Scotland: Haste Ye Back !

So.. We had to go back to Calgary Bay as we'd had such as nice time there the previous day. Ok..Ok... so I wanted to see more of the Buzzards and hopefully a Sea Eagle or two and maybe even a Seal... We were so glad we did as the weather was even more fine than the previous day and the sand and sea looked wonderful. We had a walk up the road from the beach which you can just make out in the picture of Linda. The road winds up along the cliff and very soon becomes dramatic with sheer drops away to the sea and down from the cliffs. I was lucky enough to see a Grey Seal popping his head out of the water at one point but Linda was a little slower than me with the binoculars and by the time she'd found it and pointed him out to me again, I spent the next 15 minutes taking pictures of a small grey buoy in the bay!


We found a cracking spot on the top off a cliff with only a sheep for company. How special it was to be so alone for so long with nothing but each other, breathtakingly beautiful scenery, the noise of the breeze and the sea below us, and copious lung-fulls of fresh air. What a magical place!

Back down on the beach for a last look at the Buzzards and a pair came out to put on a show for us. The rabbits dissappeared quicker than a load of British Resort Association administration staff at 17:00 and the birds circled and manouvered like a well rehearsed display team, calling out to each other and not in the least bit intimidated by our awe-struck presence.

They were magnificent to watch and at times no more than maybe 30 feet above us. The Oystercatchers decided that this was a good time to go out to sea and the pair left the beach hungry after around 10 minutes.

For the rest of the day we explored the island (Mull) or at least a small corner of it. We headed out to another castle that Linda had found on the map called Glengorm. Check this out! It's a bed and breakfast house! www.glengormcastle.co.uk. The setting is quite stunning with the main house sitting atop a grassy hill which falls away to cliffs and sea over a half mile or so. There is a lovely walk in front of the castle to see an ancient set of standing stones where we sat and watched a family of Highland Cattle quietly grazing. The view was as good as anything we'd seen all week and yet somehow it was fresh and gave us a sense of wow just as if we'd only just arrived north of Preston. Best of all was that we were accompanied for the majority of the walk by Basil (see below).

This guy (we decided that he looked like a 'Basil') was only very young and very small. He joined us at the car park next to the pottery and tea rooms and walked with us for over 30 mins, constantly running between the two of us and throwing himself at our feet for a little more affection. He was very sweet, and we did VERY well not to kidnap him to bring home. He did let us film him though before he went off, well, before he stopped at a gate and refused to follow us through it... What did he know that we didn't?

After our big adventure we called into Tobermory's other pub for a pint or two (was it three?) for me and a large G&T for Linda. The pub played 'New Country' music and served spectacular food such as a 'pint' of fresh langoustines! Alas, we'd already booked into the hotel restaurant again and thankfully, despite our sadness at having to leave behind the music, the beer and the pints of fish, we had another fabulous meal in The Waterside. As most of you will know, I'm a butchers boy and so I'm particularly 'particular' about my cuts of meat. Well, I ordered a fillet... and I can honestly say that it was BY FAR (sorry Mum, Dad...) the best piece of steak that I have EVER eaten! Absolutely melted in my mouth...

Next morning we awoke with some sadness in our hearts as we had to shoot off to catch the ferry from the south of Mull at Craignure. The view from our bedroom was once again spectacular.

After another good breakfast, no.. increadible breakfast; Tobermory Smoked Kippers!! we drove off to Craignure for our scheduled ferry crossing, one of only three sailings that day and the other two being already sold out when I booked so we dare not be late!

The car journey down through the island was lovely and despite some cloud the colours around us were inspiring and we vowed to return to Mull within the next couple of years. At one point, just before the ferry port, Linda said out loud that it would be great to "see just one more Buzzard". As if by magic, within 4 seconds, there was a Buzzard sitting on a telegraph pole to our right. Perfect!

Our ride home over to the mainland was very enjoyable, the scenery along the way was in itself a joyride! With everything from Castles to Seals and Lighthouses.


