Letters from the Isle of Mull

Not the best time to Re-launch !!!

2010-04-28T23:20:00.007+01:00

Last week I decided it was about time to pull my finger out and resurrect the Creagorry blog. Sadly for me this posting coincides with the sad news that the White Tailed Eagles at Loch Frisa have failed in their nesting attempt for 2010.
I am privileged to be involved with the Mull Eagle Watch, joining with other like minded people in keeping a watchful eye over the nest of Frisa and Skye. The main objective being that they successfully hatch their eggs and hopefully deter the actions of those that seek otherwise. Sadly for all those involved this year it wasn't the reckless and irresponsible actions of man that the eggs/chicks have succumbed but to the unforeseen moods of Mother Nature.
Unfortunately the end of this years incubation period has coincided with a spell of awful weather on Mull. The little chicks first introduction to the big wide world was hail,snow and gale force winds, even the most experienced devoted parents couldn't possibly protect their tiny vulnerable chicks from that onslaught could they ?. Rather than dwell on the previous thoughts I prefer to keep the image of the little coal tit, who on a sunny Easter Sunday afternoon seemed to be oblivious to the fact that it's discarded pine seeds were dropping directly onto the head of Frisa who was sitting only a half a metre below incubating her eggs. I would like to think that little coal tit will soon be raising it's own little family and maybe next year it's offspring will get the chance to play a game of hit the Sea Eagle chick with falling pine seeds.

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2010-04-27T21:26:00.001+01:00

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2010-04-27T08:34:00.001+01:00

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Mull Highland Games 2008

2008-07-25T17:51:00.005+01:00

Thursday 24 July was the date for one of Mull's major annual events the Mull Highland Games which is held on the Tobermory Golf Course. The event starts with a march from the Main Street where the Hereditary Chieftain Sir Lachlan MacLean of Duart and Morven leads members of the MacLean Clan accompanied by the Mull and Iona Pipe Band up to the Games Ground.
The Games ground in Tobermory is recognised as one of the most beautiful in Scotland with views down the the Sound of Mull and the hill which provides visitors with a natural grandstand. The Mull Highland Games consists of a complete range of events from Traditional Highland Dancing, Bagpiping and the Light Events which are mainly athletic based events including the 100 yards up to One Mile, Long Jump, High Jump and Triple Jump. Then there are the Heavy Events which include Tossing the caber, Shot Put, Hammer and throwing a weight over a bar.
This years games took place on a lovely hot sunny afternoon which fortunately was made bearable be the easterly breeze blowing across the games ground. In the light events the notable performance of the day came from Cambletown athlete Matthew Turner who won the majority of the track events.

Royal Visit to Tobermory 3rd July 2008

2008-07-03T16:27:00.009+01:00

Today saw the visit of HRH Princess Royal to Tobermory. The purpose of her visit was to officially open the new Harbour building Taigh Solais and the Pontoon system which have been constructed for the Tobermory Harbour Association. The Princess Royal arrived by helicopter at 12.30 p.m touching down at the Tobermory Golf Club adjacent to Creagorry. Monica was all ready to receive her Royal Highness for tea and scones but obviously the invitation must have been mislaid in the post.
Neil MacCallum from Fionnphort was on hand to pipe a welcome to the Princess Royal before she was given a guided tour of Harbour Building and Pontoon System and a chance to meet all the key people who were involved in the project. The Princess Royal then unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening and then the junior Gaelic choir Coisir og Thobar-Mhoire sang for her a song in Gaelic. The Princess Royal was presented with a bottle of finest Tobermory malt whisky to mark the occasion before she made her way back to the helicopter.
The departure of HRH Princess Royal was then signal for the start of a day of events. Firstly the visitors and residents of Tobermory were treated to a RNLI Sea King Helicopter rescue exercise involving the Tobermory lifeboat which all took place in the Harbour. There was no shortage of local food on offer including delicious Inverlussa mussels and chocolate and guinness buns, I know it sounds like a strange combination but they were very nice - honest. The Lediag car park was also host to a mixture of community stalls including Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.
The next event to take place was a raft race organised by the RLNI. The race consisted of mixture of homemade rafts of all shapes and sizes, including a floating bed. Some of the rafts were far more sea worthy than others but fortunately the RNLI Sea King Helicopter was not required to make a rescue although most of the participants were throughly soaked on completing the course.

The evening saw a continuation of the celebrations with a open air live concert, first up were the Isle of Mull Gaelic Choir to sing a selection of Gaelic songs. Next on stage after a very heavy downpour was Sam Sedgewick who was followed by Mull's own singing shepherd Iain Thompson. Whilst the artists were performing on stage the Harbour Building remained open for visitors to take a look around. A large proportion of the ground floor is the new home for the Sealife Surveys Visitors Centre.

