Well if you managed to read even half of that you would realise that we had a great time, were sad to leave but happy to have been. Who knows we may even return one day.
I am afraid as I blogged on I got a little bit more verbose as I didn't want to miss any important event.
I compiled this blog from notes taken each night on my phone using the Daily Diary app. Then I looked at the photos I had taken on my iPhone.
Finally I looked through the photos of E and A2 and picked out any particular favourites (well it is my blog!).
And at the very end I asked A1 to provide a few of her favourite pics from each day. (She took loads).
I could spend longer on each page getting the words and photos in the right order but its a good enough record.
Hope you like it! I had fun putting it together.
Day 14 - Back Home
Not much to say. Breakfast was fine, hotel was fine we would stay there again as long as we could find a cheap deal. The road back to the motorway was full of cows.. thats OK. The trip back down South was uneventful, I can't even remember stopping.
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| One last trip |
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| Those Cows! |
Day 13 - Shap ... where is that?
We were up and ready in time to eat last scraps of food before all packed and ready to leave at 10:30 as agreed. This holiday ran like clockwork due to the constant badgering by Sgt Major S. (You can ask the others!). We were all sad to leave but what a holiday we had. On packing the car I was the one who carried the suitcase of A2. It was MUCH heavier than I had remembered. I believe this was due to some extra beach memorabilia smuggled in the suitcase. Next year there my be a weigh out and in. (I wonder if this contributed to the need for a replacement wheel bearing on return home?) (Its a good job that A2 is generally a good old boy!)
The journey along the single track road back to the ferry was pleasant and we had some time to get some last snaps of the scenery. We got in the ferry queue and had time for coffee and cake in a local cafe. The ferry arrived on time but took at least 15 minutes before it manoeuvred itself onto the dock. We were told it was the unusual tide and wind that had made it more difficult.
On the ferry some of us grabbed a soup as we knew there was a long journey ahead. The weather was kind enough to allow us to sit on the deck for most of the trip watching ferries coming and going from Oban.
We filled up with diesel just outside Oban (with many others from ferry) and had a quick stop at the Green Welly Stop just before Crianlarich. This turned out to be a good place to stop and I will remember it for future visits to the Western Isles.
We hit the M8 Glasgow at rush hour which was a bit of a pain although we never stopped, just crawled but with the help of Margot (our SatNav) we navigated through at least 6 lanes of motorway through a sea of cars. (Take me back to Mull now!) One more stop was needed on M74 before finally arriving on the M6 in the lake district for the turning to Shap. Now as far as I knew Shap was more of a hill than a place so I wondered where the hotel could be.
As we turned off the M6 we were immediately on a very dark road. It could have been Scotland again. There were no street lights, there were cows and sheep on the side of the road and Margot pointed us down a narrow lane that seemed an unlikely to find a hotel. We stopped at a dark gate with a sign saying Visitors Only (or Trespasses will be Prosecuted or something similar). We hesitated a bit here but it just looked like dark buildings. Eventually we drove on a bit farther to find a sign to the hotel. Relief... we were knackered after a long journey South. The hotel was busy, there were a few coaches in the car park. We quickly booked in and ordered dinner in the restaurant. As we were making our choices a female singer started in the room next door. (In my line of vision). She was Ok but some of the (elderly) coach party were soon up dancing and harassing some youngish lads. It was not safe to go out there! The meal was fine (probably a bit much as all we had done was sit in the car all day) and we had a couple of drinks before retiring to our rooms.
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| Ready to go |
The journey along the single track road back to the ferry was pleasant and we had some time to get some last snaps of the scenery. We got in the ferry queue and had time for coffee and cake in a local cafe. The ferry arrived on time but took at least 15 minutes before it manoeuvred itself onto the dock. We were told it was the unusual tide and wind that had made it more difficult.
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| Ah the good old single track road |
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| Our trusty transport |
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| Arrival at Ferry Port |
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| Artistic shot while waiting for the Ferry |
On the ferry some of us grabbed a soup as we knew there was a long journey ahead. The weather was kind enough to allow us to sit on the deck for most of the trip watching ferries coming and going from Oban.
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| To the tune of "Bye Bye Love" Bye Bye Mull,... |
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| They don't look too fed up |
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| Wish we were going that way! |
We filled up with diesel just outside Oban (with many others from ferry) and had a quick stop at the Green Welly Stop just before Crianlarich. This turned out to be a good place to stop and I will remember it for future visits to the Western Isles.
We hit the M8 Glasgow at rush hour which was a bit of a pain although we never stopped, just crawled but with the help of Margot (our SatNav) we navigated through at least 6 lanes of motorway through a sea of cars. (Take me back to Mull now!) One more stop was needed on M74 before finally arriving on the M6 in the lake district for the turning to Shap. Now as far as I knew Shap was more of a hill than a place so I wondered where the hotel could be.
