Loopallu beer tent is the perfect distraction
WE motorcycled down to Loopallu in a Ford Focus.
Yes, you read that last bit correct; motorcycled in a Ford Focus... We do like to be different.
We also like to stay alive, wherever possible. And as my front wheel master brake cylinder was kaput I decided, wisely for once, that if I went by my otherwise trusty Yamaha Drag Star there was every possibility I would be too! (Kaput, that is...)
BY had absolutely no excuse. Except he didn’t want to get cold or wet. Neither was likely, I tried to explain, as the west coast had been given one of the best weather forecasts for ages.
Still, at least James McCaughey did the decent thing (to retain the group’s credibility) and motorbiked his way down on his Harley "to the place that time forgot". Flash git.
We did think about wearing our leathers and crash helmets in the car but thought we’d end up acting out the role of Lombard RAC rallyists on the twisty single-track road between Lairg and Ledmore Junction — not a good idea; there are usually cars coming the other way.
So we sauntered down, stopping off at the Croft Inn for an all-day breakfast with an extra portion of Aultbea black pudding. Truly, life can’t be all bad.
The Loopallu website is very honest.
"On paper they said it wouldn’t work," reveals Team Loopallu.
"A festival in late September in a remote village on the west coast of Scotland 60 miles from the nearest town but here we are, seven years later, having had the likes of Paolo Nutini, Mumford & Sons, Franz Ferdinand and this year’s headliners The Fratellis and Scouting for Girls grace our little stage."
A small event with a line-up that sometimes overshadows mainstream festivals, Loopallu, to its credit, has been gaining a well-deserved reputation as a fun and family-friendly weekend that "punches above its weight".
According to Grazia magazine it’s: "the place to finish off the summer". While The Scotsman reckons it has the "classiest festival food ever seen".
So, despite BY’s misgivings, we arrive in glorious sunshine and make our way straight to the beer tent.
With its magnificent setting by the shores of Loch Broom the heady sea tang is instantly intoxicating.
Or was that something to do with the range of real ales which we, as connoisseurs, felt obliged to sample?
I take my duties as a Caithness Courier columnist very seriously —despite what you might think.
So I was armed with my digital SLR Cannon camera, two lenses, notepad and pens and I had, of course, briefed myself fully on the band line-up.
NOT that it mattered in the end.
We just got so carried away with the joie de vivre and, frankly, missed most of the bands. Or to be more precise, by the time we variously made our ways from the beer tent to the main stage most bands were finishing their set so we had to about turn and wait until the changeover for the next band.
It was a question of timing, I guess.
We saw a lot, heard a little and the pages of incomprehensible notes I made were impossibly difficult to decipher the following morning... I’m sorry.
Now before the editor, who may be reading this, thinks I’m a complete waste of space let’s just concentrate on the positives. The weather that weekend was glorious. The Loopallu setting was magnificent. It had a real family party atmosphere. There was an army of camper vans and folk with tents who turned Ullapool into a cool cosmopolitan hot spot.
The Scotsman was right. The food was exceptionally good. Hog roasts, Aberdeen Angus steaks, chocolate dips, kebabs, you name it!
There were plenty of sideshow entertainments for the kids: kite-making, masquerade masks, face-painting and you could even decorate your wellies.
There was an under-canvas cinema showing a selection of films made by Highlands and Islands film-makers. And most of the pubs in the village had a fringe programme made up of artists who were appearing at the festival itself.
The main acts were The Fratellis, Kassidy and Scouting for Girls... didn’t see any of them.
I liked the quirky Public Service Broadcasting, replete with cinematic imagery and voice-overs they also had a fascinating fusion of drums, lasers and synthesizers that reminded me, somehow, of Gary Numan and Devo. But by that stage I think we had copiously sampled the full range of the real ale beer tent...
I did like the changeover band Davy & The Hosebeast who had the crowds boogieing in the beer tent to cover versions of The Jam, Elvis Costello and Stiff Little Fingers.
Rachel Sermanni & The Ladies, who had earlier that day played on the main stage – apparently – were brilliant later that night playing part of the festival fringe in the Ferry Boat Inn. Her debut album Under Mountains is out now and currently number two in the Indie Breakers Album Chart. She’s one to watch!
I must admit I did think about our own Ryan Cook and his army of public-spirited volunteers who, for the last three years now, have put together Wick’s very own Bfest.
I think the potential of Bfest is enormous. It could put Wick back on the map. The town certainly needs the economic injection that events like music festivals can bring to an otherwise struggling community.
So while I doubt Ryan gets much — if indeed any — public funding I do hope Highlands and Islands Enterprise will be kindly disposed to our northernmost music festival and cough up some much-needed dosh.
The Northern Nashville Caithness Country Music Festival at Halkirk, for example, continues to be a roaring success attracting an international line-up and visitors from far and wide. More power to their elbow I say!
And another thing about Loopallu — the beer was good!