Ullapool 6th September 2015

Ullapool (/ˈʌləpuːl/; Scottish Gaelic: Ulapul, [ˈuɫ̪apʰuɫ̪]) is a village of around 1,500 inhabitants in Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands. Despite its small size it is the largest settlement for many miles around and a major tourist destination of Scotland. The North Atlantic Drift passes Ullapool, bringing moderate temperatures. A few Cordyline australis or New Zealand cabbage trees are grown in the town and are often mistaken for palms.
On the east shore of Loch Broom, Ullapool was founded in 1788 as a herring port by the British Fisheries Society. It was designed by Thomas Telford. The harbour is still the edge of the village, used as a fishing port, yachting haven, and ferry port. Ferries sail to Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides.

The town was historically in Cromartyshire, a county made up of many physically-separated parcels of land scattered across northern Ross-shire. Cromartyshire was abolished and combined with surrounding Ross-shire in 1890.

Many of the pivotal discoveries of the Victorian era that contributed to the development of the concept of plate tectonics were made in this area, and there are still regular international geological conferences.

Parliament granted permission in the 1890s for a railway from Ullapool to the main Highland network at Garve, but insufficient funds resulted in the scheme being abandoned.