Mull Autumn 2013: Day 7 - 2 to Staffa, 1 to Staffa and an attempt on the Quarry Beach

We had known all along that a trip to see Fingal's Cave was something that we would like. (We had no idea how much!). I rang (see pic below) and booked for 2 of us S&A1 to go on the morning trip and for A2 to go alone on the afternoon. E had decided that it might be unsuitable and was happy to take it easy after all the excitement. (As it happened she would have been fine even if the steps had seemed too daunting as it is not uncommon for folks to sit and enjoy the view from the boat, next time perhaps).

On the phone to book the trip I learnt the correct pronunciation of our village. Fin-a-fut. (Say it slow to practice and say it fast to sound like you know where you are). The boat owner asked if we did not like the 'poor one' going alone on the afternoon sailing. We just laughed!

The boat arrived on time and we were excited and ever so slightly anxious that all would be well. We had no need to worry. There were 4 others on the boat. The journey to Staffa was very pleasant the scenery as usual was amazing, the sea was calm (very good!) and the excitement was rising. We had been humming the tune from Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture (you know... de-dar-dady-daar-dar) on and off all holiday and now we couldn't stop it. (am listening to it now as I write this blog). As we approached the cave and looked at the rocky cliffs we wondered how we would manage along the rocks (even though we could see a handrail). The boat crew told us a bit about the history and geography and we were directed left to the cave and up to the top and to be back in 40 mins or so (and not to be late).

A1 pic of our boat

A1 pic of some locals on the wing

A1 pic of caves

A1 pic geting nearer

A1 pic off we go

I think we were first off and we set off straight towards the cave. Initially I felt that I had to hang onto the railing for comfort but after a few minutes and a few hundred yards I started to relax and really enjoy the experience. We let 2 of our party pass (with their dog) and took some photos and the disbelief at being on this rock began to sink in. As we reached the entrance to the cave the sound and sight was incredible. We were amazed, its very difficult to explain. I have not met anyone that has said they have been here so I did not know what to expect. We were literally mind blown, in awe and feeling especially privileged to be on this rock in this cave on a such a nice day, what luck. After the photos and singing/whistling of de-dar-dady-daar-dar we set off back to reality. As we left the cave to let the remaining 2 of our party in we were both very happy to have been. On the walk back along the rocks (Not feeling the need to cling to the handrail) we saw a second boat approaching, this one was full and there were perhaps 20 or so people waving. We realised that we had been extra lucky to get to the island with only a handful of companions.

A1 pic of the path and handrail

A1 pic "Don't jump!"

A1 pic look at those colours!

A1 pic of return trip

A1 pic lookout there are loads on their way

The steps up the cliff are quite safe and the trip to the top pile of stones is an easy one and well worth the effort. The 360o views are stunning. Again we feel great, are we really here? The 40 minutes had flown and soon we were back on the boat for the return journey. Not much chat on the way back just big grins all round.

A1 pic of flower on Staffa

A1 pic of sail boat near Staffa

In summary there is nothing like it, the photos do not do it justice but it triggers good memories. If you get chance just go.

It made me think about all the people who have been to Staffa in times past with no handrail (before 1990) and perhaps in rough or dangerous conditions, what about good old Mendlessohn, what about the bloke that bought Staffa as a present for his wife (she was not amused) and why had no one told me to go before ... one more time.... amazing.

A1 got a snap of this boat (see next blog!)

On return A2 was waiting and also very excited. This time the boat was much more full but A2 went off with a grin for his own Staffa experience.

A1 pic of A2 off

For the remaining 3 it was a lunchtime trip to the pub to celebrate our great luck.

On the return of a grinning A2 we decided to try to get to the beach across the pink stones to the left (North of the House). We knew the path was boggy as A2 had already been on a reccee earlier. In the end we took what turned out to be a wrong turn right up a slab and it got very boggy even though there was a sheep path. A2 went on to find the beach which he described as amazing (overused word...? not on this holiday!). From memory, walk up the rocks following the path over a couple of small streams and when you get a choice go left for an easier route to the beach (see later in blog). We turned back and decided to try again on another day. Thats the good thing about stopping for several days.

A1 pic of Staffa from near our house (good zoom!)

A1 pic of Ferry at sunset - have they forgotten it?
(It was nearly 7 pm)

It was roughly the half way point on the holiday and we have one mundane chore to perform the 10 minute eco cycle on the washing machine. Then guess what...?

Yep... a trip to the Keel Row where we eat, drink and hear that tomorrow there is a music night at the pub. This causes great excitement among the musicians and music lovers in the party (that about covers all of us!).

You may think its a bit excessive going to the pub and eating out every night but the price is right (compared to many out of the way scottish eating houses the food and drink are a very fair price) indeed it would not save much to eat in every night and it would be way less fun. On the other hand you may just think its a great idea to go to the pub every night. ;-)

I for one have made the effort not to Zzzz before bed time so its nice for us all to relax and chat and review the days stories in the house before Zzzz... I believe that 2 of the party attempted to do some knitting but as far as I can tell the knitted output was minimal.

One very minor thing about the weather was the cloud cover almost every night. It was funny because most days were clear blue sky but at night the cloud appeared in the west. This did 2 things, One it prevented some amazing sunset's and two it prevented us from viewing the stars with little light pollution. Thats 2 good reasons to return (see where I am going with this argument?). We had also purchased a 2 quid star gazing app for the phone which we will be waiting to use another time. NOTE: this is not any sort of complaint just an observation.