We will be spending two weeks visiting the highlands this summer and I would like to purchase some yarn while we are there. Does anyone know of any good shops which sell yarn/ knitting wool? We are NOT going to any of the big cities this time; our stops include Glencoe / Fort William area, Mull, Skye, Ullapool, Orkney (Mainland only), Invermorriston / Fort Augustus, and Aberfeldy. Thank you for any suggestions.
Posted by
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
I'm not a yarn man but here is a suggestion. Google searches such as: Ft. William, yarn shops. You might have some good luck. I have seen yarn shops in some of these places but have not payed any attention to them
Posted by
Glasgow, Scotland
1644 posts
Follow Monte's advice, a quick google should show a few. Fort William, Portree, Kirkwall are the principal towns in their areas and will have shops for the locals which sell wool. Even somewhere like Tobermory is likely to have somewhere that sells wool if not necessarily a dedicated wool/crafts shop.
In all the places you can use it as an ice breaker to ask. If you are googling, finding the post code district of where you will be staying, this is the first half of the post code. Kirkwall for instance is KW15. 'Wool shops KW15' should be all you need to find one in google for Orkney (it is J and J Smith, Albert St, Kirkwall)..
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7357 posts
You didn't mention plans to visit Shetland, north of Orkney, but for what it's worth, we stopped last August at a yarn shop in Sandness on western Shetland Mainland. They weren't doing any combing/dying/spinning when we were there, but they opened the shop for us, drawing back a heavy drape that coves the shelves of skeins to protect them from fading in UV light. They had just about every color imaginable, along with some quality knitted goods.
Shetland wool is famous for its super-fine texture. We were told that sheep quartered among poorer vegetation produce better wool. Sheep for eating are kept where the grass is better, which makes for better meat. Sheep outnumbered the Shetland ponies!
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
There used to be a wonderful knitwear shop in a Ullapool. It was for sale so I am not sure if it is still there. It it is, you should stop in and check out the sweaters and they may have suggestions for you.
- Skye--Shilasdair looks good.
- Between Orkney and Inverness--Depending on how you travel this shop in Brora looks interesting.
- Elena Costella Studio--this is located in Perth, which could be on the way from Aberfeldy to Edinburgh, if you are going that way...
And this website looks interesting.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9100 posts
You can locate yarn shops all around the world with reviews at this site:
Posted by
OP
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1819 posts
Thank you for all the suggestions - it should be fun to check them out!. And that's really useful information about how the postal codes work - I can also use it to track down antique shops.
Posted by
Oregon, USA
3 posts
Before I went to Scotland in December I expected to see lots of yarn shops. I totally thought I'd get to stock up on wool. Didn't see one the entire time! Ended up buying wool in Iceland on our way home haha.