The north and northwest Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 239

CEILIDHS
The ceilidh is essentially an informal, homespun kind of entertainment, the word being Gaelic
for a “visit”. In remote Highland communities, talents and resources were pooled, people
gathering to play music, sing, recite poems and dance. The dances themselves are thought to
be ancient in origin; the Romans wrote that the Caledonians danced with abandon round
swords stuck in the ground, a practice echoed in today's traditional sword dance, where the
weapons are crossed on the floor and a quick-stepping dancer skips over and around them.
Highland ceilidhs, fuelled by whisky and largely extemporized, must have been an
intoxicating, riotous means of fending off winter gloom. Like much of clan culture, however,
the traditions died or were forced underground after the defeat of the Highlanders at
Culloden and the passing of the 1747 Act of Proscription, which forbade the wearing of the
plaid and other expressions of Highland identity.
Ceilidhs were enthusiastically revived in the reign of tartan-fetishist Queen Victoria , and in
the twentieth century became the preserve of the village hall and hotel ballroom, buoyed to
some extent by the popularity of jaunty 1950s TV programmes. More recently, though, the
ceilidh has thrown off its dated associations, with places such as The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool
(see p.240) and the Taybank Hotel in Dunkeld (see p.141) restoring some of its spontaneous,
infectious fun to a night of Scottish music and dancing.
Whether performed by skilled traditional musicians or in more rollicking form by younger
players, ceilidh music is irresistible, and it's common to find all generations gathering. Ceilidh
dances look complex. Actually most are reasonably simple and are explained or “called”
beforehand by the bandleader. We find a whisky or two earlier on helps.

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ENTERTAINMENT AND FESTIVALS
The liveliest pub around, the Arch Inn (see p.240) hosts live bands, and live Scottish folk music is a feature at The Ceilidh
Place (see p.240). The town's musical highlight, however, is the excellent Loopallu rock festival ( W loopallu.co.uk),
which takes place on the third weekend in Sept; past acts have included Franz Ferdinand, Echo and the Bunnymen,
Mumford and Sons and Paolo Nutini. On a different track, the Ullapool Book Festival ( W ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk) is
the Highlands' answer to Hay-on-Wye.

Assynt
If the landscape before Ullapool was impressive, the Assynt region just north has an epic,
almost cinematic quality. Marking the transition from Wester Ross into Sutherland, this
region is one of the least populated areas in Europe and its landscape consists not of
mountain ranges but extraordinary peaks which rise individually from the moorland. See a
mountain like Suilven and you understand why the name is said to derive from “A-ssynt”,
meaning seen from afar, or “ass” - Old Norse for rocky. Certainly, Assynt boasts some of
the world's oldest rock formations and roadside signs highlight the region's geological
importance as the Northwest Highlands Geopark ( W northwest-highlands-geopark.org.uk).
Lochinver , the main settlement, makes a fine base - it puts peaks like Suilven within
reach and is also acquiring a foodie reputation. Without your own transport it's almost
your only option. With wheels, this is splendid touring country: an area of peaceful
backroads which twist past crofts to deserted beaches or windswept headlands with
superb views to the Outer Hebrides and those shapely mountains. There are appealing
crofting villages to discover around Achiltibuie , scenic backroads to tour and two
Munros to bag above Inchnadamph .

Coigach
Coigach is the peninsula immediately north of Loch Broom, accessible via a road of the
A835. It's a beautiful drive, squeezing between the northern shore of Loch Lurgainn and
mountains like mammoths, including Cul Beag (2523ft), craggy Stac Pollaidh (2012ft)