3 Best Sights in Ullapool, The Northern Highlands and the Western Isles

Ullapool's cultural focal point is this lively venue nurturing folk music, drama, and other events all through the year (ceilidh is a Scottish social gathering with traditional music and dance). It started out as a small café, but, over the years, it has added space for local performers, an excellent bookshop specializing in Scottish writing, and a handful of comfortable rooms (as well as a basic bunkhouse with beds from £30) for those who want to spend the night.

For a thrilling touch of vertigo, don't miss Corrieshalloch Gorge, 12 miles south of Ullapool, just off the A835. Draining the high moors, the Falls of Measach plunge into a 200-foot-deep, thickly wooded gorge. There's a suspension-bridge viewpoint and a heady atmosphere of romantic grandeur, like an old Scottish print come to life. A short walk leads from a parking area to the viewpoint.

Films, photographs, and audiovisual displays tell the story of Ullapool and the local area, from the Ice Age to modern times. There's a particularly fascinating display on the the "klondyking" period between 1970 and 1990, when foreign boats, mainly from the former Eastern Bloc, filled the loch to fish the mackerel. The historic church building that houses the museum was designed by Thomas Telford and dates from the early 19th century.