About Poolewe and Wester Ross

Contents:(Click on headings)
- About Poolewe - Shops and Amenities in Poolewe - Inverewe Garden		- About the Surrounding Area - Scenery pictures - Gairloch - Ullapool

Poolewe: Poolewe is a small village in Wester Ross at the head of Loch Ewe where the very pretty River Ewe flows into the sea loch from Loch Maree. It is surrounded by magnificent scenery and also boasts the world renowned Inverewe Gardens. Poolewe is 6 miles from Gairloch and 70 miles from Inverness, the nearest city and airport. *Click on a picture to enlarge it.*

Caberfeidh from Poolewe Village Green	Main Street Poolewe	Poolewe Village Green	River Ewe and Poolewe Village Green	Mouth of River Ewe

River Ewe and evening light	fields by Poolewe	Looking over from inverewe	Gorse and Poolewe	The war memorial in Poolewe
Shops and Amenities in Poolewe: Groceries/Post Office: There is a Post Office combined with the licensed village shop, including a small bakery, a couple of minutes walk down the street. The shop normally stays open till 8pm during the summer months. It is closed on Sundays. Hotel Bar and Restaurant: The Poolewe Hotel which is a few minutes totter from Caberfeidh, has a bar stocking a wide range of malt whiskies and beers as well as local ales. They also serve bar snacks and and have a restaurant open to non-residents. Coffee Shop/Art Gallery: There is also a very friendly coffee shop selling excellent coffee, homemade soups, light meals and cakes etc. a few doors down the street from Caberfeidh; it has an adjoining, small gallery with pictures, jewellery etc from Scottish artists and craftspeople. Outdoor Shop: There is also the ‘Slioch’ outdoor clothing shop just beyond the swimming pool. Mobile Shops: There are various vans which serve the village, including the mobile Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank. Swimming Pool: In the village there is an excellent small public indoor heated swimming pool, some two minutes walk from Caberfeidh.

Inverewe Garden: About half a mile from the house, round the head of Loch Ewe, is the remarkable and beautiful Inverewe Garden (pronounced Inver-Ewe) which is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Its Ranger service runs guided walks to various interesting local places on summer weekdays. There is a good Information Centre and NTS shop and restaurant at the Garden.

Mountain Views from Inverewe	Hankerchief tree	Variegated Turkey Oak	The Walled Vegetable Garden	Rhododendrons April

Rhododendrons May	Large leaves of Gunnera manicata	Clump of Gunnera manicata	Tree Ferns at Inverewe	l

The Surrounding Area: The village is a particularly good base from which to explore Wester Ross with all it has to offer. This includes excellent sandy beaches nearby ( though not in the village), exceptional opportunities for hill walking and climbing; bird watching; hill loch, river and sea fishing; wind surfing and sailing, to mention the more energetic pursuits.

Scenery Photos:
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Gairloch: The very pleasant larger village of Gairloch is six miles to the south. In addition to its fine beach and view over to the north end of the Isle of Skye, it has a Tourist Office, a supermarket, the small but very good Gairloch Heritage Museum, a golf course, a range of shops and restaurants and the Bank of Scotland with an auto-bank. There is also a marine life centre operating short two hour cruises from Gairloch Pier.

Looking down onto Gairloch	Gairloch Main Street	Gairloch Main street	Looking over Loch Gairloch to the town (Free Church in foreground)	Gairloch rocky shore beside Main street, Gairloch

Gairloch beach	Porpoise on Marine Trip Gairloch	Porpoises seen from boat on Marine Trip Gairloch	Gairlch shore line and view to the Free Church & Gairloch sandy beach	Looking out to Skye form Gairloch shoreline

Looking over Loch Gairloch to Slioch and Beinn Eighe Mountains	View to Skye and Gairloch	Viewpoint looking over to Gairloch beach	Gairloch Golf Course beside beach
Other attractions: For those wishing to explore further afield, to the south is the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve and Torridon; to the north there is the small fishing port of Ullapool with the car ferry to Stornaway in the Outer Hebrides. A few miles beyond Ullapool is the National Nature Reserve at Knockan Crag and which is also situated on the edge of the spectacular Assynt area.