DAY 17
Wednesday
June 8th 2016
Strontian to
Isle of Mull Miles 135
Today I had hoped to achieve two of my objectives for the
trip. First was to visit my (third)
cardinal point at Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point of the UK mainland. Of special importance to me though was to
travel to the Island of Iona, a very spiritual place and find the grave of a
notable ancestor, King Macbeth! The day did not go quite as planned.
My B&B in Strontian was the best so far on this trip. The young couple who are running it moved
from Edinburgh just three weeks ago to fulfill their life long dream. I woke up to a glorious sunny morning with
wonderful views across lovely countryside to the hills. My breakfast was excellent with fresh duck
eggs. I had actually never tasted duck’s eggs before, but they were rich and
mouthwatering. I’m not sure that I could
ever go back again to chicken’s eggs, though no doubt I will have to.
I think this B&B and one of the others I have stayed in,
shows up the difference between those people who are committed to running a
good business and know how important it is to make guests feel welcome, and
those people who advertise a room via AirBnB.
The latter are often just trying to make a few extra bob and see it as
an opportunity to make a bit of money rather than it be a way of life. I think the young couple I stayed with in
Aberdeen needed the money, but had probably never stayed in a nice B&B or
hotel to appreciate the needs of guests and how to present a room. The elderly couple I stayed with in Inverness
probably did this to add to their pensions, but they came from a generation
that really made a fuss of visitors to a home and sought to make them feel
comfortable. My other AirBnB experience
was awful. In this case the couple lived
out of the country for 6 months of the year and this was their way of giving
themselves an income while in the UK.
They had a musty, damp house and probably saw their guests as a one off
so what did it matter.
Just as I am writing this an email has just came into my Inbox
from AirBnB. It is urging to me to see
AirBnB as a way to ‘earn extra money during the busy holiday season’. This is what people respond to; the chance
to make some money, but the experience for the traveller is not necessarily a
good one if the focus is only on making money from them.
I left my hosts at around 8.30am, closing the gate at the end of
the drive to keep out the deer that will eat their garden, or other animals
that might take a liking to their ducks and hens. The road was the narrow one that I came in on
last night. The view across the Loch
with the mist rising was beautiful, but I did not realise that this was a portent
of what was to come. I had to turn off
onto another road to now make my way to Ardnamurchan Point and then to the
ferry at Kilchoan across to Mull. This
road was quite literally a coastal road as I followed the edge of the Loch for
quite a long way. Drive this road on an
icy winter’s day and you could possibly end up in the Loch if you are not
careful!
Glen Borrodale Castle
The new road was designated a B road as opposed to the previous
A road. This meant it was about 2 inches narrower. It was also a beautiful drive and both sides
of the road were covered in gorgeous flowering rhododendrons. I stopped to take a photograph of Glen
Borrodale castle. A lovely red bricked
building. The gates were closed and had
a sign saying “Private. Trespassers do
so at their own risk”. I had to wonder
whether this was a legal get out in case somebody impaled themselves on the
railings surrounding the grounds, or, was it more of a threat that an angry
Laird or his gamekeeper might claim they mistook the trespasser for a wild stag
and shot them!
One thing that did strike me was the number of properties with
For Sale signs. No doubt people find
these idyllic places on a warm summer days, but then discover how bad are the
winters and that friends and family possibly wont visit at these times. If you are a gregarious person then perhaps
these properties are not for you. You
have to be a very private person like the Laird at Glen Borrodale castle.
This drive was 19 miles long and for the final 5 miles you move
out again into mountain and moorland. On
entering the village of Kilchoan I went to the Visitors Information Centre to
use the toilet and enquire of the lady at the desk as to how long would I need
to be at the ferry dock to be sure of catching a ferry. “Well normally only about 20 minutes, but
today you have all these other people ahead of you”. She pointed to the coffee area where there
must have been about 30 people waiting.
“The ferry is not running just now because of the fog”.
I sighed, but was not too bothered as I still had to go to
Ardnamurchan Point and therefore expected the fog to have burned off by when I
returned. I drove on to the lighthouse,
which is about a 5 mile drive on a very poor road. But the sun was out and it was 19 degrees so
I relaxed and enjoyed the drive with the window open. When you get to the lighthouse there is a
traffic light that permits traffic to safely traverse the 400 or so yards along
a tight walled road that hugs the cliff edge.
It is a long red light, no doubt to give time to those people on
bicycles or foot. The light turned green
and off I set. At the end was a café but
no lighthouse! It was obscured in the fog.
I decided to have a coffee and see if the fog cleared. It cleared sufficient for me to take a photo
in the murk to prove I was there, but I then purchased a post card and photo’d
that so you can see what it would look like if there were no fog.
Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
Not my photo
I hurried back to the ferry in the hope that I might just about
make it for the 11.45am run. No doubt
you are ahead of me at this point. No
ferry just thick sea fog on the water.
At 1.00pm the ferry from Mull, arrived here at the dock, so we
all got excited. However, they then
determined that the fog is still thick in mid channel and announced that we
would wait until 2.30pm to see if it clears.
I asked the Pursor, who was advising us, as to why, with radar, they
don’t just sail, especially as the docks on either side are clear. He said that they are worried about hitting
any rubber boats in the channel that do not have radar reflectors. They want
full visibility. I think BC Ferries do a
better job in this respect. Though our
local collision regulations require all vessels to have radar reflectors fitted
a rubber boat might not have space to fit one.
