Posts Tagged With: Scotland

The Long Journey Home

Posted on October 13, 2021 by julieallen36

We are home now and it’s taken us nearly two days to get here from Dornie! Well, ok 6 hours from Dornie to Carlisle and then another 4 hours form there to home today. Phew.

Fabulous journey though as we opted for a different route back to Carlisle, through the imposing Glencoe and then through the Trossachs via Callander rather than Loch Lomond. The weather was fine for most of the drive and the Autumn colours were really starting to be at their best especially around Loch Lubnaig. Both areas look like we need to go and spend more time there.

As a final treat I took Jane to see the Kelpies at Falkirk. It was a relatively short detour but also meant we didn’t have to drive back through the centre of Glasgow. The Kelpies came into view from the M9 looming over the motorway as we approached the exit. They’re really impressive and it was a fitting end to our grand adventure.

Tomorrow I need to go and see the garage about the bottom of my car falling off.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Glencoe, Scotland | 10 Comments

Around Dornie

Posted on October 13, 2021 by julieallen36

I loved our AirBNB overlooking Loch Long and Loch Alsh. We lived up a road called Camuslongart and it was so so peaceful there. I wished we’d had longer to just sit and stare across the water but we have been so busy trying to make the most of our time seeing different places. We did get to see a seal here and herons regularly gave us a fly past but the otters remained elusive.

The light and weather changed constantly and I tried to capture it in paint a couple of times. More work needed still on both now. Here are just a few photos to show just how much the view changed whilst we were here. It includes a picture of Eilean Donan Castle which you could actually see from our kitchen window! Its one of the most iconic Scottish castles originally fortified in the 13th century. It played a major part in the Jacobite risings in the 17th and 18th centuries and more recently in the films Highlander and James Bond The World is not Enough (1999). We didn’t actually visit just sneaked in the car park to take some pics.

Yup, Dornie is a very special place and I’d love to go back and explore on the doorstep a little more.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Dornie, Scotland | Leave a comment

The Baleach na Ba will-she-won’t-she.

Posted on October 12, 2021 by julieallen36

One of the trips I’d been most looking forward to from Dornie, was the trip up to the Applecross Peninsula. Several friends had said this was their favourite part of the Highlands so it came highly recommended. We’d also been advised to book a table for lunch at the Applecross Inn, it can get very busy and they do great seafood.

However, although when we woke up the views across the loch were lovely and calm, as soon as we set off on our journey it began to rain. Today’s variety was very wet rain. There are two roads into Applecross, which is on the east coast of the peninsula. The 23 miles scenic coastal route or the world famous Baleach na Ba. Both roads are part of the NC500 route and the Baleach na Ba is named on the web as the most dangerous road in Scotland! Of course I wanted to try this, it’s a long twisty drive up a road with the steepest, longest climb in the UK and Scotland’s 3rd highest road at 2053 feet. Enid had already said she would not drive today so it was down to me.

The night before I studied the OS map looking at the closeness of the contours and arrows indicating steep bits and hairpin bends. I also checked out the latest reviews on Trip Advisor. It did not make good reading. Lots of people were saying they’d hated it, couldn’t wait to get off it. The main issues people seemed to have were other drivers not using the passing places properly, campervans going up when the signs clearly say they’re not supposed to and fog- making it difficult to see five feet in front of you but also meaning the famous views are nowhere to be seen. I’d made a decision and told the girls I had an announcement to make. I would NOT be driving the Baleach na Ba, I was too scared.

So off we set, taking the much longer scenic coastal route. There was some lovely scenery along the way including really beautiful stands of Scots Pine trees. First of all around Lochcarron and then up and down to Shieldaig where we took a short break. There’s not much here but you could just about see the Torridon mountains and the vague outline of Skye the other way. There was a small general store where we bought lots of presents for folk back home. It was a popular store for such a small place but the shopkeeper was busy on the phone reporting someone who had woken up with a cough that morning……hand sanitiser girls!

