Mull, part 1

Four of us from FCAG had hatched a plan to visit Mull. Lured by the thought of sea eagles, castles and rocky cliffs and caves, we departed late on a Saturday from Lochaline. We were late partly because it suited the tides, and partly because of the very slow service at the Clachaig Inn.


It was, for June, a damp grey evening, but the trip south was livened up by finding the tall ship Lord Nelson at anchor near Duart Castle. She is run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust to allow folk of all abilities to get a taste of sailing.


It can be quite rough off Duart Castle, but we slid by on a smooth sea.


There didn't seem any rush to find a campsite on such an evening, so it was late when we pulled into the mouth of Loch Spelvie.



Some wild goats shared our campsite, here pictured with the oyster catcher which tried to keep us awake for nights to come.
The morning started just as grey, but the scenery rapidly turned more spectacular. The strangely shaped promontory between lochs Spelvie and Buie is steep and inhospitable. There would be few escapes if a forced landing was needed along here.



The weather began to improve a little as we called into the bay of Carsaig. An improvised hammock outside a fishing hut could have had me staying all afternoon, but we were keen to use this day to cover a lot of ground, so pushed on.



The cliffs started to give way to beaches, there were glimpses of blue sky, and it was with lightening hearts but destroyed stomach muscles that we pulled into Traigh Gheal. It was a delightful campsite, much needed after nearly 50km paddling, much of it into the wind.