Ullapool, UK
Ullapool, is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of approximately 1,500 people. It is located around 45 miles northwest if Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, it is the largest settlement for many miles around. It is an important port and tourist destination. The North Atlantic Drift passes Ullapool, moderating the temperature. A few Cordyline australis (New Zealand cabbage trees) are grown in the town and are often mistaken for palm trees. The Ullapool River flows through the town, which lies on Loch Broom, on the A835 road from Inverness.
Our excursion today takes us to Corrieshalloch Gorge & Lock Broom. Corrieshalloch Gorge (Scottish Gaelic: Coire Shalach, meaning unattractive corrie) is a gorge situated about 12 miles south of Ullapool. The gorge is approximately 1 mile long, 200 foot deep, and 33 feet wide at its lip. The Abhainn Droma flows through Corrieshalloch, below which the landscape opens out into a broad, flat-bottomed glacial trough at the head of Loch Broom.
The 151-foot-high Falls of Measach (meaning waterfalls of the place of platters, with reference to the potholes worn by the action of the water) can be viewed from a viewing platform and a Victorian suspension footbridge. The gorge has been owned since 1945 by the National Trust for Scotland who manage it and the surrounding area jointly with NatureScot.
Did all this research on Ullapool and just before we were supposed to anchor the captain announced the sea was too rough to tender today so we were going to spend at sea. A day at sea isn’t such a bad idea. Nice to rest.
So, the first thing I decided to do with a day off is my laundry. Honestly I have been sending a lot of things out to be washed, but my PJs and sweatsuit are exceptions. I went to the launderette here on the 7th floor. There is only one set of machines there. They were busy. The 8th floor launderette has three sets of machines. None were in use, so I put my things into process and headed back to the suite.
We quite literally took the day off. Worked a little on future travel plans. Nailed down the Morocco trip. Still need to work on Iceland part which is three months before that. Have looked at one tour company but not sure I like their program.
Pjs and sweatsuit are washed, folded and back in the wardrobe. Stopped by the coffee connection for a small sandwich for lunch. Met Mike and Maddie for high tea at 4. They had banana flambé but didn’t flambé the bananas. The scone with clotted cream was also not so special. You would think they could get the clotted cream right so close to Devonshire.
The art of making clotted cream goes back centuries and both Devon and Cornwall lay claim to its origin. Or course that probably isn’t completely correct. One other place where it is traditionally made is the Lebanon! Phoenician traders who came to Cornwall to trade for tin in around 500BC probably brought the art with them. Traditional clotted cream is made from rich, unpasteurized, full cream cow’s milk. It’s heated at a very low temperature until the cream rises to the top and then clots or “clouts”. The thick skin is scraped off the top and the liquid under is poured off. The resulting thick cream has a texture similar to creme fraiche or mascarpone.
Clotted cream is mainly produced in the Southwest of England in Devon or Cornwall. In the past, a farmer would place a pan of cream in the Aga and let it sit overnight. What is an Aga? The AGA stove was actually created about a century ago by blind Swedish physicist Gustaf Dalén, a Nobel Laureate. It took Dalén and his company seven years of prototyping to develop the AGA, and it was purpose-built as a solution to his wife Elma’s frustration at having to constantly stoke their cookstove and closely watch over the food she prepared.
At first glance, the AGA, while not without its throwback charm, may look like a curious relic of a bygone era to the uninitiated eye—an intimidating enameled hunk of no-thank-you, salvaged from a locomotive museum. Or something passed on from an old house’s original tenants, left in place, too heavy to extract or dismantle. Certainly it’s not something one would intentionally purchase today, and have placed in their contemporary kitchen, right? Well, guess again. The desire and considerable expense put forth to own and install this venerable tool continues seemingly unabated to this day. Never mind that it also demands users recalibrate their preconceptions of everyday food preparation techniques.
One cannot adequately describe the passionate following of generations of British chefs who adore the AGA. One famous chef is Fergus Henderson, who uses an AGA in his London eatery St. John’s to turn out an array of delicious nose-to-tail dishes. Due to its unique design, the AGA stays on all the time, and has no knobs or settings to speak of. It is insulated, and makes surprisingly efficient use of a single, internal heating unit that distributes consistent yet varied temperatures to its several cooking zones simultaneously.
The basic components of a traditional three-oven AGA are as follows: The top two silver-domed surfaces (that resemble a steampunk DJ setup) are in fact insulated, hinged covers that lift to expose raw iron “burners” for pots, kettles, and such. Depending on the side of choice, and proximity to the center, they can simmer, boil, braise, or char. It’s a common practice to use the palpable heat, even when the covers are closed, to dry kitchen towels or press cloth napkins.
Facing front are multiple compartment doors, with the upper left providing access to the burner unit, which in this case is gas-fed. The remaining three compartments are for baking, roasting, and simmering, in order of descending temperatures. The simmering oven compartment is a perfect spot for taking the chill off serving dishes before serving a meal. A clothes-drying rack—or even a chair with a damp shirt slung over the back—is another common companion to the AGA. The cast-iron construction radiates a gentle, welcoming warmth, especially vital in the cold and damp seasons.
Oops, I got off track. Research on the AGA was interesting. It reminds me of the old cast iron stove. The best clotted cream that I have ever had was in Dawlish. We stayed in a B&B known as Lammas Park House which is just up the road from the Dawlish Green, center of town. Just off the Dawlish Green next to the Dawlish River the Gay’s Creamery which had the best scones and clotted cream, ever. Cousin James also took us to Gurkha’s Nepalese restaurant which had very nice Indian food.
Uncle John and Aunt Marilyn are buried here in Dawlish up on Oak Hill in the Sumeru Cemetery. Beautiful place. This area was a family favorite of the Langstons. Need to go back someday.
Got off track again. Dinner was in Prime 7. It was good as usual. The baked potato I was served was the smallest I have ever seen. In Idaho they would be thrown it back. However it was just the right size. No one needs a one-pound baked potato. Not that one wouldn’t like it, it is just too much, unless perhaps it is the whole dinner.
Tomorrow is Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. About the same latitude north as Stockholm. This is as far north in the UK as I have ever gotten. We go further north to the Shetland Islands, so it will be a few days of firsts.
Ok, Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria
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