Then we started on the coastal road proper which is really just a tarmac track which winds its way up the bumpy coastal route. Again the scenery was lovely but long distance views quite limited today. However, were weren’t necessarily looking for views today. What had been promised was highland cows on the road and red roofed buildings so iconic of this part of the world! It was a slow drive with just a few stops as we’d been warned not to arrive late for lunch. We found the iconic building and then just before Applecross there they were – 10 highlands coos and their wee calves standing right beside and in the road, near a passing bay. You’re not supposed to park in the passing places but I couldn’t resist. Out we all got in the rain. We totally forgot that they may not be that friendly as they looked so docile! In fact the first one we passed in the car was so still, Jane and Enid thought it was a dummy cow! Joyce tried to put her hand out to one that was very close to the car but got an abrupt ’pffnnuffh’ warning her off.

By now other cars were starting to arrive so we had to move on but my mission today had been accomplished! Happily we drove on into Applecross, not caring that there were no views and it was still absolutely pouring. We were a bit early for lunch so we did some more shopping in the really tasteful gift shop there called The Coalshed. Whilst we waited our turn to go in we chatted to some motorcyclists from California who were riding from Inverness to a remote part of Skye today. They were excited about going up the Baleach na Ba next…….

We went for our lunch at the Applecross Inn eating all sorts of traditional scottish fare, haggis, oatcakes, smoked salmon, dressed crab and Cranachan for pudding! It was very good and had a nice atmosphere. Loads of people turned up to get a table but were turned away to get a snack from the airstream parked outside and the sit in The Lambing Shed to eat. Yes, we were smug and warm.

As the meal finished I got chatting to the barmaid who looked at me like I was mad when I said I was too chicken to drive the Baleach na Ba. She said it’d be fine unless it was cloudy, it was quite quiet at this time of year and it was much easier to go back this way. Hmm……I’d already had a text from my friend Leera, telling me to do it, it was EASY. So, I told the girls I’d changed my mind and we were going to do it, even though I now felt slightly ill at the thought of it!

But outside, it was still raining and I could see clouds swirling over the hills opposite. Nope…we weren’t going to do it. Joyce and Jane looked disappointed, Enid looked relieved. Back in the car we got, there are some nice walks around Applecross but not today.

As we got to the harmless looking junction, with the big warning signs about the perils of driving the Baleach na Ba, I stopped the car. Hm…..heart said yes, head so nooooooooo! I knew I’d really regret it if I didn’t so I turned right and off we started up the famous, dreaded road! Now I’d made my decision I was fine and I’d just take my time. It started off ok, a bit windy, definitely narrow but generally you could see the way ahead and so stop in passing places to let approaching cars go by. But as we climbed higher we did start to enter the clouds and oh dear, I could no longer see very far ahead at all. Now I gripped the wheel even harder. Luckily, there were not too many other cars doing the trip today. When we reached the viewpoint car park at the top there were no views at all back down to Applecross so we just carried on. We did get some views on the other side and now you could see the really long stretch of steep road that you have to climb up in 1st gear! No cars at all on it today so it was an easy drive down, hurrah. The hairpin bends were fine too and as we descended out of the cloud I think we were all mightily relieved. As we came down we saw a campervan parked at the side of the road and just behind it a lone red deer stag looking majestic. It was a fitting end to an exhilarating drive.

It had probably taken about 40 minutes to drive back this way but it was still another 50 minutes back to Dornie. We stopped at another lovely gallery and gift shop on Lochcarron and then returned home. What a very splendid day it had been.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Applecross, Baleach na Ba, Scotland | 2 Comments

Fairy Pools and a Castle on Skye

Posted on October 11, 2021 by julieallen36

Today we returned to the Isle of Skye. It was my turn to drive and our itinerary was a little simpler than yesterday. First we would go and have a look at the Fairy Pools of Instagram and then on to Dunvegan Castle. I’d also originally planned to include a visit to the Talisker Whisky (thanks Mike for the educational video informing me that yesterday I got my spelling wrong. No ’e’ in scottish whisky!). However, we’d heard that there was no tour going on at the distillery and we’d had our own tasting at the pub last night, so didn’t think we’d just go to their shop at Carbost. We got in the car and put in the postcode for the fairy pools car park and it said it was going to take two hours. Eek.

