Ullapool Explained

Country:Scotland
Official Name:Ullapool
Gaelic Name:Ulapul
Edinburgh Distance Mi:153
London Distance Mi:485
Population Ref:
Os Grid Reference:NH125945
Coordinates:57.9°N -5.166°W
Static Image Name:Ullapool sun.jpg
Static Image Caption:Ullapool
Map Type:Ross and Cromarty
Civil Parish:Lochbroom
Unitary Scotland:Highland
Lieutenancy Scotland:Ross and Cromarty
Constituency Westminster:Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Constituency Scottish Parliament:Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
Post Town:ULLAPOOL
Postcode District:IV26
Postcode Area:IV
Dial Code:01854

Ullapool (;[1] Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Ulapul in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈul̪ˠapʰul̪ˠ/)[2] is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of approximately 1,500 inhabitants.[3] [4] It is located around 45-1NaN-1 northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, it is the largest settlement for many miles around. It is an important port and tourist destination. The North Atlantic Drift passes Ullapool, moderating the temperature. A few Cordyline australis (New Zealand cabbage trees) are grown in the town and are often mistaken for palm trees. The Ullapool River flows through the town, which lies on Loch Broom, on the A835 road from Inverness.

It is in the civil parish and community council area of Lochbroom.

History

On the east shore of Loch Broom, Ullapool was founded in 1788 as a herring port by the British Fisheries Society.[5] It was designed by Thomas Telford. Prior to 1788 the town was only an insignificant hamlet made up of just over 20 households.[6] The harbour is used as a fishing port, yachting haven, and ferry port. Ferries sail to Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides.

A road to link Ullapool with Dingwall was commenced in 1792.[7] The village was historically in Cromartyshire, a county made up of many separate enclaves scattered across northern Ross-shire. Cromartyshire was abolished and combined with surrounding Ross-shire in 1890.

Many of the pivotal Victorian era discoveries that informed the concept of plate tectonics 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.[8]

Parliament granted permission in the 1890s for a railway from Ullapool to the main Highland network at Garve railway station, 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".[9]

Landscape and geology

The region surrounding Ullapool is dominated by rugged mountains, and especially by Bheinn Ghobhlach to the west, An Teallach to the southwest (both across the loch), Beinn Dearg to the southeast close to the head of Loch Broom, and Beinn Mhòr na Còigich to the north. These summits are referred to as periglacial enclaves, a term used to describe areas that were adjacent to glaciers and impacted by cold climates.[10]

An Teallach is a mountain which dominates the area and consists of Torridonian sandstone, 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.[11]

Ullapool sits on a substantial geological structure known as the Moine Thrust Belt. This geological feature spans a considerable distance from Loch Eriboll in the north, extending southwards to the Isle of Skye. The Moine Thrust Belt represents the forefront of the ancient Silurian-era Caledonian orogeny.[12]

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,[13] and The Ceilidh Place, a hotel, restaurant, and music venue which has previously held concerts by artists including Rab Noakes, Dick Gaughan, Kathleen MacInnes, and The Peatbog Faeries.[14] [15] The Ullapool Guitar Festival is also held annually in the village.[16]

, an arts centre, is located in the village,[17] along with a swimming pool and fitness centre, and several pubs, restaurants, and tourist accommodation facilities.[18] The 19th, and final, Ullapool Book Festival was held in the village in May 2023.[19] [20] The Tall Ships visited Ullapool in July 2011, whilst sailing from Greenock to Lerwick.[21] [22]

Ullapool was home to the shinty team Lochbroom Camanachd; however, the club has not completed a competitive fixture since 2015.[23] [24]

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 and local promoter Robert Hicks in 2005,[25] 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, Dreadzone and Franz Ferdinand headlining on the second night. There are also fringe events at local bars. The Pigeon Detectives have played the Village Hall. Amy MacDonald in 2008 and Paolo Nutini in 2007 both played the Ceilidh Place. Mumford & Sons have also played in Ullapool twice.[26] [27] The final festival took place in 2019.[28]

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 in Gairloch.[29] [30]

In popular culture

The community was rated as among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by Condé Nast Traveler in 2020.[31]

Ullapool is referenced in the multiplayer video game Team Fortress 2 as the hometown of Tavish DeGroot, known in-game as the Demoman,[32] and in the name of an in-game melee weapon that the Demoman can choose to have in his loadout, the "Ullapool Caber",[33] 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, 43miles from Stornoway, replacing that at the Kyle of Lochalsh that is 71miles from Stornoway.[34] The ferry terminal is linked to the A835 trunk road with the A893. 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.[35] At the terminal Caledonian MacBrayne operates a roll-on/roll-off carferry to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.