This is the Eilean Musdile Lighthouse which one sees from every possible angle along the way, it takes around 15 mins to pass by in total and every several feet of movement changes the look of the lighthouse and it's island as the scenery behind changes like a moving picture. I took hundreds of shots but this one is my favourite and I think it describes for itself just how beautiful Mull is even as one says goodbye.

Directly opposite at this point is Lady's Rock, which isn't always easy to see and depends on the tide as to how much it shows itself. Local folklore says that in 1523 a Lady was unable to produce a male heir to the Duarts and that her husband blamed his wife for his lack of successions. So he had arranged for her to be stranded on Lady's Rock to await her fate in the incoming tide. Fair enough really! Further along we passed Duart's Castle perched high upon a cliff which we understand to be worthy of a future visit, alas we didn't have the time on this trip but we did enjoy the sight of it in the cold sunny cloudy morning. Look!! A seal!!!

Or is it Linda doing an impression of Peter Kay? "Where d'ya go for your holdiays?" "Tenerife" :-)

So... our last night on this holiday... :-( We had a very quick root around Oban but it wasn't that spectacular after our week of being stunned. Nice little village, and wondeful outlook over the sea and the islands, but really just another seaside village with nothing special to offer us.

We had a lovely drive back towards Glasgow and called into Inverary along the way for lunch. We'd been there with the Girls in 2006 for a day so we were keen to call in again. We stayed overnight in a place called Drymen where our Winnock Hotel sits around the village green. It's just south of Loch Lomond and just north of Glasgow... Kind of... Anyway, very nice hotel in a very pretty Trossachs village.

The room was fabulous with really good facilities including this treat in the bathroom, in fact, in the bath! We had a good drink that night watching the football, I can't remember who was playing but it was full of Ulstermen and Ulsterwomen having something of a party!


On our journey home we travelled through places that niether of us had been to before including Paisley, Linda did a fine job navigating and kept us well away from the motorways which was good being the day before Good Friday. We called into Gretna Green for lunch and spent a couple of hours at the new tourist attraction meseum, and very commercialised wedding venue and foodhalls. Needless to say we spent a few quid in the foodhalls!


Have you EVER seen Linda look so scared? I didn't zoom in to show you the beads of sweat on her tortured brow or use a slow exposure to show how much she was shaking! It's ok Dear... I hav'nay booked any'ing!

So... that was our trip to Scotland and we can't wait to go back! Thanks for reading my ramblings and I hope you've enjoyed the pictures.

Lots of love

Andrew & Linda
xxx

Scotland: Where you can learn how to cut Lino !

That's right... Lino ! Linoleum ! Lessons ! You wait and see !

There is just SO much to write about from our trip up to this stunning country that I will have to leave LOADS out. I'm sorry... I have to, or else we'll be here 'til Hogmanay uploading my 800+ images and recalling all of the events, all of the characters and all of the wonderful food, beer, whiskey, scenery and hospitality that we encountered. You'll just have to go and see for yourselves! Or else you could insist that Linda and I went for you ;-)

Linda did the map thing one more time before we left the UK mainland and took us to possibly the most romantic and most eye-pleasing, sigh-inspiring, "oh Lord I wish we could live here" places on planet Earth; Castle Tioram. (say "cheerum")


To get to this place is quite a trek and you need the patience of a saint, nerves of steel, the determination of a 2 year old with an upside-down jigsaw puzzle piece, a damn good navigator, and a big truck! Still, I suppose it was originally settled there around the 7th century... Amazing scenery, incredible roads with meagre passing places, you just never know what is around the next corner. It could be a Black Pheasant, a Buzzard sitting at the side of the road, a small Loch, a waterfall, a tractor or even another car, but hey... lets not start exaggerating about the traffic levels... The castle is set up on a great big lump or rock which sits very nicely among Loch Moidart where it meets the River Shiel. It's a fabulous setting and you can only get across to the castle in between tides which makes it all the more exciting and at the time of day we went, late afternoon, just as the sun was setting behind the castle walls it was incredibly romantic. The walk back to the car was quite exciting too as we saw Deer tracks in the sand. The castle has laid in ruins since it was ordered to be burned in 1715 by Clan Chief Allan of Clanranald. Sadly it's falling into the loch bit by bit and currently a businessman is hoping to conserve it via a trust. We hope he succeeds, it's a beautiful place!