The view across our loch wasn’t too bad when we woke up having our breakfast but as we drove down the kyle it got worse and worse, yes lots of rain and mist and Skye nowhere to be seen. However, no sooner had I commented on this and we started crossing the Skye Bridge, it cleared and we had magnificent views of the Cuillins aglow in the morning sun. To start with we followed the same route up towards Portree but at Sligachan Bridge, we’d turn off towards Dunvegan on the A863. I planned to stop at Sligachan to take some photos of the old bridge with the mountains in the background but by now it was pouring again so we didn’t bother to stop.

On we went on a very good, re -tarmacked road and after about an hour and a half we finally joined the single track road down into Glennbrittle. There were lots of very polite drivers on this road carefully using the passing places to get along. The girls in the car were playing ’Only Connect’ to amuse themselves but I was just staring at the incredible scenery looming ahead of me. Wow!

4 miles before the sat nav said we should, we found the sign for the car park for the Fairy Pools. It was incredibly well organised with a one-way system, lovely toilets and plenty of spaces to park. I’d read that it had only been built this Summer and it was all a bit of a nightmare before that.

You could clearly see the walk up ahead. Yes, the rain had cleared just in time again. It’s really just a small, lively river pouring down from the incredible arch of rocks behind. The path was quite exciting too as we had to get across several lots of stepping stones, some more tricky than others! With a helping hand and use of walking poles we all got across safely if not as gazelle like as some of the young campervanners. There were lots of people doing this walk, again of all nationalities but I guess I’d kind of expected that as it is so famously photographed.

On we went and eventually started to find the Fairy Pools proper. It’s a series of Crystal-clear pools and waterfalls , very tempting to swim. There were even some mad crazies taking a dip today. The pools really are quite lovely and as you walk up they’re all slightly different so you just keep going. Strangely, there is no great tarn at the top. I’m not quite sure how long it took us but as we turned to retrace our steps….it started to rain and the wind started to push us about. Yuk. We scrambled to get out waterproof trousers on whilst Jane said she’d helpfully left hers in the car. However, the shower soon passed and we all got blow dried on the way back up to the car. It really had been worth the visit and we’d all enjoyed the walk.

By now it was 2-30 and time to make our way up the island to Dunvegan Castle. It was another long drive to get there mainly along the western coast. Its a lovely quiet, good road so I made good time. Yesterday, we stopped a lot to take in the views, today I was more determined just to get there but there was some lovely scenery along the route, especially where you come across the little villages of tiny white crofters cottages. By now of course we were all getting hungry as we had not brought a picnic today. Surely, on a Sunday there’d be a nice tearoom in one of these little villages. Aha, here we are The Bog Myrtle Cafe…it looked a bit run down and the girls weren’t sure they fancied it. Not to worry it was closed. In fact everything along the road was very much closed. Until we reached Dunvegan itself where there was a petrol station and it even had some diesel. So I refilled and we stocked up on Garage Buffet. A note on petrol: there was been absolutely no problem getting petrol the whole time we’ve been travelling. We also passed an organic cafe/bakery here where they were queuing up the street to get in.

We had our tasty snacks in the car park of the castle before going in. The sun was shining so we decided to walkaround the gardens first. They were very lovely and full of Autumnal colours, it had a tumbling water garden, a walled garden and even offered seal trips down by the harbour (closed on Sunday). Then the wind whipped up again so we made a dash for the castle. Its not particularly attractive outside I have to say, is it covered in 60s concrete? but inside it was rather grand especially the dining room. It is the ancestral home of the chief of the MacLeod clan and has been for 800 years. The current MacLeod of MacLeod Chief is called Hugh Magnus MacLeod who was born in London and works as a TV director. There were some great paintings of his ancestors on the walls, most of them were called Norman but his great grandma Flora was also made chief when she was only 9 years old.

There was also a room full of historical artefacts such as the Fairy Flag which being very old (4th century?) was rather tattered but has magical powers when taken into battle. I’m really not sure what all this mention of Fairies is all about. We didn’t see any at the waterfalls and there wasn’t a picture of a fairy on the flag but Wikipedia tells me there are ’elf dots’ on the flag. Hm.

