I started the New Year in the tiny fishing village of Ullapool, situated upon the shores of Lochbroom in the Scottish Highlands. We travelled up by car on 29th December, arriving in the dark hours of early evening after setting off before sunrise and just having time to look around our Airbnb accommodation before the rest of our party arrived. The house had its faults, including an incredibly temperamental shower and a leaking ceiling which woke one person up by dripping on their face in the middle of the night, but overall it was cosy, homely, and suited us perfectly.
Predictably, Scotland greeted us with day after day of rain, making it difficult to venture out and appreciate the local area without getting drenched and grumpy. The first few times that I walked around Ullapool I couldn’t actually see much more than the feet of the person in front of me due to my umbrella threatening to blow away or break at any second which forced me to use it like a shield against the wind. However, we succeeded in making it to the pub almost every evening and got to experience Scottish culture through locally-brewed ales and The Isle of Harris gin (which I strongly recommend!), alongside incredibly drunk and chatty locals, which made up for the absence of our planned mountainous endeavours.
On New Year’s Eve, we all had tickets to the local ceilidh taking place at the village hall but due to an injury and lack of confidence/desire, a group of us branched off before we could be roped into a dance and went back to our favourite pub. We had a great time chatting to the other young people there and trying to win money as a big team on the impossible pub quiz machine, then all of a sudden it was close to midnight and the bartender emerged with full Scottish attire and bagpipes to bring in the New Year. He played traditional tunes, not forgetting Auld Lang Syne, and only stopped when it was time for the countdown and free glasses of prosecco generously provided from behind the bar. We finished our night of drinking with a tequila shot each for good measure and headed back out into the village, staggering home to wish the rest of our party a Happy New Year then collapse into bed.
After being informed that most Scots celebrated Hogmanay at home with their families on New Year’s Eve and were more likely to be out and about on New Year’s Day, we made sure to drop in to another of our favourite pubs the evening after for their night of live music. The first band we heard play, the Elephant Sessions, had everyone up and dancing to their progressive blend of traditional and modern music, strongly resembling Scottish folk tunes yet at the same time bizarrely reminding us of the rhythms of house. The pub was full of people of all ages dancing wildly and jumping around, with the less confident/less drunk attendees tapping their feet at the edges. If it weren’t for the early start and long drive back the next day, we would likely have stayed much longer to fully absorb the atmosphere of energy, excitement, and celebration, but our time in Ullapool was almost at an end.
Despite the bad weather and the short days, spending New Year in Scotland was a great experience that I’ll be sure to make happen again and would recommend to everyone.