Stac Pollaidh – A Sandstone Crest and a Harbour Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Stac Pollaidh is the little sandstone hill with the jagged crest you see from all over Coigach, and a well-built path takes you up and round it.
A fit walker can reach the eastern top and come down in about three hours, with Suilven and the lochs of Inverpolly spread out below, then head down to Ullapool for a late lunch at the Seaforth by the harbour. You need good boots and the legs for a steep, rocky path.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a table at the Seaforth on its website for about 1pm if you're walking at a weekend, and plan to be on Stac Pollaidh's path by 9.30am: food is served every day from noon to 9pm.
The day
Coigach
An early start and a steep morning on Stac Pollaidh, with Suilven and the lochs of Inverpolly laid out around you, then a late lunch by Ullapool harbour.
About five hoursAbout 3 miles on foot
Stac Pollaidh
An attraction
The Stac Pollaidh car park is below the hill on the single-track Achiltibuie road, which leaves the A835 at Drumrunie and runs along Loch Lurgainn. It's a paid car park with toilets, £8 a car at the time of writing, by card or cash. A built path climbs from the road and goes all the way round the hill. Climb to the bealach, the pass beside the eastern top, at 551 metres, for the view north over Loch Sionascaig to Suilven. The true summit, to the west, is reached only over an exposed scramble with a bad step: leave it unless you are a confident scrambler. Allow about three hours for the 5 km, with about 500 metres of climbing, and wear boots. In wind, rain or low cloud the crest is no place to be, and from November to February be on the path by 11am to be down in daylight.
29 min by car
The Seaforth
Lunch
Lunch is in Ullapool, 29 minutes' drive away. Park in the Highland Council car park on Latheron Lane, where the signs set the charge, and walk down to the Seaforth on Quay Street. It serves food every day from noon to 9pm, and its fish and chips won Best Fish & Chips North at the Scottish Fish & Chip Awards in 2023. There's a fire in the bar in winter, and dogs are welcome there. If it's full, Deli-Ca-Sea, round the corner, does award-winning fish and chips from noon.
If it rains
In rain, wind or low cloud, leave the hill out: Stac Pollaidh's crest is exposed and the views are the reason to go. Go straight to the Seaforth for lunch by the fire and keep the climb for a clear day.
Worth a detour
- Ardmair Bay
The A835 into Ullapool runs right along Ardmair's curving shingle bay, 3 miles north of the town, with Isle Martin offshore. Pull into the long roadside lay-by for ten minutes on the stones to stretch tired legs; it adds about a minute of driving.
Cult Cafe, a café in Ullapool.
Ceilidh Place, a café in Ullapool.
Photograph by Laszlo Zavori via Google