Ullapool, Scotland - August 3, 2025

Ullapool is a picturesque village and port on Loch Broom on the northwest coast of the Highlands of Scotland. We were booked to do another hike, this time up Knockan Crag, but it would be a 13 mile bus ride each way, and it was threatening heavy rain, so we decided to cancel the hike. Instead we spent a pleasant few hours exploring the village and sampling the local food and beer.

Our next two days were at sea . We were supposed to stop at Belfast and then Douglas, Isle of Man, but strong winds and high seas made it impossible to approach either port safely. So the captain had the ship run up and down the Irish sea for two days, using the land mass of Ireland to shelter the ship from the strong westerly winds. To keep us occupied they put on additional lectures, which were actually very interesting. This one was about glacial cycles and how they can be predicted.