We watched a video in the basement room for a while about the history. The nice man narrating had a lovely, soothing voice and it was warm and cosy down there so we all started to nod off. It was time to go! Back on the two hour drive home. All in good weather and easy driving. Hurrah! Except at Sligachan Bridge where it was still drizzling so we didn’t stop again. We did stop at the Coop in Broadford for some supplies of Red Skye beer and enjoyed a night in with Steak a la Jane and a rematch of Yahtzee which I won. Yahtzee in 1s on my first turn. Luck of the Fairies.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, MacLeod, Scotland | 1 Comment

Skye scenery overload

Posted on October 10, 2021 by julieallen36

Yesterday was our first trip to Skye from here in Dornie. The weather forecast was for rain up until 2pm and then getting slightly better. This meant we had a fairly leisurely morning before Enid set off on the drive to the Misty Isle. We drove over the modern Skye Bridge and then onwards.

My plan for the day was to explore The Trotternish Peninsula , there is a circular route but it took us ages to even get to Portree. I quickly adapted my planning realising we were highly unlikely to fit everything in in half a day. Good decision.

As it was pouring with rain we stopped first in Portree, had a quick look down on the colourful cottages but then retreated out of the rain and into The Merchants Bar. It’s part of the same hotel and restaurant (Dulce and Brose) where we had hoped to eat but where it was booked up for the whole of October when I tried to book in August! Anyway, a very grumpy Russian barman agreed to serve us drinks. We sat watching a real fire blaze on the flat screen TV. Jane and I tried the Red Skye beer which was very good. The bar had a fine display of whiskey’s but it was a little early for that……yet.

As we left the rain stopped and the sun tried its best to shine. We had a stroll through the town square and found MacKenzies bakery where I treated myself to a couple of naughty looking tarts for later.

Then our tour proper began. The road was pretty rough and we’d already driven past the magnificent Cuillins getting glimpses through the mists. They’re truly spectacular when the sunlight catches them and very different to anything I’ve seen in the Lakes etc.

On poor Enid drove, up the eastern side of the peninsula along the A855. I used my OS map app to follow our route and its brilliant because I can see exactly where we are on the road and spot viewpoints, waterfalls, car parking ahead. This meant that we stopped at some of the places I’d always planned for us but other little laybys too. Mind you, we were not the only ones doing this and it was surprising just how many tourists including American’s, Russian’s and Japanese were following the same route.

So, our main stops today were The Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls (which tumbles over the basalt cliffs). The weather did get better and better although as we walked up to The Old Man of Storr the mists were very much swirling around and we decided not to take the full 1-2 hour trek up.

As we got up to Staffin (famous for its huge dinosaur footprints) we all decided that the most important thing now was the loo. Maybe there would be a hotel or tearoom in the next village , there was but it was closed. 3pm on a Saturday? What? We spotted a lane with a sign that said ’To the Beach’. Surely on a Saturday, there would be a teashop with a toilet down there. Down the terrible single track road we went. There was nothing , but a steady stream of cars coming along. Admittedly, the views here were absolutely fabulous but Jane said she had ’scenery overload’ and would not take any more photos until we found a toilet! There was a fabulous beach here with a backdrop of green fields of tiny crofts and spectacular mountains. Anyway…toilets…

Enid drove on a little further in the hope that ’PC’ on the OS map meant ’Public Convenience’ but no such luck. We decided to turnaround and we stopped at a tiny petrol station and I told the nice man our plight, asking if there was a public loo nearby. He said that there was in the Community Hall exactly a mile back along the road. Hurrah, it turned out the Community Hall was attached to the Mace store and I can report that it’s loos were very much a highlight of our trip.

So, we’d only really completed half of the trip I’d planned and the Fairy Glen would have to wait for another time. We drove back along the same road and Enid was keen to get home fast, until we hit a huge pothole at about 60mph! The pub we’d planned to eat at was closed for a private function so we decided instead to get back to Dornie and have dinner at The Clachan Pub just across the water from us.

