Aultbea

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title: "Aultbea" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-ross-and-cromarty"] topic_path: "general/populated-places-in-ross-and-cromarty" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aultbea" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

FieldValue
countryScotland
static_imageThe Aultbea Hotel.jpg
static_image_captionThe Aultbea Hotel on the foreshore
official_nameAultbea
gaelic_nameAn t-Allt Beithe
population370
os_grid_referenceNG872890
map_typeScotland
label_positionleft
coordinates
civil_parishGairloch
unitary_scotlandHighland
constituency_westminsterRoss, Skye and Lochaber
constituency_scottish_parliamentCaithness, Sutherland and Ross
post_townACHNASHEEN
postcode_districtIV22
postcode_areaIV
dial_code01445
::

| country = Scotland | static_image = The Aultbea Hotel.jpg | static_image_caption = The Aultbea Hotel on the foreshore | official_name = Aultbea | scots_name = | gaelic_name = An t-Allt Beithe | population = 370 | os_grid_reference = NG872890 | map_type = Scotland | label_position = left | coordinates = | civil_parish = Gairloch | unitary_scotland = Highland | lieutenancy_scotland = | constituency_westminster = Ross, Skye and Lochaber | constituency_scottish_parliament = Caithness, Sutherland and Ross | post_town = ACHNASHEEN | postcode_district = IV22 | postcode_area = IV | dial_code = 01445

Aultbea (Gaelic: An t-Allt Beithe) is a small coastal fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about 30 km west of Ullapool. The village has a primary school and a small post office.

Aultbea has two churches, a shop, a masonic lodge and a Café & Gift Shop, Oran Na Mara, located just below the Drumchork Hotel. , a third small church was under construction. Aultbea has a NATO refuelling base which serves large ships. There is an annual "fun day" when people from the village and surrounding area play football or other activities, or socialise over home-baked scones.

The village has two hotels. The Aultbea Hotel and the former Drumchork Lodge Hotel, where the Loch Ewe Distillery was located until its closure in 2017. The Drumchork hotel closed in 2021. However, the Aultbea Hotel re-opened under new management in 2022.

The nearest airport is in Stornoway, although that is located on the Isle of Lewis and thus not convenient for onward travel to Aultbea. The closest mainland airport is located near Inverness, which is about 83 miles away. The nearest railway station is at Achnasheen, which has trains either to Inverness or westwards through the scenic village Plockton to Kyle of Lochalsh. There is also a ferry service to the Isle of Lewis in the relatively nearby town of Ullapool. This service was once proposed to be based in Aultbea but due to Aultbea's remote setting, Ullapool was granted the ferry port. In 1893, a rail track to Aultbea was planned but again the decision went against the village as demand for such a service was expected to be low.

Sport

Together with the nearby village of Gairloch, Aultbea has an amateur football team – Gairloch Aultbea United or GA United. Most of the local population support Scottish Premier League side Ross County F.C., based in Dingwall, 70 mi away, as this is the closest league team to the Aultbea area.

Attractions

Aultbea offers sandy beaches as well as rocky shores, all of which look out at the Isle of Ewe. Scattered around the area are the remains of World War II buildings and barracks. Next to the local football pitch is a display board, which describes the role of the buildings in detail. Aultbea has views out to Cove and the Isle of Lewis, as well as the nearby Torridon Hills.