As we turned off the M6 we were immediately on a very dark road. It could have been Scotland again. There were no street lights, there were cows and sheep on the side of the road and Margot pointed us down a narrow lane that seemed an unlikely to find a hotel. We stopped at a dark gate with a sign saying Visitors Only (or Trespasses will be Prosecuted or something similar). We hesitated a bit here but it just looked like dark buildings. Eventually we drove on a bit farther to find a sign to the hotel. Relief... we were knackered after a long journey South. The hotel was busy, there were a few coaches in the car park. We quickly booked in and ordered dinner in the restaurant. As we were making our choices a female singer started in the room next door. (In my line of vision). She was Ok but some of the (elderly) coach party were soon up dancing and harassing some youngish lads. It was not safe to go out there! The meal was fine (probably a bit much as all we had done was sit in the car all day) and we had a couple of drinks before retiring to our rooms.
Day 12 - Farewell Iona
We had decided to spend our last day on Iona. We also looked in the fridge and decided that a full breakfast was in order. The full breakfast took a little longer than expected and we missed the 10 o'clock ferry and we found that the 11 o'clock ferry was not running. I think it was some local holiday in the area as this was not the only unexpected outcome.
Anyway we caught the 12 o'clock ferry and I stood on the top the whole way over to Iona trying to soak up as much of the feeling as I could. Myself and A1 walked to the golf course to visit the nice beach I had seen while playing golf. E and A2 were to get a taxi up to the golf course and meet us there. However, the taxi did not answer the phone, perhaps because it was a local holiday? Anyway after E and A2 asked in the shop about the taxi, a very nice customer offered to take them in his car. This was typical of the friendly attitude of all the locals. So we all met up at the golf course. E and A2 wandered down to the beach (about hole 5) and myself and A1 went right towards hole 11 and the beach. As we set off we could see the local cattle had decided to go eat on the golf course so we skirted round them to get to the wonderful beach 10 minutes right along the coast line.
We were (as usual) by ourselves and as you can see from the photos it is pretty special. As we returned the cows were on the 12th fairway (I wonder how we would have dealt with this during a game of golf?)
We had decided that myself and A2 would like to climb the hill behind the Abbey while A1 and E took a leisurely stroll down to the cafe next to the ferry where we were to meet before catching the ferry home.
The walk to the bottom of this hill was a bit longer than I had thought (typical of me I know). To help things along I took the rucksack that A2 had been carrying. It was very heavy .. suspiciously heavy (I said nothing and neither did A2) . Walk past the Abbey quite a way then next to a group of houses follow the sign left from the road, 600m to the summit. We met a couple coming down, they told us that it was similar to the lake district. The path to the top was steepish but short enough to get from bottom to top in about 10 minutes. The view from the top was impressive and we were pleased we made the effort.
We met a guy on the top asking where North was as he was looking for a lost well. We pointed him in the direction of Staffa (North) and descended quickly. A2 navigated through the Abbey down to the path along the shore back to the ferry where we all met up in the cafe.
It was time for soup before catching the 4 o'clock ferry back to Mull for the last time. Again I stood on top to soak up the ferry feeling (sigh).
On return to the house it was time for a bit of packing and getting bikes on roofrack as we had an early-ish start in the morning. We were feeling sorry for ourselves. Now, A2 had collected some sea food from the beach earlier in the week and had decided that he was going to eat it on the last day and meet us at the pub after we had eaten. Strangely no-one else could be tempted to eat with A2. As we arrived at the pub we were informed that the pub was not serving food (we had forgotten this...) so after a pint and crisps, back to the house to eat every last piece of food in the fridge. The makeshift meal was fine and it meant that no scraps were left.
We knew we had had a great time and this was the end, we all felt glum. One last night with the wonderful view of beach, tide and ferry (or not). Oh well what a holiday... one last Zzzz....
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| A1 pic nice hallway! |
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| On the way to catch the ferry |
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| A1 took this pic of he hill we were to climb later |
Anyway we caught the 12 o'clock ferry and I stood on the top the whole way over to Iona trying to soak up as much of the feeling as I could. Myself and A1 walked to the golf course to visit the nice beach I had seen while playing golf. E and A2 were to get a taxi up to the golf course and meet us there. However, the taxi did not answer the phone, perhaps because it was a local holiday? Anyway after E and A2 asked in the shop about the taxi, a very nice customer offered to take them in his car. This was typical of the friendly attitude of all the locals. So we all met up at the golf course. E and A2 wandered down to the beach (about hole 5) and myself and A1 went right towards hole 11 and the beach. As we set off we could see the local cattle had decided to go eat on the golf course so we skirted round them to get to the wonderful beach 10 minutes right along the coast line.
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| A1 artistic shot of ferry returning to Mull |
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| A1 shot of golf course on way to beach |
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| Beach cam (artistic?) |
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| On the beach |
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| Wow |
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| The top |
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| That is our shadow down there |
We were (as usual) by ourselves and as you can see from the photos it is pretty special. As we returned the cows were on the 12th fairway (I wonder how we would have dealt with this during a game of golf?)
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| Those cows |
We had decided that myself and A2 would like to climb the hill behind the Abbey while A1 and E took a leisurely stroll down to the cafe next to the ferry where we were to meet before catching the ferry home.