What a brilliant turn of fate this was. We had a great evening with splendid food. Then we decided to have our own whiskey tasting. We enjoyed comparing the Speyside Balvenie with the local Skye Talisker. I don’t actually like whiskey at all but felt I had to join in. In fact, after a couple of sips I found I rather liked the smoky, peaty Talisker! The evening was rounded off nicely when the very handsome man in the kilt agreed to have his photo taken with me. He was off to a wedding and looked very splendid indeed.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Isle of Skye, Scotland, Whiskey | Leave a comment

Plockton pics

Posted on October 9, 2021 by julieallen36

Here are just a few of the photos we took at Plockton yesterday. History update from Enid….it all started with herring fishing.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Plockton, Scotland | 3 Comments

Moving on to Dornie near Skye

Posted on October 9, 2021 by julieallen36

The next day it was time to move onto our next destination, the tiny village of Dornie on Loch Long near The Kyle of Lochalsh. We had quite a bit of time before we could check in so we took a slight detour in order to get there. Today it was pouring with rain and it was incredible to compare places we’d been yesterday in such glorious weather! How lucky we had been.

The route took us back up to Appin and then onto Fort William where I had hoped to get at least a glimpse of Ben Nevis. However, it was all covered in cloud and the town itself is full of nasty looking carbuncles. Our stop here was for the world famous Marks and Spencer foodhalls on the Retail park. It was a fine experience with visitor toilets and cafe. We re- stocked our supplies as we weren’t sure when or where we’d find civilisation again.

We then drove along various lochs which I pointed out to Jane as we whizzed past. She seemed little interested as now the Sleepy Bears had turned into Grumpy ones. Loch Lochy and then our detour to Loch Ness at Fort Augustus. Here we had to wait to cross the Caledonian Canal as the locks were opened to let boats through. We parked up and walked along to the viewpoint. Hmm well at least the rain had finally stopped and we watched as people took their large rental cruisers out onto the loch. Like campervans on water- looked quite appealing.

We wandered along by the flight of locks and into a few of the tourist shops. It was really quite busy here but cuter than Fort William.

Next we drove a little further along Loch Ness (no sign of anything) before turning off onto the A87 at Invermoriston. There are apparently some good waterfalls here but unfortunately I got a bit confused in some roadworks so we drove straight past. Up through the pine forests we now drove on a very good straight road with no-one else on it. Our next stop was the Redburn Cafe which was somewhere along this road. Why on earth would anyone open a cafe up here when no-one drives past? I’d found it in Trip Advisor #1 cafe in Glen Moriston. No wonder. Mind you apart from the attractive menu it also offered a bonus of some photogenic Highland Cattle. We went inside out of the pouring rain and it was lovely. A very nice couple running it and just us and one other very quiet couple eating a piece of cake.

We went full on traditional cafe for a wet afternoon – ham, egg n chips, cullen skink x 2 and a sarnie and Jane had a baked spud. The apple pie looked particularly good but we resisted. I enquired as to the whereabouts of the wee coos. They were just across the road in the field and so off we went to say hello. We soon found Misty and Nessie who came to the fence to greet us – thinking we’d bought a £1 bag of food for them at the cafe. Unlucky coos. They were lovely and obliged us with a nice photoshoot.

Then we were on our way again with another 50 minute drive over to Dornie. As we left the forests and drove down to sea-level the scenery changed considerably. Now we were driving through huge, dramatic mountains and I think we could even see over to Skye for the first time. The mountains were a really odd colour up here caused by the grass covering them. Orange-Green is the only way to describe it.

We arrived at our new little cottage Camuslongart right by the lochside. It is absolutely perfect with beautiful views across the mirror like loch. We are right at the end of the lane and it’s incredibly peaceful. The sunroom looks out over the water so its a great place to see the wildlife without getting wet. Of course we are all hoping for otters!

Yesterday we ventured out to nearby Plockton reasonably early as rain was forecast by 2pm. The sun actually shone for us and when we arrived it was like we were the only ones in the place. The tide was in and we wandered about taking in the breath- taking beauty at every turn.

