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Human settlement in Scotland
Photo: Burkhard Kroll, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Gairloch is a straggling community along the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, with a population of 620 in 2020. The land is hilly and farming isn't very productive, but shellfishing remains a traditional occupation.
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Housed in a Cold War bunker, this depicts Gairloch through the ages: stone axes, Picts, crofts, fishing, lighthouses, whisky and wartime.
300 year old hunting lodge with a lively history, tour booking essential. It's no longer a hotel.
Botanical garden, which a 19th-century enthusiast intended just as a windbreak, then his mania for collecting exotic plants got out of hand. Early seasons take colour from the rhododendrons and Erythroniums. In summer the walled gardens and borders are the highlight.
From 1941 the Allies tried to support the Soviet Union, which had been invaded by Nazi Germany. Very few supply routes were open and one was across the Norwegian and Arctic seas to the ports of Murmansk and Archangelsk. Supply ships and their warship escorts assembled in Loch Ewe then sailed in convoy, either direct or via Iceland, across dangerous waters. The loch was fortified against aerial and seaborne attack, and shore facilities were built. This museum tells the convoys' story.
Fitness classes, trampolining, archery and climbing wall.
Creole and other Caribbean cuisine.
Peaceful 31-bed hostel open Apr-Sep, dog-friendly.
Small 3-star with restaurant and bar. No dogs.
Victorian 70-room hotel with restaurant and bar, sometimes has coach parties.
Upmarket Victorian hotel; the heating system and some fittings likewise show their age.
From the south, travel via Inverness then north up A835 towards Ullapool, branching off at Garve for A832 past Loch Maree.
Read in the guideYou need a car. There's no local public transport except a school bus: Westerbus 705 runs once on schooldays from Torridon at 7:30AM to Gairloch and returns at 3:30PM.
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Stornoway, Western Isles · Regional · SYY
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