Our last day on Mull

After a couple of days of indifferent and sometimes wet weather, we were greeted with a better looking day for our last day on Mull. We put off touring Duart Castle on the day we arrived so it was now or never. On our way south from Tobermory we stopped to have a look around Aros Park before passing through Salen and Craignure to arrive at the castle. The self-guided tour around the castle was fascinating...and extremely well done for one that is privately run by the family.

Looking across to Tobermory from Aros Park

From the battlements of Duart Castle

 

Duart Castle

After a little lunch, with the sun now shining, we went for a walk along a little used path to Duart Point Lighthouse...and geocache. Back at the car and with most of the afternoon before us, we set off along the Fionnphort road again. Our objective however, was not Iona again...this time we were heading for the shorter in distance but much slower scenic route alongside Loch Scridain and around Ben More to Salen...and the scenery was magnificent.

Duart Point Lighthouse

Looking across to the mainland fron Duart Point

Views along the scenic route

To finish the day and our visit to Mull, as were neared Salen we stopped of to visit the mausoleum of Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821.

Lachlan Macquarie's mausoleum

Five-star overnight visitors to Tobermory - the Lord of the Glens and Sea Cloud II in the distance

A Visit to Iona

Iona is a small island off the west coast of Mull just across from Fionnphort. Its tourist magnet is the Iona Abbey...dating from around the 13th Century and restored from 1938 onwards by the Iona Community, the Abbey is the site of the monastery established by St Columba in 563 AD. So, like just about every other tourist that has ever visited Mull, we went to visit Iona. We set off from Tobermory on a long drive that covered the length and breadth of Mull until e arrived at Fionnphort. Here we had to leave the car and take the ferry as foot passengers as no visitors can bring cars on to the island without a permit.

On the road to Fionnphort

Leaving Fionnphort for a quick trip to Iona

After leaving the ferry, we walked up to the Abbey to have a look...and took one of the weirdest guided tours ever. Our guide was Alessendro, a young Italian who could speak English...sort of. After a tour of the Abbey we had afternoon tea in one of the hotel. We then inspected the Nunnery on our way back to the ferry. While crossing back over to Fionnphort and our car, the rain that had been threatening most of the day finally started..

Iona Abbey

In and around Iona Abbey

 

Iona Nunnery

Our ferry coming to collect us in the rain

Puffin Magic

We had booked a Staffa and Treshnish Isles Wildlife boat trip before we left home...but unfortunately we couldn't book the weather. It was a grey, cloudy day with rain threatening as we boarded our boat in Tobermory Harbour...and set off first for Kilchoan on the mainland to pick-up extra passengers. As we made our way around to the Teshnish Isles, we spent most of the time looking...unsuccessfully...for dolphins and whales. It was just too rough and those of us silly enough to be still outside when we entered unprotected waters got thoroughly drenched as the bow waves crashed over the whole boat.

Our boat for the day

Leaving Tobermory Harbour

The rain is coming...

Eventually we made it to Lunga, the largest island in the Treshnish group where we disembarked for 2 hours ashore. We spent our time drying out in the wind, watching puffins by the thousand, climbing to the highest point and catching sight of a few other types of sea birds. The puffins were absolutely amazing...absolutely fearless of humans, popping in and out of their burrows and posing for photographs. We were very lucky with our timing...it was getting late in the season for puffins and they had already left most of the other nesting sites around the UK.

The isle of Lunga

Leaving the boat

The "puffin parade"

Puffins...they are just so cute!

Anita with her own personal puffin

Anita is on top of the world...well Lunga at least

The view from the top

After boarding our boat again, we made the short trip to Staffa where we all went ashore to visit Fingal's Cave. An amazing geological feature which produces resounding booming echos as the waves crash into the end of the cave. It was one of those places where you would love to peacefully stay for hours...but for the impossibility of it with it being a bit like Bourke Street with tour boats coming and going all of the time. Although we only had a relatively short visit to Staffa, the timing couldn't have been better...the rain that had been threatening each time we were ashore finally started as we returned to the boat for the trip back to Tobermory.

Staffa  and Fingal's Cave

The path out to the cave

Looking inside Fingal's Cave

Inside...looking out

Returning to Tobermory

Pottering around Mull

After the last couple of days of overcast and, at times, wet weather, today we were greeted with a much better day. Having dealt with mundane matter such as banks, laundry and buying new shoes because mine leaked like a sieve, we set out in the car to explore the northern part of Mull. Today's drive was the exclusive domain of the single-lane B8073 so progress was not fast...and our lunch stop was high on a hill overlooking Dervaig.

Looking down on Tobermory from the high part of town

On the road to Dervaig

Overlooking Dervaig

Back on the move again, we descended into Dervaig and continued on to Calgary. Any plans we had to stop there were quickly dashed when we arrived...the sun was out and it seemed like everyone on Mull had decided to go the beach...there were cars everywhere and nowhere left to park. We continued on enjoying the fantastic scenery as we made our way through Lagganulva, past the small ferry over to Ulva and eventually coming out at Salen.

Calgary beach

 

Scenes from along the B8073...that's it on the left of the picture

From Salen we returned up the main road to Tobermory where we arrived just with enough time to join the last tour of the day through the Tobermory Distillery.

A panorama of Tobermory harbour