Tour Scotland, An Teallach

Located on the western edge of Ross and Cromarty near Dundonnell, a small village which stands at the head of little Loch Broom, An Teallach is a magnificent crescent-shaped ridge with fourteen peaks in an impressive array of rocky splendour. They provide climbers with a daunting series of tests and they also comprise one of the most impressive ridge walks in the British Isles.

The tallest peak has a height of 3,483 feet. Its great bulk and the other peaks clustered around it, loom large above the Dundonnell forest and dominate the scattered settlements below. The upper slopes are bare of vegetation except for patches of sea-thrift found clinging
precariously to them.

The road that winds its way north from Dundonnell to Ullapool, carves its way up through the forest and away from the coast to a height of 1.060 feet, passing close to the hill loch, Lochhaidh Bhroain, the origin of the river Broom, before dropping again to the north bank of Loch Broom. Known as ‘Destitution’ or ‘Desolation’ Road, it was constructed by hungry crofters during the great potato
famine of 1846-7, when their only wages were handouts of food.

Ullapool is a most attractive little fishing town with an excellent harbour. It is blessed with one of the lowest rainfalls on the west coast. Its name, of Norse derivation, means Ulli’s homestead. It was developed in 1788 when the British Fishery Society made it a centre for herring and cod fishing. After a decline, Ullapool has now revived and become an ideal tourist centre. There is excellent
salmon fishing in the river and ample sea fishing in the loch itself. A delightful feature of the town is that its street names are in Gaelic as well as in English.

Gruinard Bay is beautiful and beyond it lie the lovely Summer Isles, some of which can be visited by motor boat from the mainland. Tanera More, Priest Island and Horse Island were all once inhabited but now their residents are sheep, seals and sea-birds. The coastal road through Achiltibuie to Lochinver by-passes the lonely peak of An Stac, commonly known as Stac Polly,
guarding the northern shore of Loch Lurgain. This isolated feature is named after the river Polly, or Pollaidh, meaning river of pools.

To the south-east of An Teallach lies Braemore House and below is the huge gorge of Corrieshalloch, two hundred feet deep and a mile long, spanned by a
suspension bridge. In the distance can be seen the towering bulks of Sgurr Mor (3,637 feet) and Beinn Dearg (3,547 feet) with the winding road to Inverness snaking between them, a road that can be blocked by snow even in April and May. Here are the breathtaking Falls of
Measach which plunge into the head of the gorge. These falls can be reached by wooded paths from the uspension
bridge.

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