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Day 0: Prologue

Following my successful trip around the North Coast 500 on September 2020, I decided that it DEFINITELY warranted more time in the upper reaches of Scotland, particularly the North West coast. There were places where I needed more than one overnight stop- the Isle of Skye being a prime example.

The last trip was 30/31 days, so I had to do better than that……As a bit of a sub-plot, I thought it would be a bit of fun to see if I could be away throughout this year for the same number of days as my birthday, ie 75. Hmm……

This trip, I decided to be a bit more flexible and try and camp for the majority of the whole session, rather than being tied to turning up at various B&B’s, AirBnB’s, etc. Anyway, wanted to get the best use of the new ( expensive !) tent.

So, out came the spreadsheets, maps and all that other planning paraphernalia before last Christmas and a 41 day extravaganza eventually revealed itself.

To include:

• Eskdale – on the way up, only spent one day there last year, plenty more to see
• Oban – an overnight stay before catching my first ferry to the islands
• Isle of Mull – Tobermorey, Staffa ( Fingals Cave) and Iona
• The Arnamurchan Peninsula and Morar (where they filmed Local Hero)
• Isle of Skye – 4 nights there
• Then another ferry (or two) ending up in Barra, at the southern most tip of the Western isles
• Gradually moving North up the island chain, through North and South Uist to Harris (more ferries !)
• Yet another ferry from Stornoway, back to the mainland at Ullapool
• A few days rest at Clachtoll Beach Campsite
• Off to “do” Sandwood Bay” (reputedly one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK), then my only overnight stay in a proper bed…..
• The Applecross Peninsula – where a certain Boris stayed for a few nights
• Fort William – going to have a go at Ben Nevis, if the weather’s sensible
• A few nights in both Keswick and Muker on the way home

Everything seems to OK at the moment for travel in Scotland, although the ferries are running a voluntary testing scheme with regard to LFT’s, so I’ll take some with me, just in case.

So it’s load up the car time and off we go……….

Day 1: 03 May 2022 – North to Ravenglass……..

Today is the first day of a 40 + day trek around Scotland including Skye, Mull, Outer Hebrides. I can’t/won’t do the whole drive up to Scotland in one go so I decided to break it at Eskdale. I’ve been here before but just for a day, going on the railway that runs from Ravenglass to Boot.

This time I’ve broken the journey at the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Ravensglass. Staying here for three nights before travelling up to Oban for the first of many ferries.

The drive from Cinderford up to Ravenglass included M5, M6 and other horrible boring roads, just one long drag.

This is Tuesday evening, it’s a beautiful dry evening so the whole tent including the new roof cover has gone up. My plastic storage boxes everywhere ( I have a series of them that go into pre-determined places in the back of the car – sort of organised……), but I’m not quite sure how I’m going to organise everything – new system, new tent, etc, etc. Seems I’m the only tent today, but they were full over the recent holiday long weekend.

 

To work up an appetite ( but mainly to stretch the old legs after all that car sitting) I wandered round the actual village of Ravenglass itself. Pretty single street end-of-the-road type place.

Next item – food ! Since this was a long trip, I’d decided to do more cooking en camp, as it were. Tonight, for my delectation, there is sausage and chorizo casserole ( home pre-cooked, defrosted) with spuds and a glass of white. happy day !

Lots to see tomorrow !

Day 2: 04 May 2022 – Mills and miles

I woke up this morning to find that it was raining somewhat strenuously, so it wasn’t exactly a quick start….

Luckily it had finished raining about 9 am so I decided to stay with my original plan and drive to Boot and then tackle the notorious Hardknott Pass/Wrynose Pass combination, before ending up inAmbleside. These are very difficult single track roads, not much in the way of passing places and as steep as hell. Unfortunately it was very foggy/misty/low cloud-y so it wasn’t the most beautiful journey that I’ve ever done.

I had hoped to stop off at the Hardknott Roman fort but it was so misty/foggy that I went straight past it ! Anyway never mind, it will be there for ever…….

After the passes ( max 393 m above sea level) there comes a beautiful circuit (the B5343 for those interested) which includes Langdale. Again another beautifully scenic single track road which then ends up in Great Langdale. After that it becomes almost a motorway ( in comparison) towards Ambleside – something to do with the 5* Langdale Hotel perhaps ??????? By this time, of course, the sun was well and truly out ! Beautiful scenery.

Ambleside is really a central type of place from which you can go and do all sorts of activities – climbing, walking and all the rest. Bit of grub and a small beer taken on board after a wander around – yes, they have a Greggs !

After that it was down the A593 back towards Ravenglass but then on the way I decided to divert and go cross-country back to Boot on a non-classified road via a small village called Ulpha. More interesting single track stuff with NO passing places !

The reason for going back to Boot was to visit the Eskdale Mill, the last surviving corn mill in the Lake District. Very interesting engineering-wise, with two or three water wheels plus an electric generator.

There wasn’t really time left in the day to go on some of the walks around Boot that I wanted to go on, so I decided that I would return to base and then get the train from Ravenglass back up to Boot tomorrow.

For my early evening walk, I decided to try and find some of the local Roman remains around Ravenglass,which at the time was a big big port and garrison.