By 12-30 it was pouring ahead of schedule so we visited the small gift shop and then got back in the steamed up car. Now the tide was out, there were more visitors and it was all a bit gloomy. We left feeling rather smug and decided to head back to our cosy cottage for a relaxing afternoon. I decided to try to paint the view over the loch with my oils. Very enjoyable trying to capture the changing light but it still needs a bit of work.

As it got a bit darker I spotted a nice flock of birds and got the binocs out for a closer view. They were just seagulls but as I looked down I spotted a head moving in the water. The others spotted it too and we agreed that it was a seal because it just bobbed its head down and was gone. Otters, on the other hand, dive head first followed by their tail (thank you Andrew for this tip). He didn’t resurface but it was nice we came to greet us.

The evening closed with a curry courtesy of Joyce and a game of Yahtzee. All very 1976 reminiscent – well maybe not so much the curry.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Isle of Skye, Plockton, Scotland | Leave a comment

Warning- use of drones

Posted on October 9, 2021 by julieallen36

I forgot to mention this yesterday. Shortly after Dave had successfully circled Castle Stalker with his pet drone, we found this sign stuck to a tree a little further on. I hope they can’t track him down to arrest him. In the meantime, you can see it did take a rather good photo of us. I still think Dave needs to give his drone a name- any suggestions?

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Castle Stalker, Drones, Scotland | Leave a comment

Port Appin and a lovely lunch

Posted on October 8, 2021 by julieallen36

Good Morning campers! I’ve rather lost track of what day it is but I do know that I missed out posting yesterday so apologies that you had to eat your porridge with nothing to read! The reason is that we were on the move again yesterday and had to be out of Sleepy Bear by 10 so no time for blogging.

Anyway, more of where we are now, later. By the way, talking of things I said I’d get back to you on, I can report that there is a fishing fleet in Oban. When we’ve been back near the piers at different times of day, there have been about 6- 10 trawlers moored up. Still not very big is it, shame.

So, back to a couple of days ago. We woke up to a gorgeous, sunny, slightly cold Autumnal day. Beautiful. After a leisurely breakfast we were on the road for the various points of interest today. Our first stop was The Falls of Lora at Connel Bridge. The bridge itself is pretty impressive and we stopped to start with at the viewpoint. The falls are a natural phenomenon caused by the tidal differences between Loch Etive where the water is trying to flow into the sea at the Firth of Lorn through a very shallow narrows at this point. It causes there to be the appearance of a waterfall of 1.2m. What it actually looks like is a sudden white area of rapids with waves and frothy bits. Right next to me there was a big whirlpool effect which would suddenly start gurgling as if someone had switched it on. There were people canoeing in it and someone even gave a paddle board a go but he didn’t last long. We then drove to the other side of the bridge and had a look at the views from the bridge itself. Well worth doing , if a little scary. We spotted an island with many more seals on it than we’d seen on our wildlife tour!

Next we drove we onto Port Appin, where we were meeting Dave and Jayne for lunch. We arrived at about midday just at low tide and it was absolutely quiet, calm and so peaceful. The views got better and better as the sun got stronger. We took a little wander along the lane back to the arts and gift shop. Jane was very tempted by the cuddly bunny for a friends baby…but we’d forgotten our purses.

Now it was time for lunch and as we walked back Dave and Jayne passed us in their car. We were having lunch at The Pierhouse Restaurant. It’s a fabulous place with terrific views across the loch to Lismore Island and beyond. It was lovely inside too but today the menu seemed a bit more limited than we’d seen online and very much seafood based. We asked for the vegetarian menu to look at further options but the very nice waiter explained that they currently had no electricity to their kitchen and so were having to BBQ everything! Having looked at those options I then settled on a burger! Jane and Dave went all out seafood, especially Dave who was very happy with his seafood platter.

We enjoyed a noisy lunch in this popular spot catching up with Dave and Jayne and all their news of housebuilding down at Campbeltown. For those of you that don’t know, they recently left Lincolnshire for this part of the world and are having their own ’Grandish Design’ built right on the seashore. It’s coming along really well now but they still doubt that they’ll be in for Christmas. They both look really well and tanned and clearly retired life up here is treating them well.

