After a full day driving around Kintyre and exploring Tarbert, we spent the night at Oban only to leave it the next morning again. This time we were off to Craignure on the Isle of Mull with the 8:35 ferry. Again the weather didn’t look great and the clouds were hanging low.
crossing from Oban to the isle of Mull @Scotland
But things can change quickly around the isles and when we arrived near Mull the sky above the Duart castle already appeared blue.
Duart castle @Isle of Mull
Once on Mull though we were greeted again with rain while we drove to Duart Castle. The castle belongs to the clan MacLean, is over 700 years old, and has recently undergone renovations (about 100 years ago). The official opening hours of Castle Duart start at 10:30, but since we were already there they let us in 45 minutes earlier. That’s already the second time something like this happened in Scotland, the first time was a coffee house in Lerwick on Shetland.
on the way to Duart Castle @Idle of Mull
Unbelievably, we had the castle to ourselves. Inside the castle we met Jennifer, a girl from Switzerland, who had moved to Mull with her husband. She told us about the yearly Mull rally, which happened on that weekend. No wonder the ferry was full and it was hard to get a hotel for the night. But nobody had mentioned that to us before.
Duart castle @Isle of Mull
The rally ran on the streets of the islands and at different times some roads would be closed for public traffic. According to Jennifer mostly in the evening and at night, but we would do well to start our exploration of Mull in the south. The castle itself was rather boring inside and after half an hour we left in the direction of Fionphort.
view from the castle @Isle of Mull
So south it was, actually though it is more to the west, and we followed the road. We passed the three lochs but saw only two on the way down. On the way up I snagged a glance at the third loch.
two of the three lochs @Isle of Mull
I was more impressed from the road though. As often in Scotland ‘The journey is the reward’ and Mull was not any different. I love these one lane roads that meander through an absolute stunning landscape.
on the way to Fionphort @Isle of Mull
And when you turn your head a bit the sky looks a bit lighter and the landscape different. There were suddenly some trees and the colors looked vibrant.
driving around @Isle of Mull
After island hopping to Iona and back we decided on taking the scenic road along the southwest coast, only to discover that it had been closed for the race. Something to take into account if you are not on the island for the rally. At least it gave me the chance to take a picture of the three lochs, now seeing also three at the same time.
three lochs view @Isle of Mull
Driving up again to Craignure, we passed a sign for the standing stones of Lochbuie and decided to stop there. Following that direction we came through a forest area which looked totally enchanted. Check out this tree hanging on by thread, or so it appeared.
still hanging in there @Isle of Mull
We parked our car at the Stone Circle parking and followed the sign. Looking now at my pictures I realized that we didn’t see the standing stones, but something else. Trudging for ten minutes through wetland and slushy fields, we arrived somewhere. This website has a completely different picture of the standing stones. But I am sure that we were at least in the vicinity, because of this sign.
this should lead to the Standing Stones of Lochbuie @Isle of Mull
my standing stones of Lochbuie @Isle of Mull
We were not too disappointed, having already seen the Standing Stones of Stenness on Orkney the year before. It was nice to stretch the legs for a bit and of course the view was amazing. Just imagine living in this white house, all alone. Kind of cool, not?
somewhere around Kinlochspelve @Isle of Mull
In Ardura we stopped for a moment along the road to take pictures of a stag, which stood just beside the road. It’s good that we parked for a moment, because suddenly the mull rally was upon us (check it out here).
deer beside the road @Ardura
Eventually we got back to the car and drove to Tobermory all the way to the north. Here we checked into the Western Isles Hotel, the most expensive place on this trip. But what a beautiful hotel and so worth every cent. The rain was coming back and kept on all through the night. But after a couple of Gin Tonics it lulled me to sleep. Yours, Pollybert
view on the harbor below @Tobermory
