Scotland Otters and Eagles on Mull with Houghs of Lincolnshire - October 2016

[Eleanor]

Didn’t live up to the advertising blurb

I have been wanting to visit Mull and Iona for years, so when I discovered a local coach company was running a five day break there, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss and I signed up. It is one of their more popular tours and the coach was nearly full, with many repeat passengers. According to the itinerary, we had a day visiting Iona, a day in Tobermory and a day looking for eagles and otters.

Mull and Iona were wonderful and the hotel was good too. These were definitely the highlights. But I did feel we were being short changed by Houghs of Lincolnshire. We had just under four hours on Iona The day in Tobermory was actually just a morning. The eagle and otter day was two hours. That possibly explains why half of the coach made alternate arrangements for the day and had booked wild life trips with tour companies on Mull. I wish I had.

The driver can make or break a trip and I must admit I didn't warm to the one we had, who had an over inflated opinion of himself and his knowledge. Did you know the ruins of Aros Castle is the only castle in Scotland to be attacked by William the Conqueror? I didn’t and I don’t think William knew either... He was aslo adamant that Paul McCartney had a house on Mull. When challenged by the passangers he maintained this was a closely guarded secret that oonly a few people (himself included) knew about. He also carried out a continous scathing commentary about other road users. Most of the other passengers were regulars and on first name terms with the driver and thouyght he was wonderful. He cultivated his little fan club. The rest of us were ignored and little effort was made to welcome or involve newcomers.

I knew it would be a long journey there and back. It took nearly 12 hours and considerably longer for those picked up before me. I would have appreciated longer on both Iona and in Tobermory and I felt the morning chasing eagles and otters was a wasted opportunity.

Yes it was a good holiday and I enjoyed it.I couldn't have booked it myself for teh price the company was charging. The sun shone for us, always a bonus. However I decided I wouldn’t be booking with Houghs of Lincolnshire for future holidays

So, now for the details....I

DAY 1 - Scunthorpe to Mull

It was a 6.30 pick up from Scunthorpe Bus Station. I didn’t get off to a good start as my taxi was 15 minutes late, having gone to the wrong address. After two irate phone calls to the taxi company and one to Hough’s explaining I might be a few minutes late, I made it with a minute to spare and the coach was waiting for me at the bus station.

We had a short stop at Ferrybridge Service Area to swap drivers, use the toilets and buy some breakfast. It was then up the A1 to Scotch Corner and the A66 to pick up the M6 and A74(M) to Moffat where we had a 45 minute lunch stop stop at the Mill Shop.

Two people had got the time wrong for being back at the bus and were five minutes late. The driver was far from happy and told them so, threatening in future to leave late comers behind.

We had another toilet stop and short break at the Green Welly at Tyndrum. There are few suitable toilet stops on the way to Oban and this is probably the best with a cafe and large shop attached. It is family owned so so the selection is very different to the ubiquitous ‘mill shops’ belonging to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group. Prices are higher too.

it was then onto Oban and the ferry to the Isle of Mull. This is a lovely ferry ride (and sea conditions were calm for us) aking about an hour with a good view of Duart Castle.

The Isle of Mull Hotel is just a few minutes drive from the ferry termina, with views to the ferry terminal and across to Lismore with its lighthouse, and to the mainland. It is a long low building set among the trees with a swimming pool also used by the local community, spa and sauna attached

I had a very comfortable room and food was excellent. There was plenty of choice on our set course evening menu. It was modern cuisine with an emphasis on presentation. Portion sizes were a bit small and I would have appreciated more vegetables Breakfast was self service and ample - I didn’t need any lunch.

 

[Eleanor]

Day 2 - Iona

It was an early start on the next morning to catch the 9.55am ferry to Iona.

It is a lovely run from Craignure to Fionnphort. It is only 37 miles but along a single track road, so took us nearly 90minutes, especially as the driver was watching out for wildlife and talking at the same time. We saw red deer, but the eagle turned out to be a buzzard... There were bare mountains, lochs and rocky shore with seaweed.

The ferry is pedestrian only and took 10 minutes. Baile Mor Is the only settlement with buildings clustered round the ferry terminal.

Iona was on a busy sea route connecting Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man and England and has been a focal point for Christianity in Scotland since St Columba's arrival here in AD563. It rapidly became one of the most important monasteries in the British Isles and a seat of learning and art.

On the way to the Abbey, I stopped off a few minutes at the ruined Augustinian Nunnery
founded around 1200 by Ranald, King of the Isles. The nuns followed a quiet life of contemplation and prayer as well as giving hospitality to female pilgrims to Iona.
The church and refectory walls still stand to their original height, although there is little left of the cloisters. It is one of the most complete nunnery complexes to survive.

My next short stop was at the Parish Church. After the Reformation and destruction of the Abbey in 1560, Iona had been left with no formal place of worship. In the C19th the Government funded 32 ‘Parliamentary Churches’ across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland under the direction of Thomas Telford. The church on Iona was built in 1828 to a design by James Smith of Inverness and approved by Telford. All the designs were similar; a simple rectangular stone building with a small belfry.

The interior of the church was refashioned in 1938. This did away with the pulpit built between the two windows on the east wall, replacing it with a small communion table and pulpit at the south end.

The rest of the time I spent at the Abbey and I wrote a detailed article for Slow Europe Forum here.

The Abbey is a 5-10 minute walk from the ferry. It is a lovely place with views across to Mull. I think I enjoyed the setting more than the inside of the church.

