Week 8 13th-19th July

Winds SW 2 Grey and wet

We left Loch a Choire at 9:30am, in grey drizzly weather. The forecast for this week seemed to be light winds and wet weather.

The village of Lochaline is on the Morvern peninsula on the sound of Mull. Morvern covers an area of 250 square miles but has a population of just over 300. Aline means beautiful, so beautiful loch, which it was. The yacht harbour was very friendly and keen to offer advice on the local shop and eateries (2 cafes, 1 restaurant and a social club serving pizzas).

As we walked into the village we passed the origin of the slight rumbling sound we noticed in the harbour. Between the pontoons and the village is a Silica Sand mine. The entrance to the mine feels very cold as you walk past. It is cut into a layer of white sandstone that is 99.8% quartz (silica SiO₂ ). It was opened during the second world war when pure silica was needed to make periscope lenses and gunsights. The pure quartz is now used for high quality glassware, solar glass and silicon carbide abrasives.

After a quick (second) lunch, Sue couldn’t resist a venison burger, we wandered around the loch. We had noticed ruined Ardtornish castle on the headland as we entered Loch Aline but it was too far to walk to. We walked instead to Ardtornish house and boathouse. The gardens are open to the public (mornings only) but the house has been divided into apartments. There is also privately owned Kinlochaline castle nearby. All were part of the Ardtornish estate.

A lovely walk followed by a beer and pizza in the social club.

Wind SE 1-2 Grey grey grey

Tobermory is on the island of Mull. There are many quirky shops, pubs and restaurants. Near to the harbour is an aquarium and a whisky distillery, a veritable metropolis. We planned to spend one night at Tobermory so wandered along the seafront and out towards the lighthouse.

We booked an evening meal in the cosy Tobermory Hotel. Delicious meal and friendly service.

Due to a change to the weather forecast on Sunday we decided to stay on the marina pontoon at Tobermory in the forecast 20-30mph winds. Going ashore would be much easier.

We tried to do some laundry but all the machines were very busy so we went for a walk to a nearby waterfall.

We returned to the boat for lunch and finally tackled the laundry. As ever, as soon as Sue had hung out the washing it tried to rain again. A quiet afternoon relaxing and successfully drying washing in between showers.

Wet, wet and wetter

We have been very lucky to have not had many days like this. The rain was so heavy. We did a few jobs on the boat in the morning, cleaning, blog writing etc. After lunch we visited Mull aquarium near to the harbour office. It is a catch and release aquarium where the creatures are released after up to four weeks, close to where they were found. They are all creatures that live in the Tobermory bay area. There were many varieties of starfish. They had several catfish which sleep for most of the day and hunt at night. (Which is why they are called catfish)

The whisky distillery tour was fully booked so we sheltered in a nearby bar. We wandered further along the harbour and found a pub that was showing the Wimbledon final. There was a great atmosphere. We chatted to a couple who had sailed a lot around these parts. They recommended that we should visit Coll.

Winds W 1-2 Grey then brighter

The Isle of Coll is west of Mull with a population of around 160. Thirteen miles in length and four miles across. We arrived in time for a quick lunch on board after picking up a mooring. We had not used the dingy since we were at Lulworth cove, many weeks ago. We motored ashore and tied up to a quay. We started walking towards the North of the island but the air started to feel cooler and damper so we walked along the hamlet of Arinagour. Many places were closed but we were able to retreat into The Coll Hotel.

The weather started to improve during the afternoon. We waited for the shop to open, for a few supplies, while sitting in the sheltered sunshine of the hotel garden.

We returned to the Coll hotel, via an easier quay, for a very good evening meal. Sitting in the bar were the couple who had recommended Coll the day before.

Wind E 1 Sunny

Staffa (meaning Pillar Island in old Norse) is an uninhabited island 6 miles off the coast of Mull.

“Its hexagonal columns were formed millions of years ago by volcanic eruptions and a vast blanket of lava that spread into the Atlantic Ocean. Years of waves crashing against these columns created the magnificent Fingal’s Cave.” The acoustics of Fingal’s Cave inspired Mendelssohn to compose his Hebrides Overture https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/staffa

We did not anchor off Iona because it can have poor holding. Bull Hole was a fantastically quiet spot. After anchoring and lunch we walked to the ferry port at Fionnphort and took a short ferry ride over to Iona.

Iona is a small, peaceful island off the Ross of Mull. It is 3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide with a permanent population of 170. We walked around the old Nunnery and past Iona Abbey.

The beautiful white sand beaches reminded us of Scilly.

We decided to continue walking along the coast. All was fine until we started to run out of beach and headed inland. In the summer we often walk in walking sandals. On Iona the footpaths were hard to find and underfoot was wet, soggy moss and peat, even on higher ground. Our online walking maps were useless and it took us ages, up and down soggy bog to get back to the road.

After washing our feet, sandals and legs in the sea we headed back to the ferry. Then a slightly muddy walk to our peaceful anchorage for a swim, shower and evening meal.

Winds W 2 Sunny but cool breeze

Colonsay and Oronsay are an island pair North of Islay and South of Mull. They are 10 miles by 2 miles. After lunch we ventured ashore. We checked maps and it looked like a short walk on a footpath to the road. We decided to wear sandals again.

The footpath? A little soft underfoot : (

Dun Eibhinn on the skyline opposite this plaque is all that remains of an 11th century fort. A seat of viking power in the Western Isles

It is a picturesque Island but similar to Coll, to reach other interesting parts of it, in the time we had, we would have needed a bike or a car. Also most places of interest were closed after lunch. A lovely place to spend a few days if you have road transport. We found the Colonsay hotel for a drink in the sun. A slightly better route back to the beach and our dingy, gave us amazing views of our mooring and the harbour.

Although we have had typical Scottish weather, we have enjoyed this part of our journey. In the right clothing we could still enjoy the beautiful scenery. But would certainly wear my walking boots more often.

Inspiring quote that popped up online this week. Not had trade winds mostly light breezes in our sails : )

‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.’

Mark Twain

Hope Maisie agrees