it’s tough to tear yourself away from the coast, we recommend plunging  down the A897 just east of Melvich.” There, we would find an exhibit on the peat bogs.

So should we make it just an afternoon trip or part of a bigger trip? That was the question. 

I lazily glanced through a copy of the “North Coast 500” paper looking for inspiration and an ad for a B&B in Ullapool caught my eye. I looked it up and was discouraged by the amount they wanted per night. So I went to trusty old TripAdvisor and casually looked at the 16 best B&Bs in Ullapool. One in particular caught my eye, but there was a 2 night minimum and I would have to call to see if there was an availability. So I set it aside, still not feeling very motivated.

the other side of Durness

During dinner we talked again about doing something. Ullapool came up. That seemed far away and would require an overnight stay. It's summer and the height of tourist season, so we would probably not get a room. But I had just been looking at B&Bs there. What did we have to lose? I always say you won’t know unless you ask. So, I got on the phone and called the one B&B I actually liked the best and talked to the owner. And SURPRISE! She had an available room AND she would let us stay for just one night!  Woohoo! We were going to Ullapool! (that is pronounced “Uh la pool.”

So, we set off to do that little jaunt over to the exhibit at Forsinard.

As we were “plunging down the A897” (which is a single lane with turn outs), we had to stop to watch some farmers shearing sheep. That was great fun! It took the whole family to do that job. 

We continued down the windy, single lane road, hardly passing anyone another vehicle on the way. And then we arrived in Forsinard. I think there were 6 buildings. Total. For the whole “town.” One of them was a large hotel that was for sale and looked like it had not been in use for a while. Just how many people stopped there, anyway?? (This was not the middle of nowhere- but we could see it from the outlook station out on the bog!)  And right in the middle of this ‘town’ was the train station. And inside the train station was the exhibit!!

the small building to the right, on the other side of the tracks - that's the train station and exhibit

And let me just say right now, that as funny as this all seemed, it was a FABULOUS exhibit! VERY well-done! And it was unstaffed. So, we helped ourselves to a cookie and a coffee (plugged in the Keurig-type coffee maker, added the water) and put a pound in the collection box to cover the cost.

The whole exhibit was about the Peat Bog. It is called The Flow Country.

And it was fascinating.

It answered several questions I had about the forests that had been planted and added to the information I had already gotten about bogs from the Caithness Horizons (our local museum).

We walked over the train track to a walkway made from the Caithness flagstones that led to a look-out station that was built so that people could get a higher view of the bog. I am pretty sure there will eventually be a blog post about the peat bogs. It is really interesting and it turns out that the peat bogs are very important to our environment worldwide.






(There is an episode of "Shetland" that deals with an interesting and amazing true factoid about the peat bog - I think it's episode 3).

We got back on the road and drove on to Durness, which some of you might recall is the place where Cocoa Mountain is (remember big mugs filled with melted chocolate and steamed milk?). We figured that as long as we were there, we may as well restock our chocolate supply. Who knows when we might be back this way again?

The terrain between Durness and Ullapool continued to be interesting. And it changed. The mountainous areas got more rugged and rocky and then turned into more a forresty view. By the time we got to Ullapool, it looked and felt kind of like the Pacific Northwest.

Yes, it really was this nice!

This little town was bigger and yet smaller than I expected, but not even as large as Thurso. It is on the water but inland quite a ways, so it is protected. We saw the first recreational boats since we arrived in Scotland – rowboats and sailboats.  It felt very homey and relaxing. 

The weather was fantastic (you can read that as sunny, warm and NO WIND). We did not even need to wear a jacket - it was that nice.

We ate in a little bar, looking out over the water. Mike just had to go out and enjoy a beer there on the wall. And a giant plate of seafood.

Our B&B was wonderful and exactly what I had hoped it would be. The only downside was that there were not room-darkening blinds or curtains and so we had to try to sleep with too much light. Because the sky is still light at 10 pm. (Good thing I brought my face mask!!)  😊

The next morning, we were served delicious coffee and a hearty Scottish breakfast, which included black pudding.

We are only going to be in Scotland a short time and I feel it is important to try the local fare. You know - "when in Rome" idea.  Pudding is definitely local fare. On almost every Scottish menu I have seen there is a list of puddings - black pudding, red pudding, white pudding...

Now I do not want to discourage anyone from trying it, but for those of you who are not familiar with black pudding, I am just going to say ‘look it up.’ However I WILL tell you that there is nothing dairy about it.  

I did have a taste of it and was truly surprised. It had oats in it which gave it a heartiness and it was seasoned so nicely that it was very tasty.  I would have eaten more, but I had left it for last and was actually full. But I think I would try it again. (Also - might be a good idea, next time, not to ask what’s in it right before eating it.)

Instead of backtracking the way we came the day before, we decided to make the loop. We drove inland towards Inverness and then on up the east coast to Thurso.  Even though we had only traveled this Inverness to Thurso road a couple of times, the further north we traveled, the more familiar the terrain got. It is wide open pasture land connecting to the ocean with large bluffs and small towns tucked into little coves. It was surprising to me that it gave me the feeling of going home.

On the way to Dingwall, which is where we would turn north, we stopped at two waterfalls that had short hikes. Both were really lovely. And as we walked along the trails, we marveled at how it felt just as though we were in the Cascade Mountains. 

And just when I thought I had seen all the funny road signs, we passed another one!  We laughed so hard and Mike turned the car around and went back so that I could get a picture of it! And then I actually captured about a dozen more on the rest of the trip. I will save most of them for another post.

Apparently we are not finished with that topic.

But here is one for your amusement. 

Seriously?  Not 3 miles, but 3 and ONE QUARTER miles!  LOL!