After lunch we exchanged gifts. Dave and Jayne gave us our Christmas presents for the family and I gave them a little painting I’d done of a boat on the loch, from a photo Jayne had taken. We then all went for a short walk across Jubilee Bridge which is a walkaway across the salt marsh here. It has views of Castle Stalker which looked mighty fine today. There were at least 3 professional photographers waiting to take its picture from the beach. Enid gave us her potted history of the castle (it was Castle Aaaaargh in Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Meanwhile, Dave tried out his new drone from the walkway. He did a few fly pasts over towards the castle and as it was so still he seemed to have a very good control of it. I look forward to seeing the video and hope I don’t look too gormless standing there with my mouth open staring at it! Hm, ideas for Xmas presents #2

Trying to keep the group together as we walked along this cycleway was like herding cats as they all stopped to take in different views. Dave and Jayne missed the final views of the castle as they sat in the little slate shelter covered in poetry by the local school kids. We headed back and by now the tide had come in.

We said our farewells to D&J and then headed back and Joyce and I made the most of the hot tub in the pouring rain. How lucky were we that it held off all day?

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Scotland | Leave a comment

Wildlife Tour of Mull

Posted on October 6, 2021 by julieallen36

We were up early yesterday ready for our exciting trip over to Mull. By the time we got down to the port here in Oban the weather was looking very promising. We were on the 8-35 ferry across to Craignurie and it was all very efficient as we boarded. The views of Oban from the boat were wrapped in a wonderful morning glow and we couldn’t decide where to sit or stand for the best views as we took the 40 minutes ride over on our Calmac Ferry. Mull in the distance still looked rather dark and gloomy but Kerrera and Lismore looked lovely as we passed. We passed Duart Castle on the southern tip of Mull but it all looked rather dull and it had scaffolding all around it.

Soon we were pulling into tiny Craignurie and after the cars got off it was our turn, as foot passengers, to head down the car ramp. I could already see a small group gathered around a minibus and figured this must be our new friends for the day. I introduced myself and found Andrew the tour guide and owner of ’WildlifeonMull’. We then all introduced ourselves, there were two other couples taking the tour and it’d be a full minibus with Covid facemasks required at all time on the bus.

The tour took us on a round trip around the centre and southern part of Mull. Andrew would drive along and tell us about this that and the other before we would pull into a parking spot and see what we could see. The weather throughout the day got better and better and we were all so glad that we’d been able to swap days. Andrew kept reassuring us that we would still have had just as much chance of seeing wildlife in the rain but the views today were absolutely stunning. This was now going to be our only visit to Mull on this trip and I was keen to get a good taste of the scenery to see whether we should revisit another time. By the end of the day it was a resounding yes! I could have stopped my car every five minutes for views and mountains (hills), rivers, bridges, ancient oak tree woodlands, beaches, lochs, narrow lanes with sun dappled beech and rowan hedges, tiny cute houses etc etc but today we were on a wildlife mission!

I found it interesting that, despite all of this scenery, Andrew told us that people do not come to Mull to walk. There’s only one ’Munro’ (mountain over 3000ft) , Ben More and people do walk up that, but not really any of the other hills. People come to Mull to see the wildlife and tourism is the mainstay of the island. One if the things that protects Mull from mass tourism is that, except for the road between Craignurie and Tobermory, all of the roads are single track with passing spaces. The locals seem to have this sussed but if you’re a tourist it can be daunting to see a huge truck hurtling down the lane towards you with absolutely no intention of slowing down or stopping. At one point today we drove along one of these single tracks right beside the sea with slope down to our left to the water and a huge vertical rock face to our right. Eek. Andrew told us that this is part of the Isle of Mull rally course, an event which takes place this coming weekend. They have divers strategically placed nearby incase any if the cars slip of the road and into the sea! Good lord.

Anyway, enough of the roads and scenery, what about wildlife, I hear you ask. Well……it didn’t start off too well. The huge White Tailed Sea Eagles had disappeared from their nesting sites on their 2 metre wingspans and were nowhere to be seen. The otters weren’t playing ball and even the red deer were sitting down miles away staring at us.