Climate

Ullapool has an oceanic climate (Köppen: 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.

See also

Notes and References

  1. John C. Wells, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
  2. Web site: Iain Mac an Tàilleir . Placenames . 28 November 2011 . Scottish Parliament .
  3. Web site: Moving to Ullapool Welcome to Ullapool . 2022-10-14 . www.ullapool.com.
  4. Web site: statistics.gov.scot/atlas .
  5. Web site: History . 5 March 2013 . 2 June 2014 . Ullapool Harbour Trust.
  6. Web site: Welcome to Ullapool . 29 July 2018.
  7. Book: Miller, James . The finest road in the world: the story of travel and transport in the Scottish Highlands . 2017 . Birlinn . 978-1-78027-430-0 . Edinburgh.
  8. Web site: 16 June 2016 . Dramatic Scottish coasts among top geology hotspots . The Scotsman.
  9. Web site: Iain Mac an Tàilleir . Placenames . 16 October 2018 . Scottish Parliament .
  10. Goodenough . K. M. . Krabbendam . M. . Bradwell . T. . Finlayson . A. . Leslie . A. G. . 2009 . Digital surface models and the landscape: interaction between bedrock and glacial geology in the Ullapool area . Scottish Journal of Geology . en . 45 . 2 . 99–105 . 10.1144/0036-9276/01-397 . 2009ScJG...45...99G . 0036-9276 . 4 July 2023.
  11. Web site: Make Mine A Big Whitbread Please (1) . 1 June 2019.
  12. Stone . John O. . Ballantyne . Colin K. . Colin Ballantyne . Keith Fifield . L. . 1998 . Exposure dating and validation of periglacial weathering limits, northwest Scotland . Geology . en . 26 . 7 . 587 . 10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0587:EDAVOP>2.3.CO;2 . 1998Geo....26..587S . 0091-7613 . 4 July 2023.
  13. Web site: Home . 2023-07-04 . www.macphailcentre.com.
  14. Web site: Media . Web Smart . Whats On at The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool . 2023-07-04 . The Ceilidh Place . en.
  15. Web site: Spiegel . Max . Dick Gaughan performing again . 2023-07-04 . mudcat.org.
  16. Web site: Ullapool Guitar Festival, Ullapool – Celtic, Folk and Traditional . 2023-07-04 . www.visitscotland.com . en.
  17. Web site: An Talla Solais . 2023-07-04 . An Talla Solais . en-GB.
  18. Web site: Ullapool Visitor Guide - Accommodation, Things To Do & More . 2023-07-04 . www.visitscotland.com . en.
  19. Web site: . 2022 . Ullapool Book Festival to be held for last time in 2023 . 4 July 2023 . BBC News . en-GB.
  20. Web site: ANNOUNCEMENT – Ullapool Book Festival . 2023-07-04 . en-GB.
  21. News: 2011-07-14 . Tall ships to arrive in Ullapool in the Highlands . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-01-26.
  22. Web site: 2011-07-18 . Tall Ships at Ullapool The Scottish Coastal Rowing Association . 2023-07-04 . en-GB.
  23. News: Lochbroom lift Minch Cup . 2023-07-04 . Lewis Camanachd . en-US.
  24. Web site: Clubs . 2023-07-04 . Shinty.com . en-GB.
  25. Web site: 31 August 2017 . AUK album premiere: Mark Olson "Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun" – Listen .
  26. News: 2015-03-02 . Mumford & Sons unveil mini festival near Aviemore . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-01-26.
  27. News: Goodwyn . Tom . 2011-02-16 . Mumford & Sons announce Scotland tour and ticket details . en-GB . NME . 2023-01-26.
  28. News: 2019-09-26 . Loopallu festival bows out after 15 years . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-07-04.
  29. Web site: Lochbroom FM Local Radio in the Highlands of Scotland . 2023-07-04 . lochbroomfm.com.
  30. Web site: Two Lochs Radio, Wester Ross, 106 & 106.6 FM . 2023-07-04 . www.2lr.co.uk.
  31. Web site: THE 20 MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN THE UK AND IRELAND, 20 October 2020. 20 October 2020 . 14 March 2021.
  32. https://www.teamfortress.com/classes.php?class=demoman Team Fortress 2 - Demoman
  33. https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Ullapool_Caber Ullapool Caber - Official Team Fortress Wiki
  34. News: . 22 October 1970 . Ross and Cromarty council vote. Ullapool is Ferry Terminal . . Scotland . subscription . 25 November 2017 . British Newspaper Archive.
  35. Web site: Shore Street & Inner Harbour Development . 29 June 2018 . 27 October 2022 . Ullapool Harbour Trust.