On a recent trip to Scotland, my wife and I stopped in the charming town of Ullapool for Hogmanay. I had heard it was one of the places to be, and I'd never experienced a New Years Eve in Scotland, only heard about it. The anticipation was great. We had dinner in the pub we were staying in (central) and then prepared for the festivities. Oh dear, two major ceilidhs in town, and both of them pre-bought tickets. Oh, well, back to the pub and see what entertainment ensues. Watched with interest as microphone brought out....yay....live music. But what's this, we are handed a quiz sheet? Oh dear, its quiz night. Ah well, when in Rome...so we played and did our best at answering the UK-biased questions and performed creditably considering.....but what we yearned for was music, dance...so we strolled the (mostly deserted) streets of Ullapool until almost bells-time and returned to the pub to commiserate with two couples from Glasgow equally disappointed (one couple had returned after a ripping time the year before in the same pub)
So......if anyone reads this who is involved in tourism in western Scotland, and Ullapool in particular, please hear our lament.Yeah, I know the place is seasonal, dead in the winter but Hogmanay? If anyone is going to be there for Hogmanay........you need to book. Also, take a thermos when driving in the Highlands in the winter because nothing is open, and a cup of tea is hard to get. But the place is STUNNING, a visual symphony