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Tuesday
I pick Win up at the airport in Inverness, the figurative capital and transportation
hub of the Highlands, and we drive to the west coast ferry port of Ullapool.
Along the way, we visit the evocative remains of Urquhart Castle on the western
shore of Loch Ness. A visitor center has been added since last I was there,
which not only helps to provide some focus to this extremely popular site, but
also is remarkably sensitive to the surrounding landscape. Historic Scotland is
the agency responsible for maintaining and interpreting this and hundreds of
other archeological, cultural, and historical sites across the country.
We arrive in Ullapool late in the afternoon, a bit too late to take
advantage of the souvenir shops along the front street. It’s a small but pretty
town, the gateway to the Outer Hebrides, and our room at the Waterside House has
a view of the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry awaiting departure for Stornoway on the
Isle of Lewis. I can feel the pull of the Western Isles, but my return there
will have to wait for another year. We eat a serviceable meal at a large pub in
the center of town, and then retire to the Ferryboat Inn.
I have picked the Ferryboat out of a book called The Good Beer Guide to Great Britain, which
is published by CAMRA. CAMRA is the Campaign for Real Ale, a British consumer
organization that champions the cause of traditional cask-conditioned ales.
These are the beers Americans often think of as warm and flat, although they are
neither. Properly served at cellar temperature and subtly carbonated, real ales
are a uniquely British product, and once the taste is acquired, nothing else can
possibly measure up. Deuchars IPA is a fine Scottish example, and is in fact the
first Scottish beer to win CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain award.
CAMRA also concerns itself with the traditional British pub experience, and most any
pub in its guide is worth a visit. The Ferryboat is no exception. It’s small and
rather smoky, and as pubs go, it's a bit short of physical charm. But the
bartender this evening is a schoolteacher who fills in on occasion, and we are
engaged in a wide-ranging conversation that touches on politics, history, and
geography. This is Win's introduction to pub culture, and he is impressed.
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