Ellie and Me - T5 travels, Scotland ... (mostly)
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 10:50 am
More of Mull (including Ben More)
(Before I move onwards, I thought I'd set out some more major Lessons Learned/adhered to:
1. We all take water for granted. I take 1 x 5 litre container, 1 x 2.5 litre container and 3 x 1 litre bottles of drinking water, but I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for fresh water. When I come home from a trip, it always strikes me just how easy it is to turn on a tap and get as much clean water as I want, but when I'm away it's one of my priorities to find it on a regular basis.
2. I don't worry much about things – I reckon I'm a pretty 'chilled' and easygoing sort of person, but I do have two other concerns/priorities when I'm away: fuel (you never know where the next petrol station will be in the more remote areas, so I try never to let the tank drop below half full) and safety. Regarding the latter, when on campsites I generally don't lock the 'van, but if I'm wild camping I ALWAYS lock myself in at night. Let's face it, it's unlikely that a murderous villain will be wandering around such wild places, but it's better to be safe than sorry!
3. Camera. Always take it with you – you never know when a gorgeous view will reveal itself round a corner. I could have filled the camera's memory cards many times over – just had to try to judge which shots were the more interesting. On the other hand, my brain's 'memory card' holds millions of 'shots' – hahaha.
Right – back to the travels now.)
The following morning, I had the pleasure of actually meeting and speaking with the Mum and boys whose efficiency I'd admired the previous evening. Maggie and her two boys, Michal and Martin. I was amazed to discover that they had been wild camping for quite a while on several islands and were just about to head for Staffa and then home.
They all made a real fuss of Ellie (she liked them greatly) and Michal spent a long time getting a knot out from behind one of Ellie's ears for me. Lovely people.
I also spent time talking to a father-son team of South African 'twitchers', who told me that they'd seen a pair of Golden Eagles further down the coast and the location of a good overnight spot near Ben More, a lovely couple of lads from the US and a couple from Devon.
Of course, Ellie had a nice walk along the beach and round to Caliach Point.
I was quite late leaving the bay, but that didn't matter as I was only going a little further than Knock.
Drove slowly along, partly because the coast road (B8073) is fairly 'hairy' driving and partly because I was watching the scenery and looking out for the pair of Golden Eagles, which I saw, circling overhead!! Nowhere to stop to take photos, though
Just before Knock, I took a side-road to visit the Macquarie Mausoleum.
Lachlan Macquarie was born in 1761 on the Isle of Ulva. He later became one of the most recognisable characters of Colonial Australia and was described as 'The Father of Australia', due to his good works as Governor of New South Wales from 1810-1821.
Continuing on down the coast, I had no trouble in finding the place to overnight – an 'unofficial' carpark on the sward (or machair (in Scotland, especially the Western Isles): low-lying arable or grazing land formed near the coast by the deposition of sand and shell fragments by the wind).
There were a couple of cars already there and a short while after I'd set up a couple came down the footpath from the top of Ben More. I asked about the walk. They told me that it had taken them 5.5 hours, so no time for me to walk it that day. They advised me that the weather was looking fair for the next day. I realised I'd have to make an early start!
Sitting quietly, eating the last of the crab with rice, I became aware of animals approaching. I hastily got Ellie into the 'van and shut the door – cows with calves can sometimes be unpredictable
The calves were most interested in the 'van, one rubbed itself on the front bumper whilst a second made good use of one of my wing mirrors as a scratching post!! Yikes!! The group stood around the 'van for ages, mums grooming the calves and letting them feed. Eventually, they moved off (much to my relief) and hunkered down for the night a couple of hundred metres along the road. This was a very good thing indeed, as I needed to find a 'Ladies Bush' and the fact that I couldn't leave the 'van whilst they were there made the need all the more urgent – hehehe.
Seen: A most amusing warning sign on the B8073, 'Free Range Children' and LOTS of bird-watchers.
Next day: woken at just before 07.30 by a strange sound. Looked out, but couldn't see anything. Opened the sliding window and poked my head out – it was a lamb rubbing its horns against the near-side front hub cap!! Seeing me (more likely, seeing Ellie!), it (l)ambled off.
Kettle on, I waited to see what the day would bring weather-wise.
The sun was struggling to break through the clouds, but I decided to walk up Ben More (the only 'Munroe' on Mull) anyway.
About half way up, I crested a rise and saw that the mountain had its head in cloud – no point in going any further. A pity.
On the way down, I met a few more walkers going up. One of them told me a little story, as we were discussing the terrible midges in-land.
A visitor to Scotland was in a pub, chatting to the barman about the midges. From a corner, an old farmer piped up, “I can tell you what to do about the midges!”. Intrigued, the visitor asked what that was. “Get 500 gms of sugar, add water to make a thick paste and slosh it on every part of your body,” he replied. “Will that stop them biting?” asked the tourist. “No,” said the farmer, “but it will rot their feckin' teeth!!”. (Sweet revenge, maybe? ;-) )
A little disheartened not to get to the top of Ben More, I drove to Fionnphort on the beautiful single-track road. My – but Mull certainly is a picturesque island!
