Date: Saturday 22nd September 2012 Distance: 33.16 Miles
I did wake at 2am to silence
and another sky full of stars, some seeming to flash on and off. I wondered
when I heard the news the next day if I had seen bits of space debris falling
through the atmosphere. It had seemed too long an interval for a normal
“twinkle”.
We slept even longer here and
had breakfast at 8.30- the only guests. There were lovely blue skies and
sunshine when we left for the lighthouse and the most westerly point. We
thought it would be a cinch. We never got to the very end because we ran out of
time. The Kilchoan ferry left at 11. 45 and we didn’t want to cut it too fine.
It was 6 miles out and hard terrain, having to walk some of the hills. We
decided to stop when we could see the lighthouse a mile away. It is open April
till October also the exhibition and tea room. The first tour is at 11am and
you need to book by telephone and arrive 15 minutes beforehand. It costs £5 for
adults and £ 3 concessions. Children under- 5 can’t go up the 152 steps and 2
ladders and I think if we had visited we wouldn’t have wanted to after the
hills we had climbed that morning either.
We have noticed that all
north Scotland cemeteries are located outside the villages and towns, often on
hillsides looking out to sea. Kilchoan’s is in a remote spot in the hills,
small and enclosed within a stone wall and with no shelter nearby if the
weather turns bad.
We had passed the most
westerly hotel, quite modern and probably the reason for the cars that passed
us early in the day. Opposite is a community garden project. Beds of Brussels
sprouts, greens and even strawberries, some red still, in pots and standing on
gravel, all look well tended and a stall for self service is positioned by the
road there. It is quite a monument to the way remote settlements of people rely
and work with each other.
Curly horned sheep, donkeys
and a few caravans, one anchored down against the wind with thick rope and a
craft shop advertised at the junction for the lighthouse were the other things
of note.
Despite our panic we arrived
at the ferry early and nowhere to buy a drink (you could get something at the
information centre that looked closed to us as we went by.)
There was a good view across
to Mingary Castle, a 13th century shell only. A lady from a large
camper van was dangling her legs over the quay painting the rocks and sea as
she waited. We heard the noise of the ferry long before it arrived. The water
was flat and calm.
We were all let on, cars very
close to the sides( not a very big boat) and the bike. The back of the boat
closed and the loudspeaker announced that we should read the safety notices. It
felt like we had started to move but then the back opened up again to let on a
girl who’d just arrived in a fluster. As the doors closed again the tannoy
repeated the instructions then a driver hemmed in by other motorists decided he
wanted to get off. It was quite a shuffle to let him out. He parked then ran
back to the boat and the departure routine got underway again with an
expectation of impatience from the tannoy.
Seconds later a family arrived in their car and the doors were flattened
once again as they all piled in. At last we could leave! The crew must be very
patient or mindful that they need the revenue.
It was a very smooth crossing
in sun but very chilly. The fare was £9.30 because we were advised to get an
inclusive ticket to Tobermory and then from Craignure to Oban.
We both needed a hot drink to
warm up and it was lunchtime, but Tobermory, with its freshly painted houses in
cheerful colours, was inundated with tourists. Children like to come and see
the location for Ballermory, the TV programme. We ended up at the pier cafe
which had its door wide open and we didn’t get warm until we started on the
hill out of the town past the distillery.
An old man was walking up,
picking and eating blackberries as he went. Progress was slow as he had to keep
sitting on every available bench. We didn’t cycle up much of it and I felt sorry
for elderly residents who lived at the top though there would surely be buses.
We came to Aros Park viewing
platform, sign-posted 50 metres off the road(A848) when we had gone just one
mile from Tobermory. Aros Park was developed by the Allan family from 1874 till
1959 and looked beautiful from where we stood at the top of a waterfall in the
tree tops. We could see the Sound of Mull, back to Ardnamurchan and
Tobermory Bay. Autumn seemed to be
arriving early and colours would soon be stunning judging by what we could see.
