A Week on Mull

A month ago we drove up to Oban and caught the ferry across to Mull for our family holiday. While a much larger island than Bute, which we visited last year, the population is less than half. The roads are mostly single-track, and areas of civilisation are quite scattered across the island, giving it a much more rural feel. We stayed in a lovely holiday let, which was set back from the road and surrounded by woodland, but with a view through the trees across Loch Cuin. We watched the sun setting over the water, and I was completely taken away by the beauty and tranquility of that moment. 

I think the first day of the holiday was our favourite. We spent the first part of the day on a beach further along the coast, and then stopped at Croig for the "Sometimes Annual Daft Raft Race" that Sewel and I had spotted advertised on a poster. It was quite a spectacle and certainly proved to be an interesting experience, even as a mere spectator. We watched as an array of rafts set off from the shore and raced to the pier further along. We followed their progress on foot and were there to meet them at the other end. We were completely drawn by Croig, and were struck by the view of what we believe to be Rum in the distance.

We visited Tobermory twice. The town, with its iconic colourful houses set along the seafront, is the setting for the children's television programme Balamory. Moth and Ever loved visiting the aquarium, which was small but still kept us occupied for over an hour. We enjoyed the touch-pool session and Ever was brave enough to hold a starfish. We also did some souvenir-hunting in the wide range of touristy shops, and were also able to stock up on food supplies at the local Co-op. 

We spent a day driving all the way to the South-West point of Mull, where we caught the ferry from Fionnphort across to Iona. It was nice to spend a day exploring a little of the island and getting a feel for it, although we didn't venture into the abbey, with two small children in tow. We spent another day on another small island called Ulva, which has a population of just five people! It would certainly be an experience living for a time in such a remote place. 

We visited Duart Castle, although this was a little challenging with the children as they wouldn't let us hang around for long, ever eager to move on to the next room. Because we shared the holiday with my parents, Sewel and I were able to go out for a meal together one evening, which was a real treat! At our encouragement, my parents joined the Staffa tour on the final day. We decided against it, as we weren't sure about how the children would react to the three hour boat trip. When my parents returned they said the trip was one of the highlights of the holiday for them, as they had been lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins during the trip. 

Apart from the Staffa trip, which we'll save for a later date, I felt we ticked everything off our Mull "bucket list", and really got a good overview of the island. We all really enjoyed the week, especially Moth and Ever, who coped with being away from home and in a different environment much better than they did last year. 

 

Visiting Cumbrae

Last weekend, with a guest to entertain and a promising weather forecast ahead, we set off for Largs, a seaside town on the West coast, and caught the ten minute ferry across to Great Cumbrae. This tiny island has a population of around 1400 people, and isn't far from Bute which we visited last summer. 

Four miles from the ferry terminal lies the small town of Millport, and main area of habitation on the island. After our picnic we explored the seafront, starting with crocodile rock, the first point of interest. Not to be confused with the popular Elton John song, this is quite literally a rock shaped like a crocodile. There is also Lion Rock and Indian Rock, but these will wait for another visit. 

We then went to Garrison House and had a look at the small museum there. It was interesting, but the children were very fidgety so it wasn't long before we moved on. We walked to the Cathedral of the Isles, the smallest cathedral in the UK. 

We were the only visitors at the time, and it was very tranquil, even with two small children. Even they seemed slightly in awe and were happy to sit in the pew with me until the rest of our party had finished looking. We found a grass labyrinth in the cathedral grounds and had great fun following the path to the centre. 

We returned to the seafront and had a look in some of the shops and cafes in search of the ice cream we had promised Moth and Ever. The only problem was that as we aren't quite into tourist season yet, there wasn't a lot of choice. Moth wanted strawberry and Ever chocolate. Eventually we compromised and bought a box of unbranded mini Magnum style ice creams from the local Premier food store. 

 

There was enough to go around, and so we all enjoyed sitting on a bench and looking across to distant Arran, and the mainland. 

We returned to the car and drove around the rest of the island. You can get around the whole island by car in about half an hour. Just before we reached the ferry terminal for the return journey, we stopped at some rock pools. We had brought buckets and spades and the children's nets, and spent a happy half an hour collecting shells and exploring rock pools. We even found a jelly fish washed up on the shore. 

We were only about five minutes from the ferry and got there just as it was arriving. We boarded the ferry for the short journey back to the mainland. It had been a wonderful adventure. 

Bute Medley

It's been a long-held dream of mine to visit the Scottish islands, as many of them as I can fit into my lifetime. Our move to Scotland last year has made this ambition more of a possibility. In June we began our adventure with a visit to Bute, a small island with a population a similar size to the village where we live. It also seems to be a lesser known islands, dwarfed by the popularity of Skye and other islands that seem to be overrun by tourists in the summer. Our week was a quiet one towards the end of the school term and still a long way off the height of the tourist season.

It was just an hour's drive to Wemyss Bay and a thirty minute ferry crossing to Rothesay. Our holiday let for the week was on the seafront, where we could look across to the mainland and watch the ferry coming and going all day long, and a distant lighthouse flashing at nightfall.

It was a place where everything seemed very close to hand. We could drive around the island at a leisurely pace in just a couple of hours, which is something we did towards the end of our stay. We spent the early days skimming stones, paddling in the warm sea and digging in the sand, breathing in the calming sea air and absorbing the ambience of this small but idyllic place.

We visited Rothesay Castle, which at the time was overpopulated with nesting gulls and their young. We braved the battlements and thankfully weren't perceived to be a threat by the mothers, who can be notoriously defensive when they want to be. I should know, as I was once dive-bombed in my garden by a seagull who thought I presented a risk to her young, two storeys up on the roof!

I was completely struck by the shape of other islands in the distance, especially the dramatic and mountainous terrain of Arran, which though six miles away seemed incredibly close when seen from parts of Bute. Looking out to sea and seeing other islands rising in the distance, always filled me with the same sense of wonder and desire to explore these uncharted territories.

I think we chose the best week in the year for weather. It rained but once during our stay, soon after our arrival, and so lightly that we weren't even aware of it until afterwards when we noticed the ground was slightly wet. The sea was a beautiful azure in the sunshine and it was such a delight to take in the landscape from viewpoints, such as the one above Scalpsie Bay, which we visited on more than one occasion.

We also visited one of several lochs on the island, Loch Fad. It was a very quiet and peaceful place, almost completely deserted apart from a couple of horses, grazing in a field nearby. Even from here we could see the mountains of Arran rising in the distance beyond the loch.

One of Rothesay's top tourist attractions are the Victorian toilets on the seafront. We paid forty pence to take a look, and they certainly proved to be an interesting and novel diversion. 

We enjoyed our walks along the seafront at Rothesay, looking out across the water to the Kyles of Bute, and watching the ferry arrive. Moth was incredibly excitable during the ferry journey, and looked forward to the return journey so much that I feel this was his highlight of the week.

As our holiday drew to a close, we scoured the points where seal sightings were most common, but always in vain. It was only by chance that we spotted one on our last day, basking on a rock near Rothesay. 

 

The day of our departure arrived and we boarded the ferry again and watched as Bute shrank gradually into the distance. We drove a little way down the coast from Wemyss Bay, and stopped at Largs where we watched the ferry arriving from Great Cumbrae. We looked across to the island and Little Cumbrae beside it, and still we could see Bute a little way beyond.

We enjoyed our first Scottish island adventure. Bute certainly whet our appetite for further exploration of the Western isles. But on this occasion we were glad of the short drive home, aware also that the close proximity will allow us to return to Bute someday, even if only for a day trip.