Ullapool (; ) is a village and port located in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Lochbroom in the county of

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. It is located around northwest of

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. According to the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

in 2016, the village had a population of 1,520 people, making it the largest settlement in

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to th ...

. Ullapool sits on a deep sea loch,

Loch Broom Loch Broom (, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. Little Loch Br ...

, a significant natural harbour. As a result, Ullapool's port is regionally significant with ferries operated by

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

running from Ullapool to

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

. It also serves leisure craft, commercial fishing vessels and cruise ships. The

A835 The A835 is a road in the Scottish Highlands linking Inverness to Ullapool and the Far North of Scotland. Route The A835 starts at Tore on the Black Isle, seven miles north-west of Inverness at a junction with the A9. The A835 crosses the B ...

road from

Durness Durness () is a village and civil parish in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland, around north of Inverness. The area is remote, and the parish is huge and spar ...

passes through the village. This forms part of the route of the scenic tourist route the

North Coast 500 The North Coast 500 is a scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle. The route is also known as the NC500 and was launched in 2015, linking many features in the north Highlands of Scotland in one t ...

History

On the east shore of

, Ullapool was founded in 1788 as a

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

port by the British Fisheries Society. It was designed by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

. Prior to 1788 the town was only an insignificant

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

made up of just over 20 households. The harbour is used as a fishing port, yachting haven, and ferry port. A road to link Ullapool with

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

was commenced in 1792. The village was historically in

Cromartyshire Cromartyshire () was a county in the Highlands of Scotland, comprising the medieval "old shire" around the county town of Cromarty and 22 enclaves and exclaves transferred from Ross-shire in the late 17th century. The largest part, six times th ...

, a county made up of many separate

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

s scattered across northern

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

. Cromartyshire was abolished and combined with surrounding Ross-shire in 1890. Many of the pivotal

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

discoveries that informed the concept of

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...

were made in this area. There are still regular international geological conferences held in Ullapool, which has been described as the top geological hotspot in Scotland. Parliament granted permission in the 1890s for a railway from Ullapool to the main Highland network at

Garve railway station Garve railway station is a railway station on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, serving the village of Garve in the north of Scotland. Garve is located at the eastern edge of Loch Garve, measured from Dingwall, and is the first stop on the line befo ...

, but the scheme was abandoned due to insufficient funds. The name is possibly derived from the Norse word for "wool farm" or "Ulli's farm".

Landscape and geology

The region surrounding Ullapool is dominated by rugged mountains, and especially by Bheinn Ghobhlach to the west,

An Teallach An Teallach (Scottish Gaelic for 'the forge' or 'the anvil') is a mountain group in Wester Ross, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It lies west of Dundonnell Forest, north of Loch na Sealga, and south of Little Loch Broom. Its highest pe ...

to the southwest (both across the loch), Beinn Dearg to the southeast close to the head of

, and Beinn Mhòr na Còigich to the north. These summits are referred to as

periglacial Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing and freezing, very often in areas of permafrost. The meltwater may refreeze in ice wedg ...

enclaves, a term used to describe areas that were adjacent to glaciers and impacted by cold climates. An Teallach is a mountain which dominates the area and consists of

Torridonian sandstone The Torridon Group is a series of Tonian (lower Neoproterozoic) arenaceous and argillaceous sedimentary rocks, which occur extensively in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. These strata are particularly well exposed in the district of upper ...

, which is layered nearly horizontally. It is a challenging climb and a considerable distance from the nearest road. Climbing affords views to the sea and the islands to the west, but also to the south, and the desolate Whitbread wilderness. Ullapool sits on a substantial geological structure known as the

Moine Thrust Belt The Moine Thrust Belt or Moine Thrust Zone is a linear tectonic feature in the Scottish Highlands which runs from Loch Eriboll on the north coast southwest to the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. The thrust belt consists of a series of thr ...

. This geological feature spans a considerable distance from

Loch Eriboll __NOTOC__ Loch Eriboll (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Euraboil") is a long sea loch on the north coast of Scotland, which has been used for centuries as a deep water anchorage as it is safe from the often stormy seas of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Fir ...

in the north, extending southwards to the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

. The Moine Thrust Belt represents the western margin of the

Caledonian orogeny The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building cycle recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Caledonides, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events tha ...

which took place during the

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...

era.

Culture

Venues for music and the performing arts in Ullapool include the ''Macphail Centre'', which is located in the High School and includes a small theatre, and ''The Ceilidh Place'', a hotel, restaurant, and music venue which has previously held concerts by artists including

Rab Noakes Robert Ogilvie Noakes (13 May 1947 – 11 November 2022) was a Scottish singer-songwriter. He was at the forefront of Scottish folk music for over 50 years and recorded over 19 studio albums. He toured folk clubs and often performed at the Glasgo ...

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Ro ...