Geography and climate

The coast is affected by the North Atlantic Drift, bringing relatively warm waters. These are ideal for jellyfish, which can swarm the local waters, as well as visiting dolphins. The Northern Lights are visible on occasion depending on the weather and time of year, around the equinox being best. The record lowest temperature is amongst the highest in the UK. The lowest temperature was recorded on 17 December 2010. On 22 February 2019, Aultbea recorded its warmest February day on record, with 16.5 °C. As of 19:11 GMT on 22 February it was the warmest place in the UK with 16.2 °C. This was then beaten the next day, with a temperature of 16.8 °C. |location = Aultbea 11m amsl |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C= 15.5 |Feb record high C= 16.8 |Mar record high C= 18.1 |Apr record high C= 24.5 |May record high C= 26.6 |Jun record high C= 27.6 |Jul record high C= 30.0 |Aug record high C= 28.3 |Sep record high C= 30.2 |Oct record high C= 21.4 |Nov record high C= 19.5 |Dec record high C= 16.6 |year record high C= |Jan high C = 7.6 |Feb high C = 7.6 |Mar high C = 8.8 |Apr high C = 11.0 |May high C = 13.8 |Jun high C = 15.6 |Jul high C = 17.2 |Aug high C = 16.9 |Sep high C = 15.2 |Oct high C = 12.5 |Nov high C = 9.8 |Dec high C = 8.0 |year high C = |Jan low C = 2.7 |Feb low C = 2.5 |Mar low C = 3.5 |Apr low C = 4.6 |May low C = 6.7 |Jun low C = 9.2 |Jul low C = 11.4 |Aug low C = 11.3 |Sep low C = 9.6 |Oct low C = 7.5 |Nov low C = 5.0 |Dec low C = 3.0 |year low C = |Jan record low C= -6.5 |Feb record low C= -5.6 |Mar record low C= -6.2 |Apr record low C= -3.7 |May record low C= -1.5 |Jun record low C= 1.5 |Jul record low C= 4.7 |Aug record low C= 4.7 |Sep record low C= 0.8 |Oct record low C= -0.4 |Nov record low C= -7.6 |Dec record low C= -8.5 |year record low C= |unit rain days= 1.0 mm |precipitation colour = green |Jan rain mm = 170.4 |Feb rain mm = 129.4 |Mar rain mm = 133.8 |Apr rain mm = 74.9 |May rain mm = 70.5 |Jun rain mm = 77.4 |Jul rain mm = 74.8 |Aug rain mm = 97.3 |Sep rain mm = 141.3 |Oct rain mm = 164.7 |Nov rain mm = 172.3 |Dec rain mm = 160.8 |year rain mm= |Jan rain days = 20.8 |Feb rain days = 16.8 |Mar rain days = 20.1 |Apr rain days = 14.2 |May rain days = 13.3 |Jun rain days = 13.8 |Jul rain days = 14.6 |Aug rain days = 16.4 |Sep rain days = 17.8 |Oct rain days = 21.6 |Nov rain days = 20.2 |Dec rain days = 19.5 |year rain days= |Jan sun = 28.1 |Feb sun = 56.5 |Mar sun = 86.3 |Apr sun = 128.0 |May sun = 172.2 |Jun sun = 140.7 |Jul sun = 125.7 |Aug sun = 119.7 |Sep sun = 96.9 |Oct sun = 67.6 |Nov sun = 35.0 |Dec sun = 23.2 |year sun = |source = Met Office,{{cite web | url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gf7cpszvp | title = Aultbea Climate Period: 1981–2010 | publisher = Met Office | accessdate = 28 October 2015 | url = http://voodooskies.com/weather/united-kingdom/aultbea/monthly/temperature | title = Aultbea Extremes | publisher = Voodoo Skies | accessdate = 28 October 2015 | url = https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?lang=en&ind=03034&ano=2019&mes=2&day=22&hora=18&min=0&ndays=30 | title = Aultbea (United Kingdom) | publisher = Eldorado | accessdate = 22 February 2019 |date=February 2019}}

Places to go

Loch Ewe Distillery in Drumchork was the smallest licensed distillery of Scotland but has been closed for some years. There are many fishing hotspots in nearby rivers and lochs, and many walks into the hills and the nearby Laide Wood.

The Arctic Convoy Museum commemorates the Arctic convoys of World War II.

References

References

  1. "Aultbea".
  2. "Aultbea Hotel".
  3. Limited, Highlands and Islands Airports. "Inverness Airport".
  4. "Live Weather Top Twenty - Highs and Lows - Netweather.tv".
  5. "Synop report summary".
  6. "Loch Ewe {{!}} Scotch Whisky".
  7. "Arctic Convoy Museum in Birchburn".

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