Having been on the Scottish mainland looking over to the Isle of Mull, finally it was time to catch the ferry for the 45 minute crossing. As we came into port I see could see our next campsite from the ferry deck, it took literally 3 minutes to drive there. Our pitch looked directly over the beach to the sea in the Sound of Mull now looking back at the mainland, with regular ferries to keep us amused along with the birds along the shore.
Not wanting to waste a moment, after a hasty lunch we took Bessie back out down the southerly side of Mull, along the single track road dotted with passing places. The island is well wooded with rhododendrons among the trees giving vibrant splashes of colour in an otherwise green landscape.
Being me, I simply had to see where the small side roads went too, and I drove some very interesting stretches between trees and ditches, scarcely populated by a house or two and after several miles deciding to retrace our route before may be getting stuck. Winding along the loch sides we passed huge towering rocks with massive boulders half way down the slopes, the scale of the rocks was amazing.
The scenery was beautiful, with sheep and lambs everywhere, a small number of cattle and an occasional horse, we even found a peacock on a gate post. Best of all we found some red deer with their antlers in velvet, the big stag ran away and hopped over the fence but a younger one stayed near enough to get a photo of it.
The roads on Mull were unbelievably rough and bumpy making driving an exercise in pothole dodging, driving in a zigzag and meandering way to avoid the worst of it. We often had the road to ourselves meaning I could just stop and get out to take photos, later on some lovely reflections of the hills in still water and gushing waterfall. Slowly, slowly became the norm giving me time to enjoy looking out to sea, watching the gulls and herons while looking for eagles and otters.
We enjoyed a morning with the RSPB Mull eagle watch and with a small group we were lucky, to see (through telescopes), a female on the nest feeding it’s 5 week old chick. Once we could locate the nest it was just possible to see with it binoculars and we all hoped to see a change over of the parent birds but sadly it didn’t happen. I saw an extremely brief glimpse of one bird in flight as it disappeared into the tall pine tree.
A bus trip to the north east of the island was most welcome as a rest from driving, the day was grey and very wet. We visited Tobermoray, the capital of Mull, a colourful town situated around its harbour with a striking granite clock tower built in 1905 and a pretty stone church. The sun finally came out and lit up the bright painted houses and boats making lovely reflections in the water.
A sunny evening awaited us on our return and we sat sipping drinks on the inside as the long, light evening unfolded into a fabulous sunset, a great finale to our time o Mull.
A long drive took us over the Skye Bridge onto the second island of our trip. Immediately looking completely different to Mull, the scenery seemed to be nearly devoid of trees, the roads structures were really good and the wide open countryside appeared sparsely populated. Vast open spaces of hillside, bracken and sheep on gently sloping valleys flashed by our windows as we continued our journey up to north Skye to our campsite at Edinbane. Finally settled in another enviable location, looking out over Loch Greshornish, the vigorous, swirling wind and leaden skies with low light, made dramatic viewing as we sipped a gin and tonic at the end of a long day.
The next day dawned with torrential rain, black clouds and we briefly thought of spending our one and only day on Skye holed up in Bessie. No, not for us, so kitted up in all our waterproofs with hats and team spirit, a gap in the clouds had us walking off to catch a bus to view Dunvegan Castle and Gardens. Simply amazing, the sun came out and blue sky magically appeared so we decided to see the castle from down by the loch and then admire the gardens. The views of the castle from the side of the loch were beautiful as the sun picked out all the colours of the rocks, golden seaweed as the tide was out with oaks and woodland surrounding it from the back.
Starting off on a woodland walk, then the water garden, the round garden, a walled garden and vegetable section, a greenhouse, clematis pergola, there was so much to see and enjoy.
Moving towards the castle with its high walls, turrets and crenellations, we entered into a hallway with a wide staircase to the upper rooms. Within the rooms there was a lot of elegant furniture beautifully displayed, fine chandeliers, a well stocked library of ancient books, walls full of large portraits, and a dungeon where prisoners had starved to death while smelling food from the kitchens, so the information sheets told us.
On our walk back to catch the bus we, passed this family of bears waiting to get their Isle of Skye T-shirts. It had turned out to be an amazing day that we could so easily have missed out on if we had given in to the bad weather.
On the drive final day on Skye, we drove the east coast around via Portree to see a little more of the island, the rugged mountains with the famous The Old Man of Storr a pinnacle of rock standing on the edge of the Totternish Range and further along, the Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls with a drop of 180 feet which was spectacular with crystal clear sea below. Small white houses, many in the low bungalow style croft house made picture postcard landscapes as we travelled around to Uig to catch our next ferry.
Our motorhome adventures 