The 19th started with a mad dash for a ferry. We woke up at the astonishingly early hour of 0530, and packed in a rush to hit the road for the 0800 ferry to Tobermory. By the time we were rolling, we had a little more than an hour to go 9 miles. That's rather an astonishingly hopeful pace for us, who normally average about 7mph as we travel across, up, and down the Scottish countryside on our vastly overloaded Surly steeds.
We passed Loch Mudle. Sorry for the muddled picture. (boB here: It was early and without coffee my eyes don't focus so well. But I could see well enough to ride, so...)
Onward we blasted through the early morning light. We had two long climbs and one long descent to make the ferry terminal.
And along the way we were blessed with sights we have not yet seen. We saw a huge herd of deer, and this stag was nearly on the road when we zoomed up. We stopped and looked, and he stopped and looked, and then he took off just as we snapped his picture. We understood why, when we entered the town of Kilchoan, that the sign was labeled "deer grid" instead of the typical "cattle grid"!
We made it! We're looking here at Ben Hiant with morning clouds rolling in. We spent the night on the other side of Ben Hiant - yesterday's post shows the other side of this very same Ben.
Waiting for the ferry we saw a school of dolphins in the harbor! Seeing the wildlife made it worthwhile to get up at such an absurdly early hour.
Funnily enough, not a lot of other people feel the same way! We were the ONLY passengers on the ferry. The crew were kind and super friendly - one of them made coffee for us! He said "Och, it's nae bother. We gi'e coffee to the thousandth customer e'ry day!" The other fellow talked our ear off about Mull; no surprise since he lives there and considers it a piece of heaven on earth. After our visit- so do we!
We made Tobermory about 8:45 am over quiet seas. A very pretty little harbor town, and very colorful. We had a coffee and cake at a cute local bakery, then visited the Mull Museum, where we found this quote from Samual Johnson's regarding his travels with Boswell across Scotland. Read the second paragraph.
Replace "post-chaise" and "horse-back" with "bike," and there we are. Well, i think we're a bit better off than that, but it's generally quite apropos. This museum was fantastic and we were amazed by the history and archeology of Mull! The sheer number of stone circles, crannogs, brochs, castles was mind boggling! We wish we had a few weeks on Mull to take it all on in!
Finally the magic hour of 1100 arrived and........
(Bet you saw that coming, didn't you?)
We selected a fine bottle of Ledaig (pronounced "LEA-cheg,", this is the Gaelic for "safe haven" and refers to the area of Tobermory where the distillery is located). This lovely whisky is only mildly peaty, and very rich. Considering we haven't yet finished our ration of Talisker, we're now quite well-off, and now our steeds are even heavier! We packed up our trusty horses and with happy hearts and flushed cheeks, we headed west toward Dervaig to see what the day had in store.
You know, if they had self-catering cottage cheese we might have stopped. But, no.
The climb out of Tobermory was downright mean. Steep, long, and steep. And long. We began to question our sanity- choosing the scenic coastal route that meant 15 or so extra difficult miles was perhaps not the best choice for two road-weary cyclists desperately in need of a day off!
But we finally found it! Serenity! Oh, be still our tortured hearts, we have found Serenity!!
And, naturally (and without even stopping to ponder any alternative), we biked right by it with our lungs burning and legs aching.
New road-sign. Indicates crummy road surface. And also indicates that those who are brave (dumb) enough to bike this road will have quite sore bums.
In retrospect, the scenic coastal was worth the challenge. The scenery was second to none, and the road took us along some stunning beaches, and occasionally to the edges of some terrifying cliffsides. We entertained ourselves by trying to figure out just which islands we were looking out at as we curved along the dynamic coastline- Ulva, Eorsa, Staffa, Coll, Tiree, the Treshnish isles. Incredible!
Another grand vista, this over Loch Na Keal and the island is Eorsa.
These guys (gals, in fact) are HUGE. They seem docile, but we're still quite cautious when we go around them. We'd LOVE to stop and pet them, but on the off chance they wouldn't love it we pedal on around them. Slowly.
We stopped for the night in the perfect grass pitch on the southeast of Loch Na Keal. And experienced one of the best nights of camping since we arrived in Scotland over two months ago. Nice sunset. Nearly no wind. And Nae Midges!! We stayed out outside of the tent and took in the dusk scenery, the sounds of the birds, the gentle washing of the water on the loch. Absolutely lovely!
This was one of those good days, when we're so happy to be pedaling through Scotland, free from most of the things people are worried about these days. We worry about food, water, and shelter, and that's about it. It's a simple life - not easy, sometimes, but simple. We pedal until we need food, and then we pedal until we need to sleep.
The next morning ... A cool bridge. Bridges are cool here.
West on the B8035. We were amazed at how remote the west coast of Mull is. Although there are several towns listed on the map- they turned out to be, in some cases, a mere house- and one that didn't even look particularly lived in.
Still heading west ...
And now south up a serious pass. Mull is big and beautiful, and the hills are layers of volcanic lava hat are neatly terraced, then overgrown with heather and grass.
This was coined 'the lonliest bus stop in the world' by a lovely and helpful Mull local we later met at the information shop. It certainly felt very remote. Perfect for a dry lunch in the Scottish elements. Just across the street was the following sign.
The top line of the sign shows where we came from. Gruline. Sort of like grueling ;-). We're headed westward, to Fionnphort and the Iona Ferrry. Seventeen to go!
We hid all our bags in bushes and took a wee detour to Carsaig, up and over a brutally steep pass to get to ...
... The most photographed phone box in the UK. It's next to a beautiful waterfall and thus lends itself to having great conversations! It happened to play a prominent part in the 1947 cult-classic movie "I Know Where I'm Going." We haven't seen it yet, but it's on our short list after we've settled in Glasgow. We hear it's a top notch flick.
After that, we headed to Fionnphort, to catch the ferry to Iona. See the next post!
Daily summary:
September 19- Ben Hiant (on the Andramuchan) to SE Loch Na Keal via B8007, ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory, and the scenic B8073 and B8035. Passed through Dervaig, Calgary (fantastic beach!) and Gruline.
Total 48.45 hilly miles.September 20- SE Loch Na Keal to Iona
via B8035 and A849 with ferry from Fionnephort. Total 45.25 miles.
Supper great photos and all the story that goes along with them!
ReplyDeleteI think you guys need to name those faithful steeds. I'm sure you've hear the song. (Been through the desert on a horse with no name.) Just saying at any point during his journey he could have given the pore horse a name.
I love seeing all the awesome stuff you're doing and going. Keep it up.
Ride safe.
I Love you guys.