However, the good thing about the tour with Andrew is that he knows the likely spots around the island for sightings and we stopped often enough that our chances improve. He does have amazing spotter eyes although at some points I seriously doubted that he’d really seen things, with his naked eye about 5 miles away on the otherside of a loch!

As the day went on our wildlife tick list got better. A lot of what we saw was at a distance and through binoculars so not great for photos on my iphone! But we did get to see: otters, white tailed sea eagles, golden eagle, seals, herons, sparrow hawk, oystercatchers, little grebe, red deer and curlew. Im not even going to add things like buzzard to that list as Andrew was very unimpressed when we southerners pointed these out as they’re so common up here.

We had a beautiful stop by Loch Beg (top corner of Loch Scridain) for lunch, sitting on the rocks overlooking the silvery/blue water, besides a tumbling burn and bathed in warm sunshine. Perfect with a pork pie and cheese and pickle roll.

I think my wildlife highlight of the day was seeing a single female otter just at the lochside. She swam along from right to left diving down and then reappearing a few metres further on. We were able to watch her for quite a time before she disappeared and had apparently come onto shore, maybe to feed her pups! Sadly but quite rightly, we needed to leave her alone now.

Jane’s highlight was our last real stop. This was when we drove five miles to see the two white tailed sea eagles that Andrew had spotted perched in pine trees. Sure enough here we could see one with our naked eye but the view through Andrew’s monocular or telescope was even better. Now we had a really clear view of this impressive bird with its yellow beak and massive yellow claws. As we watched this female another one flew in, the male. We even learned how to take a photo with our iphones of the view through the telescope. This got us thinking, perhaps we need to invest in a Swavroski telescope of our own. That was until we found out later that they cost anything between 3 and 10 thousand pounds!

After this sighting it was time to start heading back via Salen where we dropped off our new friends. I call them that but I hadn’t actually spoken to them all day, whereas Jane by now was exchanging email addresses and Airdropping photos to them!

Enid, our history teacher, took a day off educating us today but was fascinated by Andrew’s informative commentary. He seemed very anti-red deer in particular. They maybe very beautiful but they destroy acres of farm and woodland, not because they damage the trees so much but they eat the saplings so nothing can regenerate. This means that farmers now have to fence in woodlands or even pasture areas. It also means that there is an annual cull of red deer where they kill thousands of the animals each year. Covid has impacted this for the last two years ie it hasn’t happened so now Andrew thinks they’re seriously out of hand. Every time we saw a van parked up with a golf buggy on a trailer, it was a sign that there was a stalker out looking for these poor animals to shoot. If you fancy having a go yourself you can pay £300 for the pleasure but I don’t think we are keen. He was keen to point out that this income all goes towards maintaining the estates which otherwise be unviable.

At the end of our tour we were dropped back for the 5:25 ferry at Craignurie and although the views back were gloriously sunny, it was now quite cold and so we headed straight for the bar, a welcome addition on the evening ferry. Until the boat turned out of dock and Jane’s pint swiftly feel off the table and all over the floor. The barman wasn’t terribly sympathetic and just told me (Jane couldn’t go back because she’d already had a ‘discussion’ with him about the size of the head on her beer) I should keep a closer eye on it!

When we got back into Oban, part B of our plan for the day came into action. We met up with Dave, my brother, and his wife Jayne for fish n chips at The Oban Fish and Chip shop. Highly recognised and award winning it seemed odd that this place was only open until 7pm. The restaurant was also closed (Covid) but we were allowed to eat our takeaway in there, out of the cardboard box and with a plastic fork, once we’d slid our way over the floor which seemed to resemble an award winning skating rink. Jayne and Dave have made the trip up to Oban from their new home in Campbeltown at the end of the Kintyre peninsula. I say ’new home’, it’s actually still being built! More of which later when we meet up with them again. In the meantime, Joyce, Enid, Jane and I returned back to Sleepy Bear after our day of adventures very happy indeed.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Mull, Scotland, wildlife | 3 Comments