Look out onto the gentle waters of Loch Ewe and it’s hard to believe it’s a sea loch, for waves rarely crash here.

It was this sheltered location that attracted the Royal Navy’s Arctic Fleet during WWII. This was a place they could comfortably rest before making perilous sorties west to ferry supplies to Russia.

These convoys included American and Canadian naval forces too and it all had quite an impact on the otherwise remote village of Aultbea.

The village’s Russian Arctic Convoy Museum (Birchburn, Aultbea, IV22 2HZ; this entry’s map location) details all this and remembers the period with a large and intriguing collection of artefacts from the period.

Food & Lodging

Altbea has B&B options, a general store provides basic groceries.