This is a modern architect designed interior containing a huge marine viewing tank. which is home to a host of native marine species. The centre also has plenty of educational and informative displays about the rich marine and land wildlife in and around the Isle of Mull. There are also plenty of wildlife and eco based products on offer for visitors to purchase as a reminder of their visit to Mull. This of course is also the place to book your boat trips to see the dophins and whales that are abundant in the waters around Mull.

Meanwhile back on the stage the next performers were two local bands the first called The Sorren Maclean Band followed by The Ross Baird Band who both got an excellent reception from the people of Mull. The headline act for the evening were the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. The Chilli Pipers were winners of the Prime Time BBC One show 'When Will I Be Famous' with a blistering set Rock Bagpipes that astounded the viewers and critics!. I'm pretty certain Mull has never seen our heard anything quite like the incredible piping and astounding drumming to a mixture of traditional and popular rock and pop tunes, they defenitely put on a great show and were a fitting finale to a great day.

Heaven is a place called Fidden Farm

2008-06-05T20:30:00.006+01:00

Having had a busy April and May Monica and I decided to have a long weekend away, fortunately the weather forecast was very good as the plan was to go camping to Fidden farm at Fionnphort. We had already checked that the seldom used tent was still fit for human habitation and we also managed to assembly together various items of camping gear and our sleeping bags. So Friday teatime with the car duly packed complete with our trusty bikes strapped to the back we headed to the south west of the island.

After a scenic journey in the splendid evening sunshine we arrived at Fidden Farm. We have camped here several times but before it was in our little campervan. Monica assembled the tent with ease and we were soon snug in our temporary home next to a glorious white shell sand beach dotted with pink granite rocks which are common in this area on the Ross of Mull. We were seranaded to sleep by calling Corncrakes and the drumming of Snipe.

We awoke to blue skies an glorious sunshine, so after a hearty cooked breakfast we set off on our bikes to explore an area just outside Fionnphort called Kintra. The ride was easy going as most of the Ross of Mull is relatively flat. The little lanes were alive with the beautiful song of the Skylarks and the sharp call of the Stonechats. At Kintra we found lots of lovely beaches and rockpools to explore, many full of anemones, whelk, shells and various coloured seaweed and kelp.

In the afternoon we cycled back to Fionnphort and we joined Gordon MacCormick aboard the M.V.Volante for a wildlife and sightseeing trip around the island of Iona. The trip took us around the north of the Iona and out to the island of Reidh Eilean where we saw Grey Seals and hundreds of Puffins together with Razorbills and Guillimots.

On Sunday we took our bikes on the short ferry crossing to Iona. It surpises me that Calmac charge for taking bikes aboard their ferries at a time when we are being continiously reminded of the environmental damage vehicle pollution is causing to the planet, surely we should be encouraging cycling as a method of transport. Having previously been to the western side of Iona we chose to cycle to the north. We left our bikes as directed by the signs and headed across the dunes to the glorious sandy beaches. Whilst I swam in the the turquoise blue waters I couldn't help but notice the amazing metamorphic rocks which were by the shoreline. These rocks have been so altered by the heat and intense pressure that they appear as course grained rocks with differing coloured bands running through them. We returned to the campsite and that evening we were treated to a magnificent sunset. When the weather is good there can be fewer places better than Fidden Farm.

Beautiful Blooms at Loch Buie

2008-05-26T09:53:00.009+01:00

On Sunday Monica and I fastened our bikes to the car and headed for Loch Spelve for a cycle ride to Loch Buie. Loch Spelve is a sea loch about 4 miles south of the ferry terminal at Craignure. It may be a Bank Holiday weekend but there are more than enough little roads on Mull to explore, and cycling has to be the best way to enjoy the the beautiful sights and sounds.

Our ride started by crossing the River Lussa and then we climbed up through the shady sessile oak woodland at Ardura accompanied by birdsong. The woods were full of Willow Warblers and we caught occasional glimpses of Spotted Flycatchers. The road then decended and along the shores of Loch Spelve. The yellow flag iris are just sarting to bloom and they look magnificent with their lush green leaves set against perfect blue skies in the lovely sunshine. As we reached the head of Loch Speve we passed a post box set in stone pillar, at least the post office realise that some things are worth preserving.
Just a little further up the road was a road sign dated 1897, I doubt many of todays road signs will last over 100 years. We continued on down the road to Loch Uisg as we cylced along the perimeter of the loch we were amazed by the mass of rhododendron bushes that were flowering, some of which continued well up the hillside.

