Ullapool seal puts on a show for Viking Neptune passengers as cruise liner hits Loch Broom in glorious conditions
HUNDREDS of visitors to a Wester Ross port enjoyed a free ‘show’ and glorious sunshine when their cruise ship came calling earlier today.
The Viking Neptune is classed as a small ship but is still around 745 ft (288 metres) long and carries up to 930 passengers.
Local photographer Steven Gourlay took these stunning images revealing the perfect conditions enjoyed by visitors arriving by sea in Ullapool earlier today.
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On this occasion there were 913 passengers on board, the majority of them American. Viking Neptune had arrived from Belfast and is en route to Orkney.
Ullapool Harbour Trust earlier posted: “It's been a summer to forget weather-wise, extra cold and wet. So days like today make life worth living. We have Viking Neptune here, passengers vastly entertained by the harbour seal and bemused by the sunshine.”
The attention-seeking seal, Sammy, reportedly entertained onlookers by gobbling fish - and inspired the purchase of a few seal-related postcards in a local bookshop.
Poor weather during the season resulted in a number of call-offs but this year Ullapool will welcome about 40 ships with a similar picture shaping up for next year.
Smaller cruise ships tend to visit the Wester Ross port tailored to fit the local infrastructure and spread over a season from March/April through to September.
The visitors provide a welcome boost to local retailers with many choosing to shop and eat locally.
Cruise ships visiting Ullapool tend to be carry no more than 1200 passengers at most - considerably fewer than some of the mega liners arriving at the deepwater port of Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth.
It has been a good week for Ullapool with the award of a national accolade recognising the success of its £10m shorefront redevelopment.
Shore excursions advertised by Viking Cruises for Ullapool include the village itself, Knockan Crag, Assynt, Inverewe Gardens and the Singleton of Glen Ord distillery, plus the village of Beauly.
