THE BROOM 291 



peculiarly fickle habit, and one hesitates to make positive 

 statements about its doings without specially watching the 

 particular locality under review. It is comparatively rare, 

 however, to catch a sea- trout in the Ullapool. Certain local 

 folks know quite a lot about how to catch them by net at 

 the mouths of the rivers in the neighbourhood. 



THE BROOM 



A vast amount of erosion has taken place in the glen down 

 which the Broom flows. Loch Broom, the sea loch, must at 

 one time have been the site of a great glacier, which ground its 

 way over the rocky boss upon which the village of Ullapool 

 now stands, and prepared the way for the entrance of the sea 

 as it now exists. The river in its course to the sea flows in a 

 sinuous fashion, now at one side, now at the other of the great 

 post-glacial river. 



It is formed by the junction of two streams of the Braemore 

 Forest, the confluence being about 4| miles from the sea at the 

 head of Loch Broom. The general direction is N.N.W. The 

 two streams are the Droma and the Cuileig. The former comes 

 from a loch of the same name, and receives on its left, about a 

 mile below Loch Droma, a burn coming from a little circular 

 loch 1,831 feet above sea-level, which nestles at the foot of the 

 great hills Sguir Mhor, Sguir-nan-Clach Geala, and their out- 

 lying ridges, which occupy the space between the two head 

 streams. The Cuileig flows from Loch-a-Bhraoin (Vruin), a 

 sheet of water about 2| miles long, lying amidst magnificent 

 hills, and fed by streams from the Dundonnell Forest. It 

 contains some splendid trout, and the outlines of many monsters 

 taken from it adorn the walls of the fishing lodge which stands 

 at the end of the loch for the temporary accommodation of 

 Braemore anglers. On the one occasion when I had the 

 opportunity of visiting the spot in wild weather we did not 

 catch any monsters, and I understand they do not compete 

 for the lure of the sportsman with that avidity which so 

 becomes large trout in the angler's eyes. Nevertheless, as 

 will be understood by all who have been privileged to receive 

 Inverbroom hospitality in Lady Fowler's time, we contrived 

 to enjoy ourselves immensely, 