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| A1 getting artistic again on way to cafe |
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| A1 scone nice! |
The walk to the bottom of this hill was a bit longer than I had thought (typical of me I know). To help things along I took the rucksack that A2 had been carrying. It was very heavy .. suspiciously heavy (I said nothing and neither did A2) . Walk past the Abbey quite a way then next to a group of houses follow the sign left from the road, 600m to the summit. We met a couple coming down, they told us that it was similar to the lake district. The path to the top was steepish but short enough to get from bottom to top in about 10 minutes. The view from the top was impressive and we were pleased we made the effort.
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| A1 snap of hill |
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| View from the top to Staffa (Zoom in) |
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| Some weather on the horizon |
We met a guy on the top asking where North was as he was looking for a lost well. We pointed him in the direction of Staffa (North) and descended quickly. A2 navigated through the Abbey down to the path along the shore back to the ferry where we all met up in the cafe.
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| One of my fave snaps on the way back for soup. I just like the colours! |
It was time for soup before catching the 4 o'clock ferry back to Mull for the last time. Again I stood on top to soak up the ferry feeling (sigh).
On return to the house it was time for a bit of packing and getting bikes on roofrack as we had an early-ish start in the morning. We were feeling sorry for ourselves. Now, A2 had collected some sea food from the beach earlier in the week and had decided that he was going to eat it on the last day and meet us at the pub after we had eaten. Strangely no-one else could be tempted to eat with A2. As we arrived at the pub we were informed that the pub was not serving food (we had forgotten this...) so after a pint and crisps, back to the house to eat every last piece of food in the fridge. The makeshift meal was fine and it meant that no scraps were left.
We knew we had had a great time and this was the end, we all felt glum. One last night with the wonderful view of beach, tide and ferry (or not). Oh well what a holiday... one last Zzzz....
Day 11 - 1+3 Glorious Beaches
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| The picture frame view from the house |
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| A1 pic of ascent |
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| A1 pic of us at top |
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| View of Fionnphort from peak #1 |
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| View of Fionphort from peak #2 |
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| View of Staffa from peak #2 (squint and zoom) |
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| Path down to beach. Look at this for a driveway! |
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| Beach (Quarry) |
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| Some scrambling required to get down. And to avoid getting wet feet! |
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| Our next door neighbours house (Artistic?) |
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| A1 pic the wanderers return |
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| A1 pic of those sheep like our grass! |
When we returned to the house A1 and E had fed and watered and A1 had taken some good shots of out epic ascent. (I will try to add these pics later). So without further ado we got in the car and drove to the second beach of the day at Knockvologan. We parked the car in the field with geese and chickens and walked down the stony track heading for the sea. The stoney track is not long and we were on the beach in 10 minutes.
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| A1 pic of sheep on the beach |
We had been told that there were 3 beaches here. The instructions are: go left at the bottom of the track for the 3 beaches, go right to get to Erraid.
Beach number 1 is nice. E&A2 were happy to wander round beach number 1 and just enjoy being there. Myself and A1 went left and climbed the over the short headland to beach number 2 (which is nicer) and then over a similar (slightly longer) headland to beach number 3 (amazing). In the bay at beach number 3 was our red sailed boat and the captain, Mark and family were picnicking in the dunes. We were starting to feel a little bit like locals, fancy meeting someone you know... We just waved and wandered across the beach admiring the views and wondering how we could be so lucky. Just perfect.
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| Beach 1 looking towards Erraid |
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| A1 pics of views from top |
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| A1 pic first view of beach #3 |
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| Looking back at Beach # 2 |
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| Our red sailed boat on beach #3 |
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| A1 shot of same |
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| A1 shot of beach #3 |
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| Us! |
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| Walking up hill back to Knockvologan (Artistic?) |
Just before we left we had another treat in store .. an otter on the beach...
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| A1 otter pic zoom for a proper look at this one! |
I had been looking at our garden and the beach and thinking that it might be a good opportunity to get a bit of golf practice in. My idea was to take my 9 iron and hit some balls from the grass onto the beach. Obviously I had to wait until the beach was empty. I took the opportunity while waiting for A2 to get home to try it out. I took 3 balls and hit them towards the big rock and then walked onto the beach to retrieve them and repeated this 4 or 5 times. Great fun. I was pleased that most of my shots were in the right direction and in a similar place (maybe just stick to a 9 iron for golf?). I thought it could only have been better if I could have persuaded another team member to stand on the beach and retrieve the balls for me ;-). I expect danger money would have been required.
As it started to get dark we started to wonder if A2 would make it back before meal time at the pub. When we left him the weather was warm and he had only walked a few miles. As darkness approached it got colder and I realised he would have walked about 9 miles in total. No need to worry though as A2 got back just before dark, grinning but saying it was further than he thought. (There have been many occasions when A2 has gone missing way after dark.. its his speciality!)
There was another glorious sunset thwarted slightly by the clouds in the distance but I got a pic anyway.
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| Sunset |
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| A1 sunset pic |
So a well earned trip to the Keel Row was in order and the usual food, beer and good company followed as they had on other nights. A great end to a great day.
On return home the atmosphere was a little subdued as we all started to realise that the next day was our last one. Lets not dwell on it, lets make it a good one.... ZZ.zzz..
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