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Day 4: 06 May 2022 – Off to Oban……
Wet tent pack up – don’t we just love it ??? NO A rather mucky journey northwards toward Carlisle and then the boring old ( but efficient) M6, A74 (M) M8 blast up to Glasgow. Luckily I’d beaten the forecast heavy rain for the pack up and the weather cleared up just south of Glasgow, making the run up the west side of Loch Lomond more pleasurable than I had anticipated. At Tarbert there was a choice, either north to Crianlarich or west via the A83 route. Thankfully the A83 was open through Glen Croe (using a sort of one way convoy system), despite rain trying to landslide the road down the mountain. This has been an on-going issue for many years – see my previous post during the NC500 trip in 2020. So a quick cup of coffee stop at the Rest and Be Thankful top car park burger bar. Still a great view.
But onward…….. One thing I’d missed last time was the Cruachan Power Station. Open for visitors later in the day than I thought, so went on a tour with a couple of other guys. To get to the visitor bit you have to get in a Transit van/coach and then drive a while right into the mountain. This is a GINORMOUSLY GINORMOUS gravity fed generating station built in the early 1960’s and opened by HMQ in October 1965. It’s nick name is “the Hollow Mountain”. Technically, its a “reversible pump-storage power station”. This means they use a reservoir/lake further up the mountain to provide generating power during peak demand times, then reverse things and pump the water back to the reservoir when electricity demand is at its lowest.
The machine hall (where the generating stuff is positioned) is “large enough to contain a seven story building erected on a full sized football pitch”. Very, very impressive and mega loud when under load – as it was during my visit. Not good with hearing aids !!!!!!! Then a relatively short hop along the rest of the A85 to the Camping and Caravan Club site at Benderloch, just north of Oban. It’s in an old walled garden, so dead flat – makes a change ! So ferry from Oban tomorrow – off to the Isles !
Day 5: 07 May 2022 – Off to Mull…..
The start of the”meat’ of the trip. I’d deliberately chosen an afternoon ferry to Mull so I could have a look round Oban. Last time had been a bit of a rush (there’s a theme developing here….) so I was determined to have a relaxed day. Bit dull, but not raining !!!!!! When I was organising my holiday insurance upgrade with Barclays/Aviva, the guy on the phone in Perth suggested I go and see a place called “the Bridge Over The Atlantic”. He liked to go there apparently in “times of stress”, sit outside the pub and just enjoy the scenery. I can see why. This turned out to be a few miles south of Oban, between the mainland and an island called Seil. It’s some bridge and lives up to its name as it crosses the long inlet that indeed goes out to the Atlantic – well the Firth of Lorne at least ! Very pretty.
Back in Oban, I mooched around the town and had chips at the so called “award winning” F + C shop in George Street. Also in town was a tall ship called Thalassa, getting provisoned-up for a 7 day “whiskey sailing trip”. At Euro1200 for the trip it needs to be good, but since there is a chef on board, I guess you won’t starve…….
Next on my list was McCaig’s Tower, overlooking the port. It’s a folly. Built by John Stuart McCaig as a memorial to his family and a way of providing work during the winter months for the local stonemasons. Today, the unfinished shell has been transformed into a peaceful public garden with fantastic views over Oban. It’s also up a very steep hill – I guess it’s one way of burning off the chips !
Fantastic views of Oban and the isles beyond though, so worth the climb.
Recovering, I decided to do a bit of people watching sitting outside a specialist coffee shop called HINBA. Funnily enough, they roast their coffee on Seil, where I’d just been…… Plenty of choice, but I went for one called Kongoni from Tanzania, apparenty with ‘wild berry and strawberry “ overtones. Spot on. I bought some grounds for later. I’m so posh I go camping with a cafetiere, so there……
A great place to watch the ferry movements as well. I saw “my” vessel out earlier in the day – hope they don’t forget to come back for me. 
I’ve not travelled with CALMAC before. There seemed to be tons of cars, but not many people. Then I discovered why, they were all out on the “party deck” two levels up, watching the receding coastline, etc.
After 45 mins or so,we reached the terminal at Craignure on Mull, having gone past the rather imposing Duart Castle. Then a quick dash up the road to my home for the next few nights, the Salen Bay Camp site. Relatively nice and calm that evening when I arrived. Once set up I popped down to the local SPAR for a “bread and milk” run, only to come across that well know Scottish delicacy called a macaroni pie – how could I resist !
Funny sunset though. Didn’t look too good and it started to get very cloudy and windy………. Hmmm. 
Day 6: 08 May 2022 – Blow, blow, blow…….
The next day started off bright, but very breezy – a sign of things to come perhaps ?
Unfortunately……… I had planned a boat trip to Staffa (Fingal’s Cave and all that) for the afternoon, but it was cancelled early in the morning, due to the winds forecast to be too strong and resultant heavy swell. Shame, next time, eh ?
However, since it was sunny, I decided that the best consolation prize was a drive round the island after a look round Tobermory, etc. It’s a very sleeeeeeepy place on an early Sunday morning, even the seagulls were asleep…
There looked like what might be a beautiful walk out to a lighthouse at Ruhba nan Gall ( north of Tobermory), following a descriptive route from the Walkhighlands website.
So off I went ! path, as described with great views. The lighthouse location gave fantastic views of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula (going there later in the trip) and the mainland. I even spotted the ferry that I would be using going from Mull back to the mainland. The nearby refurbished lighthouse keepers cottages are now private and available for a VERY isolated staycation. Quite expensive but fully booked for the Summer season, apparently. The only access, though, is along the path – no road – bliss !
Back in the car, I headed out on an anti-clockwise circuit of the north of the island, along more single track roads that my atlas described as a “scenic route”. They were not wrong !
Not many places to stop and take pix, but one highlight was Calgary Bay. What an absolutely awesome beach. One hardy soul was out swimming. Her other half said she was crackers, but it would have been very difficult to ignore the beautiful sea – just look at the colour ! Point of interest/pub quiz question: apparently, Calgary in Canada is name after THIS Calgary on Mull.
All in all, a good day’s motoring.
Day 7: 09 May 2022 – Abandon ship………
After a bit of a noisy night – wind-wise- I awoke to this….. what a contrast to yesterday.
Ominously, the ferry to Iona looked decidedly dodgy, so abandoned that idea for the day ! The weather forecast suggested it would blow through during the am, so had a good breakfast and awaited developments.
The bonus was that the blog gets started earlier ! So I’m sitting at my table in the inner tent. There is coffee, there is wine, the electricity is still on. I’m tolerable warm, the internet is working. What else do I need ?????
The forecast was wrong. It got worse.… So moved the car, put up the wind break, fixed the storm guys, double pegged everywhere…… and wait………
Well, dear readers, it got even more worse (can you say that ????) and one of the air beam arms split, which meant that the tent was sagging dangerously against the wind. So I abandoned camp, before I did more damage. Mind you, so did all the other tent people ! Not very pleasant at all. First time I’ve abandoned in all my years of camping. To say that I threw everything into the car would be a gross understatement , but needs must, as they say.
My aim was to get to shelter. I think I bagged what was probably the only room left in Tobermory at the splendid Tobermory Hotel – expensive, but dry !
The plan had always been to leave Mull tomorrow (Tuesday), but the weather certainly looked a bit grim – wonder if the ferries would be running ok ?
After a splendidly hot chicken garlic masala curry at the Spice of Mull, my interrogation of the CALMAC website suggested that the Tobermory/ Kilchoan ferry route might not run (something to do with the safety boat not being available), so I decided to opt for the shorter alternative Fishnish/Lochaline crossing instead.
What a day !