Aultbea

Aultbea (Gaelic: An t-Allt Beithe) is a small coastal fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Ullapool. The village has a primary school and a small post office. Aultbea has two churches, a shop, a masonic lodge and a Café & Gift Shop, Oran Na Mara, located just below the Drumchork Hotel. As of 2021, a third small church was under construction. Aultbea has a NATO refuelling base which serves large ships. There is an annual "fun day" when people from the village and surrounding area play football or other activities, or socialise over home-baked scones. The village has two hotels. The Aultbea Hotel and the former Drumchork Lodge Hotel, where the Loch Ewe Distillery was located until its closure in 2017. The Drumchork hotel closed in 2021. However, the Aultbea Hotel re-opened under new management in 2022. The nearest airport is in Stornoway, although that is located on the Isle of Lewis and thus not convenient for onward travel to Aultbea. The closest mainland airport is located near Inverness, which is about 83 miles away. The nearest railway station is at Achnasheen, which has trains either to Inverness or westwards through the scenic village Plockton to Kyle of Lochalsh. There is also a ferry service to the Isle of Lewis in the relatively nearby town of Ullapool. This service was once proposed to be based in Aultbea but due to Aultbea's remote setting, Ullapool was granted the ferry port. In 1893, a rail track to Aultbea was planned but again the decision went against the village as demand for such a service was expected to be low.