Found the Roman Baths remains, but not much left of the fort, though graphics at the site gave a very good impression of the scale of the infrastructure – must’ve been quite a town……

Day 3: 05  May 2022 – Train time…..

Yes, there has to be a steam train somewhere on ANY holiday I take – addicted or what ???? Thursday morning dawned a bit dull, but not raining. Last time I was on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway I was toughing it out in an open carriage. Thankfully I selected one with a roof this time…. Train journey to Dalegarth was its usual picturesque self, including an owl sitting on a wall as calm as could be. Too slow to catch a pic though. Pity it was a bit dull and overcast though.

Having been to the area before, I knew which direction to go to get to the spectacular  Stanley Ghill Beck. Last time I was here, the upper viewing platform was closed, due to a landslide/tree fall combination. This time it was the MIDDLE platform that had disappeared completely ! Mother nature is unforgiving sometimes.

It turned out to be well worth the walk, as the beck was in full flow. The new viewing platform is not for the faint hearted, as it is not only cantilevered out into fresh air, but has several “transparent” floor panels with just gratings, so you can see down into the gorge. Walking back down, I stopped for a quick picnic before  doing the loop which included the River Esk and another feature called Gill Force. A good day’s walking – and it didn’t rain !

Back at Ravenglass Station, I spotted a couple of interesting loco’s (well interesting to me !), together with an “appropriate” signpost !

It  looks like the weather is going to be pretty lousy for tomorrow (Friday) so I think I’ll pack up the big tent on tonight, use my two-man “emergency” tent just to sleep overnight – another experimental procedure.  If it’s raining tomorrow morning it’s only a small tent to get dry rather than a big one.  That’s the plan. Unfortunately, just as I was starting to pack things up it started to rail, so that scuppered that ! Ho hum, wet tent packup again……

A long thrash up to Oban  tomorrow for the REAL start to the trip.

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 !

Day 8: 10 May 2022 – Lighthouse ahoy…..

I awoke to more rain…….I decided to plug on to my next campsite near Mallaig, if nothing else to dry out. I’d put a couple of “rest days” into the schedule at this point anyway, so i could use the time to decide what to do about the rest of the trip.

After a great Scottish Breakfast, it was off to the  Fishnish Ferry terminal. It continued to rain…….

Going this way to the Peninsula meant more driving miles, but they turned out to be well worth it, as the sun thankfully broke through, enough to show Scotland in all its glory – but still windy.

Spectacular scenery, including an extinct volcano, with sensational views especially after leaving the “main” road at Salen. Another single track road (the B8007)  with not many stopping-for-pix places, unfortunately.

My target was Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point on the UK mainland, where there is also a lighthouse, which can be visited ( fee payable).

The wind obviously played well with the sea, providing some spectacular photo’s.  After a coffee and carrot cake slice, it was back along the single track (all 25 + miles of it) , then hot footing it up to my next campsite stop at Camusdarach, just south of Mallaig – the next planned ferry jumping off point.

I’d decided to stay there for the planned 2 nights, mainly as a “chill”/rest break.  Turned out I needed the time to dry everything out, including the car interior – it smelt!  This also gave me the ideal opportunity to use my 2 man so called “emergency” tent, to see if I could survive the remaining 30 + days living out of the boxes in the back of the car.

One reason for stopping at this particular campsite was the spectacular local beaches. Apparently, they’d been used for the Burt Lancaster film LOCAL HERO. Certainly was worth a pic.

So, let’s see what the morning brings……

Day 9: 11 May 2022 – Mallaig

Naturally enough, despite some overnight rain, it was blue sky wall to wall! Somewhat annoying……. After much consideration, I made up my mind that it was not really on. If  the failure had been close to the end of the trip, I might have battled on. So it was an hour or so on the mobile to cancel all of the remaining ferry crossings, campsites, etc. I have to say that most people were OK about it and there weren’t too many admin fees that had to be paid.  Also booked a Travelodge halfway back home.

So had a look/walk round Mallaig  (and a spot of lunch !), then a quick drive to the village of Morar. Scotland seems to have had hydroelectric power generation for aeons and the set up at Morar is very typical, ie try and blend it into the scenery as much as possible.

Back at camp, I started to pack things up for an early start ( 330 miles tomorrow….) with assistance from my little friend here.

Days 10/11: 12/13 May 2020 – Homeward bound…..

So a quick cuppa first thing, then off south.  Got a good early start – away before 7 am – and trundles off down to Glasgow, then M74, M6, M5, etc, etc. Why is Scotland so far away…………

Bit of a shame I had to curtail my trip, especially after all of the work before hand. Anyway, none of it was wasted, as I can pick it all back up virtually where I had to abandon. The bit that I did get completed was great; Mull is beautiful (when it’s not lashed by bad weather….) and I still want to visit Staffa, Iona and the rest.

Inspecting the tent afterwards, it was easy to see the issue. Looks like the failure of the sewing, rather than the cloth itself. Let’s hope that the manufacturer is in a good mood when I put in my warranty claim !

“Battered, bruised but unbowed” I think is the overall correct phrase. Now where’s that Scotland map and CALMAC ferry timetable for September ??????

PS: The tent WAS replaced completely and I also got an upgrade to the new Version 2 as well – thank you Zempire.