Diary w/e 14 Jul 2018

Sun 8 July

DIY breakfast of croissants and strawberries then shopped for lunch before church. Scottish Sunday opening hours are longer than in England. Highland International IPC meets at he Craigmonie Holtel. We ere warmly welcomes. I was asked to give prayer points from Ealing IPC. Excellent sermon from James Torrens on Rom 5 - How to be certain of hope. We motored down the quiet side of Loch Ness. From Fort Augustus onwards there was cloud then light rain. Our B&B at Oinch south of Fort William was deserted. A Belgian couple let us in as the for was not locked. Dinner in the Four Seasons pub was good and we had a good chat with a young German couple at the B&B before bed.

Mon 9 Jul

Corran Ferry acrid Loch Linnhe. As we had plenty of time to get to Mull we decided to drive to Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly place in mainland UK. We had seen in twelve years ago from the sea en route from South Uist to Oban. The lighthouse is most impressive. On the way we bought sandwiches at Strontian, the village from where Strontium is named. The ore was mined there. We took the ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory then drove to Kilbrennan farm our accommodation overlooking the island of Ulva. At dinner we saw red deer grazing nearby.

Tues 10 Jul

From Ulva ferry day trip. Lunch on Sfaffa. Not up to the traverse to Fingal's Cave. Went up the cliff and fell on grass. Puffins amazingly close on Lunga. Fell twice descending and strained by one so hobbling.

Wed 11 Jul

Our hostess advised us not to try Iona on a dull wet day so enjoyed Tobermory, its aquarium and museum before seeing England lose to Croatia.

Thu 12 Jul

So much for BBC meteorology. Light cloud and sunny intervals turned out to be low cloud and rain on and off all day. We visited a hide with telescopes trained on a sea eagle's nest. Two young bird s as big as adults on the nest. Katy saw a parent fly in with food but I missed than. Went to see our next ferry location, Fishnish then on to Duart Castle but not worth a photo of scaffolding on a dull day.

Fri 13 Jul

Once again rubbish BBC meteorology. Light cloud and sunny intervals turned out to be beautiful sunshine and blue sky all day. 45 miles to the ferry to Iona. Beautiful quiet scenic roads. Iona walk to the abbey. They are big on Columba, his sainthood and monasticism but very very week on him as a missionary to Scotland and England. And why does the abbey have a stone alter when its renovation was initiated by a Presbyterian?

Sat 14 Jul

Ferry from Fishnish, Mull across the sound to the mainland. We then drove and bought some lunch near Fort William eating by the Spean Bridge commando memorial. Stopped and had a cuppa at Eileen Donna Castle then on to Plockton to find our B&B and fish and chip supper out. Bright this morning. Dull after lunch.