Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

House on the Point - Ullapool
House on the Point - Ullapool
Jack Palfrey experienced pleasures in all directions
This is bed-and-breakfast
accommodation with several
distinctive differences. It’s in a house with
bedrooms with views in three directions.
e North Room looks along Loch
Broom to the Summer Isles and can
command great sunsets. e West faces
across the loch to the iconic white house
at Altnaharrie - a residence that seems cut
off from the rest of the world.
I was in the South Room and
thoroughly enjoyed the movements
on the loch, whether tidal flows,
passing clouds reflected, boats
coasting, ships cruising or ferries
plying. The house is the ultimate one
of Ullapool Point, indeed a turning
point, where the quayside road ends.
One word can be used in its full and
expressive sense - ‘idyllic’.
e reality, however, is also attractive
for within a hundred yards there is a
fine inn, the ferry terminal, shops,
restaurants, cafes, banks and tourist
information. It is all so much part of a
place that is a hub. To the west is
Stornoway, served by CalMac’s most
recent member of its fleet, MV Loch
Seaforth. e Western Isles are now
accessed quicker and some turbulence
is off-set by modern ship technologies.
e hinterland extends to the north,
getting less and less populated as
Assynt and Coigach merge into North
West Sutherland and on to that
ultimate point, Cape Wrath. e A835
crosses open country to the east by
Loch Glascarnoch, to Strathpeffer,
Dingwall and Inverness. To the south
is Wester Ross with Loch Ewe,
Gairloch and Applecross among many
places calling out to be visited.
Not only do the rooms have views,
they are spacious with stylish decors.
Travellers’ needs are provided with
features that make storage easy.
Breakfasts, served in the rooms, are
appetising, filling and healthy. I
particularly liked the way in which the
table served dining requirements and
an office function. Wifi is there to
bring the internet world to the side of
Loch Broom.
So here is a place for pleasure as well
as for business. What matters above all
is that Angus Bruce and his wife, Jill,
are there to welcome you, provide
directions for touring and / or walking
and, if required, to give coaching and
advice about photography - for his
work is acclaimed and has appeared on
the pages of this magazine.
Opportunities abound at the Point and
around Ullapool.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER 13