Ullapool: The White-Washed Ferry Town on Loch Broom — and the Beach at Ardmair

Ullapool: The White-Washed Ferry Town on Loch Broom — and the Beach at Ardmair

The white-washed waterfront houses of Ullapool on Loch Broom.
Ullapool’s white-washed waterfront on Loch Broom — the prettiest town on the north-west coast (NC500).

Overview — the honest take

Ullapool is the capital of the north-west — the biggest, liveliest and most handsome town on this whole wild coast. Its neat rows of white-washed houses line the shore of Loch Broom, the ferry to the Isle of Lewis comes and goes from the pier, and there’s good food, live music and a proper buzz about the place. It’s the natural hub of a north-west coast trip, and just up the road is one of our favourite beaches at Ardmair.

Where it is

Ullapool sits on Loch Broom in Wester Ross, on the A835 about 60 miles north-west of Inverness — the great crossroads of the north-west, and the ferry port for Stornoway and the Isle of Lewis.

A planned herring town

Boats in Ullapool harbour on Loch Broom.
The harbour — Ullapool was built for the herring.

Ullapool doesn’t just look neat by accident: it was planned. The town was laid out in 1788 by the British Fisheries Society — to a design involving the great engineer Thomas Telford — as a purpose-built village to exploit the herring shoals then teeming in Loch Broom. That tidy grid of streets along the water is the result, and fishing is still part of the town’s life today.

Loch Broom and the hills behind Ullapool.
Loch Broom and its hills, wrapped around the town.

The waterfront, the ferry & the Summer Isles

The pier and jetty at Ullapool.
The pier — ferries to Lewis, boat trips to the Summer Isles.

The waterfront is where Ullapool happens: cafés and pubs with tables out towards the loch, the CalMac ferry loading for the two-and-a-half-hour crossing to Stornoway, and little boats heading out to the Summer Isles to look for seals, porpoises and seabirds. The town has a genuine cultural life for its size — the Ceilidh Place, live music in the bars, a famous book festival — and the seafood is superb.

A cafe on the waterfront at Ullapool.
Coffee on the front, loch and hills laid out before you.

Walks & the sunsets

Sunset over Loch Broom at Ullapool.
Sundown over Loch Broom.

For a grand view with not much effort, the walk up Ullapool Hill (Meall Mòr) climbs straight from the edge of town to a superb outlook over the loch, the town and the mountains of Coigach and Assynt — a lovely evening leg-stretch. Down at sea level, the shore and the pier are made for a sunset wander. Just to the south, the Corrieshalloch Gorge and the Falls of Measach are a spectacular short stop.

Ardmair beach

The curved shingle beach at Ardmair near Ullapool, with Lillie the dog.
Ardmair — a perfect crescent of shingle under Ben More Coigach.

Three miles north of Ullapool is Ardmair, and it’s a beauty: a perfect crescent of shingle beach curving round a sheltered bay, with the pointed bulk of Ben More Coigach behind and the island of Isle Martin offshore. There’s a campsite right on the bay, and it’s a glorious, peaceful spot to stop — we lingered here for the sunset, Lillie pottering along the shingle.

Sunset over the bay at Ardmair near Ullapool.
Sunset over Ardmair bay — hard to beat.

Nearby

  • Inverewe Garden — the subtropical garden at Poolewe, down the coast to the south-west.
  • Assynt & Kylesku — the extraordinary mountain country and the great curved bridge, north on the north-west coast.
  • Durness — Smoo Cave and the white sands, right at the top of the coast.
  • Emptying & filling in Scotland — where to legally dispose of waste and top up fresh water, with the nearest points and exact map pins.

Sources