Kathleen MacInnes Kathleen MacInnes, or Caitlin NicAonghais in Scottish Gaelic, (born 30 December 1969) is a Scottish singer, who performs primarily in Scottish Gaelic. She is a native of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and lives in Glasgow with her partner ...

, and The Peatbog Faeries. The Ullapool Guitar Festival is also held annually in the village. , an arts centre, is located in the village, along with a swimming pool and fitness centre, and several pubs, restaurants, and tourist accommodation facilities. The 19th, and final, Ullapool Book Festival was held in the village in May 2023. The

Tall Ships A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

visited Ullapool in July 2011, whilst sailing from

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

. Ullapool was home to the

shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...

team Lochbroom Camanachd; however, the club has not completed a competitive fixture since 2015.

Music

Throughout the year there are many small fèisean and music festivals in the local halls and hotels, especially in the Ceilidh Place and the Arch Inn. The Ullapool Guitar Festival takes place in early October each year, attracting performers at several venues over the weekend. The Loopallu Festival, created by the American rock-grass band

Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie is an American band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2000. Their first album was '' A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC''. The band performs bluegrass cover versions of hard rock songs and also original songs of a mostly satirical or ab ...

and local promoter Robert Hicks in 2005, was well received and has become a major regional annual event, more than doubling the size of the village during the festival. In 2007 it attracted several bands including

The Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, " I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group formed in 1993 in London by ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts and musician Tim Bran. They have released nine studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. They gained a reputatio ...

and Franz Ferdinand headlining on the second night. There are also fringe events at local bars.

The Pigeon Detectives The Pigeon Detectives are an English indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to ...

have played the Village Hall.

Amy MacDonald Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll" and "This ...

in 2008 and

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-u ...

in 2007 both played the Ceilidh Place.

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...

have also played in Ullapool twice. The final festival took place in 2019. Since 2023, the village has hosted Scotland's "most remote club night", called ''baile/baile'', which showcases local and national DJs. Ullapool has a local radio station called Lochbroom FM broadcasting on 102.2 and 96.8 FM and online, with programming provided mostly by

Two Lochs Radio Radio Wester Ross is the community focused radio station for the Gairloch, Loch Ewe and Lochbroom areas of Wester Ross. It broadcasts a music-led service to the communities in Wester Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland and it is the only commerc ...

in Gairloch.

In popular culture

The community was rated as among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...

in 2020. Ullapool is referenced in the multiplayer video game ''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' (''TF2'') is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation in 2007. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video g ...

'' as the hometown of Tavish Finnegan DeGroot, known in-game as the Demoman, and in the name of an in-game melee weapon that the Demoman can choose to have in his loadout, the "Ullapool Caber", a German Type 24 stick hand grenade.

Ferry service

In 1970, Ross and Cromarty council voted to create a new £460,000 () ferry terminal at Ullapool, from Stornoway, replacing that at the

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh ( , "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross & Cromarty on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entranc ...

that is from Stornoway. The ferry terminal is linked to the A835 trunk road with the

A893 The A893 is a trunk road in the Scottish Highlands, located in the small town of Ullapool. It is approximately in length, and is named ''Shore Street'' for its entire diminutive length, along the shore of Loch Broom. The A835 road arrives in ...

. During 2022 the Ullapool Harbour Trust commenced a £4.3 million project to construct a new promenade and wider access road along the trunk road which will improve the inner harbour, provide pontoons for marine tourism and provide better access for pedestrians and cyclists. At the terminal

operates a

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

carferry to

on the Isle of Lewis.

Gallery

Ullapool Museum Telford Church - churchyard - J H Wallace 1.JPG, Old Telford Church: memorial to J H Wallace, lost in the sinking of the

SS City of Benares Ship prefix#Usage, SS ''City of Benares'' was a British steam turbine ocean liner, built for Ellerman Lines by Barclay Curle, Barclay, Curle & Co of Glasgow in 1936. During the Second World War, ''City of Benares'' was used as an evacuee ship t ...

Ullapool Mill Street Old Burial Ground - Cameron Gravesite - image 06.JPG, Mill Street Old Burial Ground: grave of Lord Cameron, KT

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

Sgurr fiona.jpg, upright=1.3, Sgurr Fiona and the Corrag Bhuidhe pinnacles on

Ullapool in summer 2012 (5).JPG, Ullapool Ferry Terminal Ullapool-2003.jpg, A view of Ullapool from a nearby hill (Maol Calaisceig) Ullapool in summer 2012 (2).JPG, The main street in Ullapool

Climate

Ullapool has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'') with, considering its northerly latitude, relatively mild temperatures year-round. With an average 1,105 sunshine hours per year, it is cloudier than any major city in Europe.

References

External links

{{authority control Populated places in Ross and Cromarty Ports and harbours of Scotland Port cities and towns in Scotland Fishing communities in Scotland Villages in Highland (council area) Populated places established in 1788 1788 establishments in Scotland Populated coastal places in Scotland