Drumbeg to Ullapool Scotland

Day 45/Scotland 22

Travelled:116km from Drumbeg to Ullapool 

Stay: Ullapool- Royal Hotel carpark, free, toilet, water (£10 ehu) N57.8972 W5.1536

The rain had gone this morning and although the clouds were still there, they had lifted enough for us to be able to admire the beautiful scenery as we drove along. 

White faced sheep...opposite of black faced sheep.

A little further south we turned off the B869 and went to have a look at the Stoerhead Lighthouse. 

It appears to be a popular spot for dolphin and whale sightings. 

There was also a walk to the Man of Stoer (3km), assumed it was another stack. We walked a little ways up the track but the ground was very boggy and so we turned back. We then continued on the B869 to Lochinver, a quite substantial commercial port town.

 After a drive around we hit the C1003 and had some more stunning scenery.

 As we had a bit of time we thought we may as well do a loop out to Altandu and back to the turn off at Badnagyle. 

We stopped for a rest along the way as it was quite heavy going due to the roads being one lane and having to concentrate all the time with the on coming traffic. Then it was on the C1047 to the main road to Ullapool. 

This is where we will be taking the ferry to the Isle of Lewis tomorrow morning. We busied ourselves with a shop at Tesco and filled up with gas as well as fuel. We called in at the Royal Hotel and managed to get one of the 4 spots for motorhomes. 

We then walked into the harbour town and had a look around for a while. The town was founded in 1788 as a herring port but starred declining in the 1830’s. In the early 1900’s fishing fleets discovered its benefits as a safe anchorage and fishing still remains at the heart of the economy. During the height of the Cold War in the 1970’s it became a base for up to 60 Russian and East European factory ships. Their role was to process mackerel and then send them to their home markets by refrigerated vessels. The rain eventually encouraged us to return to Bluey.