Ullapool

I visited Ullapool some years ago and enjoyed this area in the far north west of Scotland. It was great to be able to visit again. We spent a week in a small cottage a few miles outside of town on Ardmair Bay.

Most of our surveys were 1+ hour drive to the north, on the Assynt peninsula, where we were looking for the Large Heath butterfly.

In sunshine, the area is amazing and the views over the coast are superb. However, in the rain the area is decidedly more bleak!

We spent several long days trudging in wellies through the heathland, counting cotton grasses and looking for the butterflies. Most of our surveys were successful, and we got to visit some amazing places including surveying in view of the mighty Suilven.

In Scotland, the colours of the Large Heath butterfly are a bit more subdued and the eyespots on the underside are indistinct if not absent.

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=tullia

We also saw some other amazing wildlife including common lizards and the wonderful great sundew (Drosera anglica), a carniverous plant that was abundant in some of the heathlands. One site had hundreds of colourful Magpie moths, but sadly that's not the species we were looking for!