September 19 - Getting Sunburned Touring the Isle of Mull

Barcaldine Common Room

After a fairly restful sleep in the castle (alas, made no aquintenances with ghosts) we woke to cloudy, moody, skies this morning.  I took a quick tour of the castle interior before heading outside for a jaunt before breakfast.  Once I figured out how to open the castle door,
I wandered the gardens taking in the views.  It is quite a lovely place.

After breakfast (I had Scottish oat porridge with raisens an brown sugar and laced with, of course, whiskey, mmmmm) we headed to Oban to catch the ferry to the Isle of Mull, an island in the Inner Hebrides known for its scenic qualities, for a daylong tour.  Before doing that we had to pick up the car, with its brand-spanking-new , expensive (can't even bring myself mutter the cost out loud), Michelin tire from the Kwik Fix auto service center.  It got a little tense, dealing with Oban rush hour traffic, driving the wrong way on one way streets, figuring out where  to park one of the two vehicles (we were taking the other to Mull), and then, after paying for parking, the machine not issuing a ticket, and finally, getting to the terminal itself ("just follow the signs" we were told . . . what signs?) but it all got sorted out in the end and we managed to arrive just by the checkin-in deadline to queue up . . . and wait another 30 minutes.

Lismore Lighthouse

Oban from the ferry

After the morning logistical calisthenics, the uneventful 45-minute ferry to Craignure, Mull was appreciated.  The weather started to clear providing us wonderful skies of clouds and blue.  As we sailed northwest through the Sound of Mull we passed by small towns, the Duart and Dunstaffnage castles, and the Lismore lighthouse, a rather more modern, ill-fitting Mediterranean structure among the various basalt buildings, but picturesque nonetheless. 

View from the Mull west coast

Almost too soo, we arrived at Craignure, disembarked, and proceeded to drive along the coastline north to the port town of Tobermory.  The drive was, well, interesting.  In many places it was a single paved lane with pullouts.  At most places you had good site distance, but at the remaining few blind hills and curves, well you just muttered a prayer and held your breath.  Good thing Alison and I were in the back seat and found the scenery was captivating.  I imagine that the local island population organize their travel around the ferry schedule, for people coming the opposite direction had to wait quite a bit of time while our caravan of cars passed through.  We got wise to this, checked the ferry schedule, and made plans of when to return that avoided the ferry traffic.

Tobermory

Tobermory

In about 45 minutes we entered the Town of Tobermory, known for the mysterious destruction and sinking of one of the Spanish Armada fleet that happened to be carrying a hoard of 30 million ducats in gold coin in 1588.   Tobermory is a photogenic "wee bit of a town" estiblished by the English government in the late 18th century as a fisheries community, focusing on herring, but, due to lack of expertise in boat-building (kind of a major oversite don't you think?), this industry never got off the ground.  However the kelp boom (first I heard of that) kept the economy going in the production of soap and glass.  After that industry collapsed in the early 19th century, the town began to develop tourism as its primary source of income.

Tobermory's honorary mayor

The four of us wandered the main street of Tobermory for a couple of hours, meeting the honorary town mayor, an orange cat (there are actually many orange cats in this town) with his own facebook page, taking photographs, souvenir shopping, visiting the museum where, despite the efforts of the kind gentleman staffing the desk, we were still unable to figure out how castles were built, and then taking a bit of lunch at the local bakery.

Aros Park

We then proceeded to head back the way we came, stopping at a pretty park, Aros Park, managed by the Scottish Forestry Commission.  The island is dotted with many of these parks and despite the nippiness in the temperature, we witnessed a few hardy Scottish folk enjoying a picnic in the park.

View of Duart Castle Looking West

We continued heading south to the Duart Castle, a 13th century fortress and ancestral home of the Maclean Clan.  The castle is situated nicely on a promotory near the southeasternmost point of Mull with excellent views both north and south along the Sound of Mull.  The self-guided tour was well done, providing a linear history of the structure itself, as well as describing the lives of the original inhabitants.  There were also a number of displays presenting information about the Macleans, including the family tree and even present day descendants and aspects

Duart Castle Looking NW

about their lives.  Unlike the community fortress/garrison that is Edinburgh Castle, this is what I envisioned a castle to be, more of a fortifed family residence.  After spending quite a bit of time wandering the grounds and taking photographs, we headed back to the Port of Craignure to catch our 5:00 pm ferry back to Oban.  It would have been nice to stay longer, but we were glad for the time that we had on this little island.  Though it had been raining, just before the ferry came in, the sun came out a we received yet another rainbow, like the island wish us a fond farewell.

Rainbow at Craignure Ferry Terminal

Having overdosed a bit on fish and beef these past few days, we opted for a recommended Italian restaurant where we ordered pizzas, pastas, and wine.  As we discussed the days events we were surprised to discover that a few of us had received a bit of color, not from whiskey or wine, but from the sun.  I can't tell you how fortunate we've been with the weather.  Though there has been rain almost every day, it never lasted very long, with the exception of our travel to Loch Lomand, and, on today in particular, it seemed to coincide with when we planned to be inside.  Hope this kind of weather holds up for the remainder of the trip.

Alison and Casey at Duart Castle

Though we had initially thought we'd head to a local pub for music and after dinner drinks, most of us were ready to fall asleep in our food so, instead, we headed back to the castle, and sat together in a pretty sitting area, enjoying a fire, and drinking wine (OK, just Alison and myself enjoyed the wine) while planning for tomorrow's activities.  This was our last day together.  Tomorrow, Casey and Alison begin to head towards London and Rick and I head further north to the Isle of Skye.  Thank-you Alison and Casey for your companionship during these days of travel!  Having you with us has enriched our experience of Scotland for you introduced to us activities and experiences that we would have otherwise missed!  How truly fortunate we are to have you as friends and we wish you safe travels and an enjoyable visit to London.  Love you guys.