Next morning we set off towards Kilchoan to catch the ferry over to Mull. Just a few miles south of our hotel was the first ferry crossing which despite only taking 5 minutes to cross Loch Lihnne at Corran / Ardgour provided considerable excitement for two young travellers! Linda took quite a shine to the young ferryman, as he smiled at her but scowled at everyone else, including me. Along the roads to Kilchoan we saw Deer, Buzzards and more eye-popping scenery and when we arrived (an hour early... well, you don't take chances out there, believe me) we weren't exactly jostling for position at the ferry terminal.

The water here was as clear as I've ever seen and in the distance stood another castle called Mingarry (you can just see it behind Linda). Built in the 13th century and ruined in the 14th, it's stood there ever since keeping guard over the Sound of Mull. The terminal isn't manned, just a few signs and eventually another two cars gave us the assurance that we were indeed at the right place, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was abandoned. Anyway, it's a very pretty place coloured by the aroma of cows and the sound of gulls. The sun was blazing but a fresh breeze kept us under wraps while we waited for our ferry. Once on board we enjoyed a calm and smooth crossing of around 35 mins, taking time to look out to sea in the hope of spotting a dolphin or a seal or a couple of Minke's.

Alas we were disappointed with the hopes of sealife parading for us but the journey was pleasant and exciting, especially when we turned around the final corner into Tobermory. As soon as we drove off the ferry we arrived at our hotel, it must have been all of 800 yards from the boat to the front door and the place is really quite magical.

We (ok... I) decided that we'd driven enough for a couple of days and that we should just root around the harbour, call in at the Mishnish (pub) for lunch and then spend a relaxing day in Tobermory. As if! We checked in, we did have a stroll up the harbour and we did have lunch in the Mishnish. Then we got in the car and went off to explore the island. (So much to see... so little patience). The view from the hotel bedroom was quite something and apparently, some evenings they have an otter playing outside. Sadly we didn't see him but we did enjoy the view (below) nonetheless. You never know what you're going to see in a new place, and sometimes it's not the things you're looking for that stick in your mind. Take this for example. Tobermory has a little bit of everything, a baker, a butcher, a chocolatier, a distillery and an inronmonger where, of course, you can buy an electric guitar or a skiing helmet or a ping pong ball or a ball of wool or a candle or a hosepipe, in fact, I'd challenge anyone to go into that shop and ask for something, then come away disappointed! I suppose that's how these small island communities survive. The hotel we stayed at had a first class resturant, The Waters Edge. Absolutely delicious food, a wonderful romantic atmosphere looking out over the harbour (still no otter...) and all of the food on the menu was either supplied by the people of the village, or else somewhere else on the Isle of Mull. Anyway... back to the unusual stuff. As we called in to the post office to do postcards, Linda peeked into the window of the village hall to see what the posters were advertising and nearly collapsed in a heap when she saw this:-

Have any of you ever seen THAT before?!

We spent the rest of Mull day one at Calgary beach and took the picture below for Janet and Eammon who of course now live near that 'other' place called Calgary.

Calgary bay is gorgeous, with white or even silvery clean and uncrowded soft sands, crystal clear idyllic blue unspoiled waters and fascinating wildlife to see such as Buzzards, Sea Eagles, Rabbits (well.. the birds have to eat don't they!) and seals. We had a good walk around, a little bit of a paddle (boots on) and photographed this and that as the sun set delicately over the bay. Calgary is on the north west coast of Mull about 12 (very hairy driving) miles from Tobermory. The name apparently comes from the gaelic Cala ghearraidh, meaning Beach of the meadow which certainly fits in as there is a piece of grazing land between the sands and the road and river. That's where the bunnies live. "Cala" is a gaelic word specifically used for a hard, sandy beach suitable for landing a boat, all of which makes sense to the detail and setting of the location.


I'll post one or two more Calgary pictures in part 4 as we went back for another look on day 2.