Mull Spring 2018In April and May 2018 Laura and I go on a holiday to Scotland, one week in a cottage on the Isle of Mull and one week travelling across the country. We hadn't visited Schotland since 2012, when we were on holiday on Skye.
We decide this time to travel through the Channel Tunnel, that is with the car on a train. It's a strange experience to arrive in England without having seen the sea. This is the view from the train just before it goes into the tunnel. On the other track is a similar train.
We spend our first night in the northeast of the Cotswolds. There are two donkeys behind the George Inn.
The next night we are in Schotland, in the former mining village Leadhills. This is the view from our hotel room of the village. In the central lawn there is a wooden bell tower.
The boat to Mull leaves from Oban. This is a view of Oban from the boat.
Roads on Mull are almost exclusively single track roads with passing places. The area is more than twice that of the Isle of Wight but it has only two percent of the number of inhabitants of Wight, and most of them live in the largest village, Tobermory. The rest of the Island is empty, like on this photo, only a short way after the port (photo by Laura).
Scenery on Mull.
It's the end of April, which means there are many lambs.
And there's Highland cattle of course. There aren't many fences or walls.
View from our house in the southwest of the island, with sheep grazing in our front yard.
And cows graze in the field next to our house (photo taken from our small balcony).
The boat to the smaller islands of Iona and Staffa departs from Fionnphort, a village nearby with 50 inhabitants. Later, we will learn that Mull's inhabitants pronounce it as something like Finnefer. In this photo someone with a red umbrella walks a dog on the beach.
Lobster nets and a tanker in the port of Fionnphort.
Laura on the road to the beach near Uisken.
Beach near Uisken.
Laura on the beach.
Beach.
Someone walks a dog.
Laura.
View of the sea.
Our cottage (which appears to be for sale).
In the distance we see deer from our kitchen window.
View from our house.
Sunset, seen from our house.
View of Tobermory, the largest village on the island. We buy a pair of binoculars.
Lunchroom in a converted church.
We take the scenic route back to our house.
Cattle.
Sheep.
Coastal road.
Cattle on the road.
Today we take the boat to Staffa. This is the monastery on the Isle of Iona, as seen from the boat.
View from the boat.
Boat, with in the background Iona.
View from the boat to Staffa.
View from the boat to Staffa.
Seals.
It feels great to be back at sea.
Staffa in the distance.
Staffa's landscape was formed by several volcanic eruptions. The lava then shrank to the characteristic and bizarre basalt.
Summit of Staffa, photographed from the boat. The island is more than 40 metres high and in the south rises perpendicularly from the sea.
Fingal's Cave.
If you look closely, you can see a path with a rope along the basalt, from the jetty to Fingal's Cave.
View from the island towards the north.
In some places the land is very swampy.
View from Staffa to Bac Mòr in the distance, also known as The Dutchman's Cap, one of the Treshnish Isles.
Laura on Staffa.
Coastal area of Staffa.
Coastal area of Staffa.
Laura on the footpath to Fingal's Cave.
Laura on Staffa.
The south coast of Staffa.
Fingal's Cave. The cave is circa 20 metres high.
Me near the entrance to Fingal's Cave (photo by Laura).
Laura near Fingal's Cave.
Splashing foam.
Waves in Fingal's Cave.
Laura next to basalt.
Looking up next to basalt.
An island or peninsula next to Staffa, comprised of many small basalt cliffs. On top is a seagull.
The basalt rocks sometimes form striking patterns.
Small island.
Puffins near Staffa.
Coastal area.
Coast of Staffa (I suspect these are Goat Cave and Clamshell Cave).
Puffins.
Puffin.
View of Fingal's Cave from the boat on the way back.
We make a stopover on the island of Iona.
Iona.
Iona.
Dog.
Iona.
Sheep.
Iona.
Highland cattle bull.
Playing with a ball while waiting for the boat from Iona to Mull.
Discussion. It looks so photogenic that I stop the car and walk back to take this photo.
We take a walk along the south coast of Mull. It is not always clear where the path is.
A deer that stands very still very near to us.
Mull.
Deer in the distance.
Seals.
We come across a wild goat. He sees us but that does not bother him much. Hikers we meet a bit later tell us that it is an Ibex.
The coast in the south of Mull resembles Staffa a bit.
Coast.
Laura walks along the coast.
I walk towards a large cave (photo by Laura).
Laura at the coast, near a waterfall.
Coastal scenery.
Coast.
Once more the view from our living room.
And once more a lamb near our cottage.
Mull.
Mull has no shortage of lambs.
Boat out of water.
It is clear that residents of Mull like to spend a lot of time on the appearance of their mailboxes. The mailboxes must of course be somewhat larger than regular mailboxes because the area is so sparsely populated.
A deer in the field next to our cottage.
The deer leaves by jumping over the fence.
Highland cattle on the road (with a black calf).
European stonechat (male).
This is Craignure's port, where the ferry to and from the mainland moors (Oban).
Lighthouse.
Mountain Gearr Aonach, in Glen Coe (photo by Laura).
Scenery in Scotland, near Glen Coe.
There are suddenly a lot of tourists in Glen Coe. A group asks us to take a photo of them and in return they take this photo of us.
A hydroelectric power station.
View of Loch Tummel from our hotel.
Loch Tummel. We make a big detour home and first drive north through the Cairngorms.
Braemar Castle.
This was probably not meant to scare away thirsty dogs.
Scenery between Braemar and Dunning.
A pass between Braemar and Dunning (photo by Laura).
Pony.
We spend the night in a B&B near Dunning, where we take a walk in the area.
A pheasant near a farm.
View on our walk.
Broom.
Branches.
View of a river downwards from the path.
It is a somewhat narrow and difficult path.
View.
Blossom.
We have our very own house to sleep in, a pod.
View from the pod.
Our view is of a lawn with lots of rabbits.
Scots have not always been so friendly.
An old petrol pump by the side of the road.
Rain on our way back in England.