A ferry ride to Iona was a MUST. It's mostly a foot-passenger ferry (with a few delivery vehicles and residents allowed to take their vehicles on it), so boarding was via a ramp resting on the slipway.
Even with the grinding noise of the ramp, the 'slooshing' of the water and the rocking of the boat, Ellie was totally chilled. She walked up the ramp as if she'd been doing it all of her life. Good girl, Ellie.
I have to say that Iona has a very relaxing feel to it, peaceful and tranquil, despite being quite crowded with tourists.
The Isle of Iona has deep significance for Christians. In 563, Columba (yes, he of the 'footprints') and twelve companions arrived by coracle on Iona, at that time part of a colony on mainland Britain occupied by fellow Scots from his part of Ireland. For the next 34 years, Columba and his monks, from their base on Iona, pursued an active missionary 'outreach', of what has come to be known as Celtic Christianity, throughout the Western Isle and up into the north eastern parts of what is now Scotland.
I didn't have very much time on the island, but did get to see the Nunnery (ruined) and the outside of the Abbey and had a wander round Baile Mòr. There are plenty more sites to see and white sand beaches, so I will probably return at some time in the future.
I had a while to wait for the ferry back, so off to the local pub for a half.
Back on Mull, I was wondering where to camp for the night when I noticed a small sign pointing along a narrow track, marked 'Campsite'. Quite a long track, which led to Fidden Farm Campsite.
Another beaut of a site. A huge site, with masses of space, I found a pitch overlooking the beaches – and what wonderful beaches they are!!
The site is described as 'basic', but apart from the fact that there are no power or electric hook-up facilities, the rest of them are great. The shower/toilet block has recently been refurbished (to a very high standard) and all of the other usual stuff was there – washing-up area, chemical/waste disposal point, drinking water etc.
At £8.00- per night, I thought it a bargain.
I was told by other campers that it can get VERY busy during high season, with some (selfish) people setting up 'small villages' (tents, vans, cars, windbreaks, gazebos) to reserve their 'favourite spots' and leaving campervans/motorhomes/tents on-site for the whole of the summer season. Plenty of room when I was there, though
Seen: Otter (in the distance and gone before I could get the binoculars out for a better look)
(Before I move onwards, I thought I'd set out some more major Lessons Learned/adhered to:
1. We all take water for granted. I take 1 x 5 litre container, 1 x 2.5 litre container and 3 x 1 litre bottles of drinking water, but I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for fresh water. When I come home from a trip, it always strikes me just how easy it is to turn on a tap and get as much clean water as I want, but when I'm away it's one of my priorities to find it on a regular basis.
2. I don't worry much about things – I reckon I'm a pretty 'chilled' and easygoing sort of person, but I do have two other concerns/priorities when I'm away: fuel (you never know where the next petrol station will be in the more remote areas, so I try never to let the tank drop below half full) and safety. Regarding the latter, when on campsites I generally don't lock the 'van, but if I'm wild camping I ALWAYS lock myself in at night. Let's face it, it's unlikely that a murderous villain will be wandering around such wild places, but it's better to be safe than sorry!
3. Camera. Always take it with you – you never know when a gorgeous view will reveal itself round a corner. I could have filled the camera's memory cards many times over – just had to try to judge which shots were the more interesting. On the other hand, my brain's 'memory card' holds millions of 'shots' – hahaha.
Right – back to the travels now.)
The following morning, I had the pleasure of actually meeting and speaking with the Mum and boys whose efficiency I'd admired the previous evening. Maggie and her two boys, Michal and Martin. I was amazed to discover that they had been wild camping for quite a while on several islands and were just about to head for Staffa and then home.
They all made a real fuss of Ellie (she liked them greatly) and Michal spent a long time getting a knot out from behind one of Ellie's ears for me. Lovely people.
I also spent time talking to a father-son team of South African 'twitchers', who told me that they'd seen a pair of Golden Eagles further down the coast and the location of a good overnight spot near Ben More, a lovely couple of lads from the US and a couple from Devon.
Of course, Ellie had a nice walk along the beach and round to Caliach Point.
I was quite late leaving the bay, but that didn't matter as I was only going a little further than Knock.
Drove slowly along, partly because the coast road (B8073) is fairly 'hairy' driving and partly because I was watching the scenery and looking out for the pair of Golden Eagles, which I saw, circling overhead!! Nowhere to stop to take photos, though
Just before Knock, I took a side-road to visit the Macquarie Mausoleum.
