Badger Galore
Staying ‘Up Over’ for a while.
Lowther and Swindale.
So…Will has been contacted by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) to help run a nature course in October. The course will be taking place at two sites, one by the River Lowther and the other in Swindale by Swindale Beck. They are interested in the work Will had done with his sound recordings of rivers and would like him to show course attendees how he does it and help them to make sound recordings of their own. The two sites are RSPB nature reserves so when we had a bit of free time we went to check the sites out beforehand to see the ‘lie of the land’, so to speak. We had some lovely surprises. Firstly, we did not know that at the Lowther site beavers were reintroduced about 6 years ago, we didn’t see any but found evidence of them and secondly, Swindale was beautiful. We had both never been before and it is reached by a road, not unlike those on Mull (!), single track and winding. It is definitely a valley we will return to, to explore some more…
Edinburgh.
So…after our three nights on Mull we headed to Edinburgh. We camped in Dalkeith Country Park just outside Edinburgh and caught the bus into the centre for a day at the Edinburgh Festival. We saw five shows and also visited the National Gallery of Scotland for the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition, which was amazing…
Mull.
So…after Iona we braved more of the single track roads on Mull and practically drove around the whole of the island finishing up in Tobermory, the main town on the Island. We visited the Loch Buie Standing Stones after visiting Iona on the first day. On the second day we drove around the other side of Loch Scridain to Loch Na Keal but then found the road closed so had to drive back around to Craignure and then onto Salen before heading back to Loch Na Keal and on past the Ulva Ferry and the Eas Fors Waterfall, past Treshnish, Calgary and Derveig to Tobermory. The next day we packed up our tent and headed back to Craignure to catch the ferry back to Oban and journeyed on to Edinburgh. Here are scenes from Mull…
Iona.
So…on our first full day on Mull, we went to Iona. I hadn’t realised that Iona was off the coast of Mull until we got to Mull. It just so happened that our campsite was also on the road to Fionnphort where you catch the ferry to Iona. The day started off overcast but it brightened up in the afternoon.
Wikipedia says:
Iona is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaelic monasticism for three centuries and is today known for its relative tranquility and natural environment. It is a tourist destination and a place for spiritual retreats. Its modern Scottish Gaelic name means "Iona of (Saint) Columba" (formerly anglicised as "Icolmkill").
Iona's resident population is about 180. In March 1980, the Hugh Fraser Foundation donated much of the main island (and its off-lying islands) to the current owner, the National Trust for Scotland. The abbey and some church buildings are owned by the Iona Cathedral Trust.
One publication, describing the religious significance of the island, says that the island is "known as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity in Scotland,” and notes that “St Columba came here in the year 563 to establish the Abbey, which still stands".
Ha! “Known for its relative tranquility”!?
When we were visiting the Abbey, they were testing the fire alarms and when they had all finally stopped there was a thunderous roaring sound outside and a huge helicopter landed in the field next to the Abbey. Noting the registration number on the side of it, I looked it up and it turns out that it is used for ferrying VIP’s all over the country. One lady who got out of it was wearing a gaudy gold lame jacket and had pumped up lips that looked like they were about to explode! She appeared to be speaking Russian to the fellow behind her. I wondered if they had come from the large ship anchored out in the bay. Did it belong to a Russian Oligarch?
It turns out it didn’t. ( I did some detective work on that too) It was a fancy, luxury cruise ship on its way back from a fortnights cruise around Iceland. (The cheapest cabins were £9000 per person!).
No, the helicopter had flown in from Inverness and later in the day, left Iona and flew back to London.
After looking round the Abbey and avoiding the Russian invasion, Will and I climbed to the highest point on the island, Dun I. From here we could see all across the island and out across the sea to Staffa and could just make out Fingal’s Cave. We then walked to the northern end of the island to look at two beautiful, white sandy beaches. Will did some sound recording in some of the rock pools and then we headed back to the ferry and back to Mull.
To the Isle of Mull.
So… after London we headed North into Scotland to Oban and there we caught a ferry to Craignure on the Isle of Mull. It was pretty overcast and moody for our arrival on Mull. I wasn’t keen on the single track roads with passing places much either. We drove to Port Nan Gael on Loch Scridain and pitched our tent at a fabulous campsite there…