But our ferries run anyway!
I began talking to a couple from Yorkshire who were driving a
vintage Jaguar XJ15. They were touring
the Highlands, but apparently the car broke down in Elgin and they thought that
their holiday was over. They checked
into their B&B and enquired about a breakdown truck or something that could
take the car back to Yorkshire, while they caught the train. Their hostess said “Let’s ask Hamish (or some
such Scottish name). He’s into cars and
might be able to help”. They went to see
Hamish to find that he was a vintage car nut and had 4 E types in his
garage. They wheeled in his XJ15 and
Hamish diagnosed a blown exhaust valve in one cylinder. The Yorkshire couple thanked him for his
diagnosis and said they would arrange to have the car recovered and they would
need to order the parts. “Wheesh” (a
Scottish expression) said Hamish, “I’ve got a valve kit up in my loft and the
gaskets. Your engine is the same as in
the E type so I keep some spares. If you help me out we can get it fixed and
have you back on the road.” Together
they spent a day and a half repairing the engine and they were then off on
their vacation. What are the chances of
breaking down in a rare vintage car, right where there is someone with a full
set of spares and the ability to fix it? The man was still in amazement as he told me the story.
On the subject of cars, the ferry dock at Lochaline has an
electric car charging point. I was
surprised to see this as I have not seen one electric car during the whole of
my trip and also this ferry dock is in the middle of nowhere.
At 2.30pm the decision was made to wait until 3.30pm! We continued
to sit in the sun and could see Mull quite clearly. A different crew member told me that the
ferry does not have a rudder so it steers by a propeller on each corner. He said it can turn on a dime, but the
skipper does not want to enter the fog bank without a rudder. Methinks they have decided to have a crafty
afternoon off and sit and top up their sun tans! The alternative is to drive back for 51 miles
along the single track roads and take a different ferry across to Mull. I was not though in the mind set to make that
decision and retrace my steps on that narrow road.
I had seen a white van drive onto the dock a little earlier and
the driver was passing boxes too and fro with a fishing boat that had come in
to the wharf. I went up to see what they
were doing and chatted to them.
Apparently the white van driver was collecting fresh caught Langoustines
from the fishing boat crew. He was then
going to drive 240 miles to Eyemouth, near to Berwick On Tweed, where they are
then shipped to Spain and France. Indeed
if you eat Lobster or Langoustines anywhere in the Mediterranean you are almost
certainly eating ones from Scotland.
Ironically I noticed two restaurants later that both had a sign saying
‘Sorry no Lobsters today’. No doubt the
fisherman were getting better prices selling them to the Spanish. After Lochaline the driver was going to two
other small harbours before returning back to Eyemouth. This was a trip he made every 2 days.
“Gentlemen, start your engines”.
Not quite a Le Mans start, but at 3.45pm everyone got into their cars
and we boarded. Loud cheers from around
the car park. Interestingly there were
only 9 cars to go on the ferry (which can hold 10) so there was skepticism
expressed by some drivers that the delays might have been for economic reasons
as well as the fog. What I found surprising
was that they made all passengers get out of the cars and walk on, with only
the driver allowed to be in the vehicle as it was parked. Drivers then had to leave the car also.
There was a little bit of fog on the journey but he only sounded
his horn twice. You are supposed to make
one long blast of the horn every two minutes when under way in fog, so you tell
from this that the fog bank was really not very thick.
Tobermory Lighthouse
We pulled into Tobermory.
A delightful little town with coloured buildings facing the water. Based on what I had been told by a cyclist on
the ferry, I decided to take the northern coastal loop rather than go directly
to my B&B. He had said it was quite
short and not a difficult road. Well, it
was another one of “those” roads. Though
the view was wonderful and the sun very warm, I began to regret my decision as
I started to feel tired. I had also met
an American couple at the ferry dock (with a scrape on their hire car) who were
also cursing the narrow roads. I think
if anyone showed a video of these roads to people living in North America, none
of them would come to Scotland. The
journey was around 40 miles in total and at one point I had to drive along a
cliff road with a huge drop off and tight bends. I began to pray that I would meet no other
vehicle on this section of road and my prayers were fortunately answered.
By the time I got to my B&B I was beat. To get Dinner I was told I would have to drive
to the only pub, which was 9 miles away.
I nearly decided to starve but as I had had nothing since breakfast I
went there. My comments of yesterday
about Scottish pubs was more than amplified by the Argyle Arms. A big old barn of a place which looked as if
it might have been built in the 50s and still had the original paint and
wallpaper. The men’s loo was probably
the foulest one I have seen anywhere on my trip. It looked as if a fight had taken place in
there (it probably had) and the remains of one urinal was hanging off the
wall. Another man came in and decided he
would use the drain as I was using the only other serviceable piece of
porcelain. I mentioned to him how awful I thought this was. He said “Och, it’s
no too bad. I’ve seen worse.” Apart from French hole in the ground toilets,
I think this was the worst toilet I had ever seen.
 |
| View on road to my B&B. |
My B&B looks directly onto the Loch but I have been advised
to keep my windows shut as the midges are out in force at the moment. Tomorrow I will go directly to Iona, about 15
miles away. My ferry off the island to
Oban is not until early evening so I should have a fairly relaxing day
tomorrow. I’m now glad I got the steep
and narrow roads done today and don’t have to do any tomorrow other than the
one of about 15 miles to the ferry dock.
Hope I sleep soundly tonight and the midges aren’t able to find
there way in!
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