After the Reformation in the mid C16th, the abbey fell into ruins and was only restored and rebuilt in the late C19th by the eight Duke of Argyll whose family had owned land on Iona for over 200 years. Although he was buried in the family vault in Dunoon, his wife is buried in the abbey with a splendid marble tomb depicting both of them.

The abbey was finally completed by the Iona Community in 1965.The care of the abbey passed to Historic Environment Scotland in 2000.

It is a big church with plain stone walls and a bit stark inside, although it has some lovely medieval carved capitals.

Sea spleenwort, a rare fern, grows on the walls inside the church. These established themselves when the church was in ruins and have survived the restoration and still flourish.

The Museum in the Abbey Infirmary has one of the best collections of carved crosses and grave slabs in Britain, dating from the C7th to C16th. The three high crosses dominate the space and are magnificent.

I’d achieved all I set out to do, but it had been a rush. I would have appreciated a bit longer just to sit and absorb the atmosphere of Iona.

Rather than returning straight back to the hotel, I asked to be dropped off near the ferry terminal as I wanted to visit the tiny Toronsay Church.

This is a lovely small church, typical of so many found in Scotland. Standing on the green the church was built in 1783 and is a small white building with a small bird cage belfry. The porch was added in the C20th to protect the congregation from the rain as the entered the church.

At the back are two external stairs leading to the galleries. These were for the Duke of Argyll and the Laird of Lochbuie. The story is that they could not decide who would have the privilege of facing the minister, so they faced each other instead.

Although the church was renovated in the C19th it retains its simple appearance with whitewashed walls and wooden ceiling along with a tall pulpit with a reading desk below.

I then returned back along the shore past the ferry terminal with seats. I dropped out in the sunshine and watched the sea lap against the rocks and the ferry arrive.

 

[Eleanor]

Day 3 - Tobermory

We left for Tobermory at 9am after a leisurely breakfast. It’s a nice run along the coast. We had just under three hours there and were told to be back at the coach for 1.30 or it would go without us. I, as well as several other people, decided to spend longer there and catch the service bus back.

This is the main town on Mull and is probably better know as Balamory from the popular Children’s television programme. And yes, the houses really are as brightly coloured as that.

It is a lovely setting around a sheltered bay with views across to Calve Island and the Ardnamurchan peninsula. The harbour area is now a marina, although the Calmac ferry to Kilchoan still leaves from the pier. It also has a lifeboat station. Brightly coloured houses and shops line the bay with wooded slopes above them.

Apart from a small Co-op food store, all the shops are family run and most of them are aimed at the visitors. There is plenty of choice of tea rooms from the Tobermory chocolate shop to the Gallery in a converted church. The fish and chip van on the old pier was reputedly a favourite with Prince Charles and has a Les Routier award. There’s no where to sit apart from around the clock tower.

My first stop was the Whisky Distillery for a guided tour. This is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and, after a chequered history, is still making two very different malt whiskies. Output is a fraction of places like Glenfiddich and it is still a very traditional distillery. There were just two of us on the tour and the guide was informative and entertaining.

It was a beautiful sunny day so I then decided to go for a walk along the coastal path south towards Aros Point.

This began up steps next to the Aquarium in the old Harbour building It was a lovely walk through mixed woodland above the Sound of Mull with views back through the trees to Tobermory. I turned back at the point the path descended down steep steps

I then had a walk along the front, stopping for a cake in the Pier Cafe. They had a very good selection of tray bakes at reasobnable prices as well as a toilet for patrons use.

By then it was time to head back for the bus which was full and standing with passengers heading for the Oban ferry.

 

[Eleanor]

Day 4 - To Pennygael for eagles and otters.

Again it was a leisurely start at 9am and we drove to Pennygael which is on the road to Iona. It is a lovely drive with views of Ben More and Loch Scridain, so no hardship to do twice.

We did manage to see one eagle soaring above the coach. This was a genuine sighting after several mis-sightings of Buzzards... People were dropped off at different points along the road to meet to walk to meet the coach at Pennygael (or if they didn’t get that far to be picked up along the road on the way back.) I got off at Pennygael stores. It was a lovely walk back along the coast with its rocky beach and seaweed and views of the mountains. It was high tide, so there wasn’t much bird life along the shore, although I did glimpse sight of two otters swimming in the bay.

We were back at the hotel by 1pm so I asked to be dropped off by the ferry terminal and dropped out in th sunshine, watching the ferries, the sea and reading a book.

Day 5 - Back home

It was an early start as we were on the 8.30 ferry to Oban. We had a short coffee break at the Trossachs Woollen Mill at Kilmahog. This is geared at the tourists, with two very fed up looking highland cows in the field providing a photo opportunity. It is part of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group and has the typical range of clothing found in all their outlets at the usual discount prices. Service in the cafe was very slow and the toilets were heavily used and showed it.

The lunch stop was at Gretna Green. This is very much a tourist attraction with some quite upmarket and expensive shops as well as the old Blacksmith’s shop - with a charge to go and see the exhibition. You can still get married here but is now very much big business and into money making geared to the ‘Love Experience’ and the Courtship Maze.

It is a popular stop for coaches as it has a large self service restaurant. The toilets were well maintained and clean - a bonus. This applied to the whole site and staff were going round emptying waste bins and removing litter.

We swapped drivers again at Gretna and it was back down the M6 and A66 to the A1. We had out final stop at Ferrybridge Services (a 45minute break for drivers hours) before being dropped off at Scunthorpe.