Lachlan Macquarie was born in 1761 on the Isle of Ulva. He later became one of the most recognisable characters of Colonial Australia and was described as 'The Father of Australia', due to his good works as Governor of New South Wales from 1810-1821.
Continuing on down the coast, I had no trouble in finding the place to overnight – an 'unofficial' carpark on the sward (or machair (in Scotland, especially the Western Isles): low-lying arable or grazing land formed near the coast by the deposition of sand and shell fragments by the wind).
There were a couple of cars already there and a short while after I'd set up a couple came down the footpath from the top of Ben More. I asked about the walk. They told me that it had taken them 5.5 hours, so no time for me to walk it that day. They advised me that the weather was looking fair for the next day. I realised I'd have to make an early start!
Sitting quietly, eating the last of the crab with rice, I became aware of animals approaching. I hastily got Ellie into the 'van and shut the door – cows with calves can sometimes be unpredictable
The calves were most interested in the 'van, one rubbed itself on the front bumper whilst a second made good use of one of my wing mirrors as a scratching post!! Yikes!! The group stood around the 'van for ages, mums grooming the calves and letting them feed. Eventually, they moved off (much to my relief) and hunkered down for the night a couple of hundred metres along the road. This was a very good thing indeed, as I needed to find a 'Ladies Bush' and the fact that I couldn't leave the 'van whilst they were there made the need all the more urgent – hehehe.
Seen: A most amusing warning sign on the B8073, 'Free Range Children' and LOTS of bird-watchers.
Next day: woken at just before 07.30 by a strange sound. Looked out, but couldn't see anything. Opened the sliding window and poked my head out – it was a lamb rubbing its horns against the near-side front hub cap!! Seeing me (more likely, seeing Ellie!), it (l)ambled off.
Kettle on, I waited to see what the day would bring weather-wise.
The sun was struggling to break through the clouds, but I decided to walk up Ben More (the only 'Munroe' on Mull) anyway.
About half way up, I crested a rise and saw that the mountain had its head in cloud – no point in going any further. A pity.
On the way down, I met a few more walkers going up. One of them told me a little story, as we were discussing the terrible midges in-land.
A visitor to Scotland was in a pub, chatting to the barman about the midges. From a corner, an old farmer piped up, “I can tell you what to do about the midges!”. Intrigued, the visitor asked what that was. “Get 500 gms of sugar, add water to make a thick paste and slosh it on every part of your body,” he replied. “Will that stop them biting?” asked the tourist. “No,” said the farmer, “but it will rot their feckin' teeth!!”. (Sweet revenge, maybe? ;-) )
A little disheartened not to get to the top of Ben More, I drove to Fionnphort on the beautiful single-track road. My – but Mull certainly is a picturesque island!
A ferry ride to Iona was a MUST. It's mostly a foot-passenger ferry (with a few delivery vehicles and residents allowed to take their vehicles on it), so boarding was via a ramp resting on the slipway.
Even with the grinding noise of the ramp, the 'slooshing' of the water and the rocking of the boat, Ellie was totally chilled. She walked up the ramp as if she'd been doing it all of her life. Good girl, Ellie.
I have to say that Iona has a very relaxing feel to it, peaceful and tranquil, despite being quite crowded with tourists.
The Isle of Iona has deep significance for Christians. In 563, Columba (yes, he of the 'footprints') and twelve companions arrived by coracle on Iona, at that time part of a colony on mainland Britain occupied by fellow Scots from his part of Ireland. For the next 34 years, Columba and his monks, from their base on Iona, pursued an active missionary 'outreach', of what has come to be known as Celtic Christianity, throughout the Western Isle and up into the north eastern parts of what is now Scotland.
I didn't have very much time on the island, but did get to see the Nunnery (ruined) and the outside of the Abbey and had a wander round Baile Mòr. There are plenty more sites to see and white sand beaches, so I will probably return at some time in the future.
I had a while to wait for the ferry back, so off to the local pub for a half.
Back on Mull, I was wondering where to camp for the night when I noticed a small sign pointing along a narrow track, marked 'Campsite'. Quite a long track, which led to Fidden Farm Campsite.
Another beaut of a site. A huge site, with masses of space, I found a pitch overlooking the beaches – and what wonderful beaches they are!!
The site is described as 'basic', but apart from the fact that there are no power or electric hook-up facilities, the rest of them are great. The shower/toilet block has recently been refurbished (to a very high standard) and all of the other usual stuff was there – washing-up area, chemical/waste disposal point, drinking water etc.
At £8.00- per night, I thought it a bargain.
I was told by other campers that it can get VERY busy during high season, with some (selfish) people setting up 'small villages' (tents, vans, cars, windbreaks, gazebos) to reserve their 'favourite spots' and leaving campervans/motorhomes/tents on-site for the whole of the summer season. Plenty of room when I was there, though
Seen: Otter (in the distance and gone before I could get the binoculars out for a better look)