We were hoping all day to see eagles- any variety- but we hoped in vain.
Not much further on the Salen
Road is Mull Theatre, probably the smallest theatre in Britain. It used to be
called Mull Little Theatre when it was first built, from an old coach-house in
Druimard Country House Estate in 1966. Now it looks like it is a warehouse
officially made dark in colour to merge with the woodland setting .It’s great
that Mull has a theatre and it sounds like a vibrant place with exciting productions.
We stopped in Salen for
coffee at 3pm. By Mull’s standard it is quite big with stone cottages, stores
and a post office. The CoffeePot, run by “outsiders”, provided a seat in a sun
trap out front and we were joined by the proprietor’s brother who was on a
flying visit from his home in the Midlands. He said we should visit the Ross of
Mull with its moorland and white beaches. From there you can take the ferry to
Iona and it did sound tempting. Maybe another time!
The wind was against us and
the road rather tedious though we enjoyed the seascape. EU money had been spent
here making the roads rather sterile and with odd areas of single track maybe
for traffic calming at ferry times or just for something to spend the money on.
No wonder graffiti said they were roads making Scotland less wild.
We reached Craignure just
after 5. The only place to eat in the evening is the inn where we were staying.
Bob was disappointed that there wasn’t real ale although they had some in
bottles that was OK. I had haggis, new potatoes and whisky sauce and Bob by
default, fish and chips. Bob was impressed with the bike shed.
Two pleasant girls were
serving, one Scandinavian who was in deep discussion in Nordic with a customer.
They do put us to shame with their command of English though and she wanted to
talk with everybody- an intelligent lady! This was unlike the table of loud
mouthed fellows from the Lakes who said they’d seen us earlier and I wasn’t
peddling, reiterated several times to be embarrassing. That was bound to get me
riled- touchy, I know. Then it was, “ Are you writing a book?” I need to write
notes before I forget...Most people from Scotland have been really interested
in what we are doing and in the tandem.
Sunday 23rd
Our bedroom was at the front
of the pub and people seemed to burst into raucous laughter when leaving, well
into the night. The bed was the least comfortable of the break this time so
sleep was restless.
We woke to lovely warm
lighting over the hills as the sun came up. It was a quick breakfast as the
ferry was at 8.45. It was only minutes away though and we were let on well
before departure. The large ship( this time) adhered to the timetable! We met
up with the brother in law from the Coffee Pot in Salen who was in snazzy motor
bike gear with a mean machine, all silver and black. I wondered if he had the
job of advertising for the cafe as he spoke to a lot of people but then he
seemed a nice genuine sort of guy.
As Craignure receded we
passed by Duart Castle on the cliff top, dating from the 13th
century but restored in 1912. Further along is a castle- like folly on the
beach.
It was very noisy on the boat
because the crew had emergency practice. We were told to ignore all the
instructions like” abandon ship” and bells going off. We enjoyed watching them
spectacularly jettison water from the stern of the ship.
It was a pleasant calm
crossing with no wildlife in sight- probably too noisy! There were good views of Eilean Musdile Lighthouse.
After 45 minutes we landed at
Oban with time to kill before the train back to Dunbarton so we rode past the
Distillery not realising it was open from 9.30 am and out to Dunollie Castle.
It is an ivy clad ruin up a rough slippery track with a notice saying you are
advised to keep away from the building as bits have recently fallen off. The
views were good. Then we rode another 3 miles down to the end of the road and
then back for some refreshment at café that made their own chocolate.
Bikes were let onto the train
first and Bob and I both carried a wheel. The train official looked at us
strangely but it was only when one of the crowd we were negotiating through,
shouted” Oh look its a tandem” that the guard said “If it’s a tandem it’s not
allowed on the train.” Luckily the other guard was more reasonable and could
see Bob knew how to stow it properly so the short panic was over.
It was nearly 3 hours on the train and then another 4
and a half to get back home.
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