Escape to the Northwest Highlands

In the dramatic landscape of Assynt and Coigach still lochs lie in the shadow of heather-covered mountains and golden eagles, otters and puffins haunt sea and sky. Follow our guide to this remote area of Scotland with its traditional crafts, culture and communities

North of Ullapool, single-track roads are the norm, straddling passes and outlining lochs to reach Altandhu and Achiltibuie in the south, Inverkirkaig, Stoer and Lochinver further north. Somewhere between but visible from miles away lie Quinag and Canisp, two great frost-shattered monoliths, which heave up out of the heather and pose for pictures. These giant sandstone mountains are not Scotland’s highest but are surely the most striking, rising up from the moorland below.

The peaks are reflected in a thousand lochs and lochans, in a landscape that can sometimes seem more water than land. And the islands on these lochs are remarkable. While the rest of the landscape has the bleak beauty of austerity, with dramatic sweeps of heather and moss on a canvas of rock and peat, the islands are frivolous, riotous jungles of shrubs, ferns and trees, jostling for elbowroom. These plants thrive in a world without sheep.

The Highlands have not always been a wilderness of rock and heather. There was a time when forests grew and crops were harvested in every glen to feed the families of the Highland clans. Then came defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and the disintegration of the clan system. Absentee landlords discovered that there was more money to be made from sheep than from the meagre rents of the crofters. So the crofters were out, often by force, in the iniquity of the Highland Clearances.

Evicted from their glens, the crofters could try to eke out a living on the coast – or they could emigrate. The first of the west coast’s sad emigrations set sail from Loch Broom near Ullapool in 1773. The Hector sailed with 179 Highlanders for Nova Scotia, and today 40,000 North Americans can trace their descent from those first settlers.

The natural world
Cars are a rarity on the main road from Ullapool but you can find yourself held up by red deer. Golden eagles hang above the mountain tops and sea eagles soar over the cliffs and beaches. Otters haunt the lochs but are more often seen fossicking among the seaweed on the seashore. At Achiltibuie you can cruise the bird sanctuaries of the Summer Isles (01854 622200; www.summer-isles-cruises.co.uk). The boat from Kylesku (01571 844446) visits seal colonies and Loch Glencoul for a view of Eas Coul Aulin, Britain’s highest waterfall. By the same boat, you can reach the remote haven of Kerrachar Gardens (01571 833288; www.kerrachar.co.uk), a wonderful example of what can grow when you keep the sheep out.

Walk and ride
Stalkers’ paths and peat tracks lace through the hills. For the best cross-country walks, try a Highland institution, the Post Bus. Highland post vans carry passengers and groceries together with the mail and they go everywhere (08457 740740; www.royalmail.com/postbus). The postman picks you up, drops you off on his route and you walk back through the hills.

A view to die for
Assynt has many spectacular vistas but one of the prettiest spots is hidden along the single-track road that twists and turns north from Loch Bad a’Ghaill to Lochinver. About halfway, the road meets the sea beside a small stream and a perfect picnic spot. Observe a scatter of islets offshore, look down into a turquoise cove where otters bask or gaze up at a riot of yellow gorse crowding the tiny road.

If it’s raining…
Experience teaches that wet days in the Highlands are best spent indoors with a slice of cake and a good book. There is a splendid tradition of bookshop cafés hereabouts. Britain’s remotest and arguably the best is Achins at Inverkirkaig (01571 844262), with its admirable collection of Scottish fiction. The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen runs a cosy café behind the dock in Lochinver (01571 844456). Get a vast breakfast from 8.30am to 8pm on weekdays (8.30am to 7pm Fridays). The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool (01854 612103; www.ceilidhplace.com) is a comfortable hotel enclosing a coffee house, bookshop, restaurant, art gallery and a poetry lending library. It has live music several times a week and festivals.


Cultural treats
Watch potters at work making Highland Stoneware (01571 844376; www.highlandstoneware.com) at Lochinver. Fèis Rois, festivals of traditional Scottish music, song and dance with tuition workshops, take place in Ullapool. For details contact Rita Hunter (01349 862600) or visit www.feisean.org. If you go all goose-bumpy at the skirl of the pipes, you can learn to squeeze them at the Achiltibuie Piping School (01854 622220/367; www.highlandpiping.co.uk).

Food for the soul
Summer Isles Foods at Achiltibuie (www.summerislesfoods.co.uk; 01854 622353) produces legendary whisky-cured smoked salmon, the finest kippers and smoked Highland cheese. Its Kipper Club members are sent kippers by post every month.

Trace your history
The Highland Clearances dispersed clansmen and women far across the world. Anyone interested in ancestors from Loch Broom, Ullapool and Coigach should contact Ullapool Museum (01854 612987; www.ullapoolmuseum.co.uk), which relives the story of The Hector and provides a genealogy service from its archives.

Expect the unexpected
The northwest tip of Scotland is further north than Moscow. It is not textbook banana-growing country but bizarrely, they do well here. The Hydroponicum at Achiltibuie grows everything from herbs to standard fruit trees – including bananas – without soil. Huge plants grow from tiny pots with their feet in water. Visit www.thehydroponicum.com or call 01854 622202.


Escape essentials
● Map OS Landranger 15
● Books: The North West Highlands: Roads to the Isles by Tom Atkinson (Luath Press, £4.95); North-west Highlands, Hillwalkers’ Guide by Dave Broadhead, Alec Keith and Ted Maden (Scottish Mountaineering Club, £22);
● Tourist information: Visit Scotland Booking and Information Service (08452 255121; www.visitscotland.com).
Getting there Ullapool is 11⁄2 to 2 hours’ drive from Inverness, which is served by the First ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper (0845 748 4950; www.firstgroup.com/scotrail) from London Euston and by Easyjet (08712 442366; www.easyjet.com) from Luton or Gatwick.

Places to stay
● Bodha Bhúiridh B&B (01854 622399). Karen Peach’s B&B has one of the finest views – the Summer Isles spread out in front of potato scones and dry-cure bacon. B&B £20.
● Cruachan Guest House (01571 855303; www.cruachanstoer.com). Maggie and Dennis Campbell’s B&B is a homely haven in the wilds of the Stoer peninsula. B&B £25-30.
● The Sheiling Guest House (01854 612947; www.thesheilingullapool.co.uk). Overlooking Loch Broom, The Sheiling has its own lochs to get fish, drying room to get dry and sauna to get hot. B&B £28-30.

Places to eat
● The Albannach, Baddidarroch, Lochinver (01571 844407; www.thealbannach.co.uk). A wonderful five-course set menu, £45. Comfortable rooms. Booking is essential.
● Lochinver Larder (01571 844356; www.piesbypost.co.uk). Conservatory overlooking the Inver estuary. Everything is fresh-baked. A huge variety of pies, including venison and cranberry, £3.85, is also available by mail order.
● The Summer Isles Bar, Achiltibuie (01854 622282; www.summerisleshotel.co.uk). Posh nosh in the hotel next door. The bar serves excellent casseroles, and a delicious seafood platter, £20.

Photo: Scottish Viewpoint

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