This colourful display continued nearly all the way to Lochbuie, as we cycled down into Lochbuie we disturbed a couple of young red deer hinds that were grazing just the other side of the rhododendron bushes.

At Loch Buie we headed for the beach adjacent Moy Castle . The Castle stands on a low rock platform at the head of Loch Buie and was built in the 15th century by Hector MacLean, brother of Maclean of Duart and the founder of the re-named MacLaines of Lochbuie who made it their home.

Having reached our destination we had a picnic on the beach and did a spot of sunbathing, before we set off back Monica went exploring the shoreline whilst I went for a swim in the loch.

Cycle Tour of Mull

2008-05-19T17:21:00.018+01:00

Saturday I was joined by a friend from Sheffield for a gentle cycle ride round the the north of the island. We set off from Tobermory on a cloudy dry morning and were soon climbing uphill past the Tobermory Campsite and along the Mishnish Lochs and on past the end of Loch Frisa. We cycled on towards Loch Torr accompanied by a stonechat who was vociferously proclaiming his territory. We then started the steady climb up the windy road to Dervaig. The climb wasn't as hard as thought, it appears quite severe in a car with the numerous hairpin bends but on a bike it seems easier to negotiate. On reaching the top you are rewarded with fine views down to Dervaig with it's pretty Church with a white pencil tower. Before you know it your through Dervaig and stopping to identify the various wading birds in Loch a' Chumhainn. We carried on round the island with a slight diversion down to the small stone pier at Croig but alas there were no otters to be seen today so it was back to join the B8073 and onto our Lunch stop at the Carthouse Tearoom at Calgary. After a delicious bowl of homemade chunky vegetable soup and soda bread we freewheeled down the hill to be beach. We walked across the sand dunes and watched the sand martins darting in and out of their nesting site and then walked along the deserted beach.
We continued on round Calgary Bay looking out for bottle nosed dolphins and porpoises but to no avail, but there were plenty of wheatear on the rocks at the side of the road. We then climbed slowly up across the moorland into the wind and over to Loch Tuath with fine views to Ulva and Ben More beyond.
Our next stopping off point was the impressive garden of Lucy Mackenzie at Lip na Cloiche. The garden is well worth a visit and Lucy also has an excellent selection of plants and cards for sale and is more than happy to show visitors round her gardens.
We carried on cycling along Loch Tuath past the magnificent Eas Fors waterfall which wasn't at it's best due to the shortage of rainfall on Mull during April and May. Our next little diversion was down to Ulva ferry the crossing point for the island of Ulva. After a quick look round for otters we continued on our way on the long steady climb round to Loch na Keal. We kept a look out for a rare bearded seal which has been spotted in the Loch on previous days but maybe it's now headed back to colder waters. We did however have a great views of a White Tailed Sea Eagle being mobbed by a pair of Buzzards as we approached the campsite at Killiechronan.
Next it was round to Salen for a well earned drink at the Salen Hotel before we cycled back to Tobermory and fish and chips from the van on the pier. Our ride was over 60 miles long and took around 8 Hours and best of all I bet we only saw 30 vehicles on the road during the ride.

Wildlife Week 2008 - Part 2

2008-05-15T16:16:00.005+01:00

Well what a fantastic week we've had on Mull for Wildlife week. Lovely warm sunny weather and Monica and myself managed to join in with a few of the events and lend a helping hand.

Monday together with Bridget from the Mull Bird Club we assisted Pam Brown of Discover Mull with a couple of walks on Iona to find Corncrakes. We were successful on both walks seeing a total of 4 corncrakes and hearing at least 8 calling males, we even managed to spot one of the males flying.

Whilst I was on Iona Monica joined Dave Sexton (RSPB Officer for Mull) and Jan Dunlop (Forestry Ranger) for a guided walk along the coast from Fishnish to Garmony. During the walk they spotted seals, reed bunting, common and artic terns, and heron chicks in a nest.

Tuesday together with holidaymakers Janet and David from Elton in Derbyshire we joined in the Bird Count/Race. This was a competition organised to record the number of bird species seen on Mull during the day. The event was organised by the Mull Bird Club in partnership with the BTO and RSPB Scotland with all the records going towards the 2007-2011 BTO Bird Atlas. We managed to record 58 different bird species and collectively 102 species were recorded on the day between 10am and 3.45pm.

Wildlife Week 2008

2008-05-10T21:14:00.005+01:00

Why not join us on the Corncrake Walks on Iona Monday 12 May. Pam Brown of Discover Mull will accompany you on an easy walk, listening and looking for these elusive birds. Walking shoes, waterproofs and binoculars recommended.

Times: 10.50am and 1.20pm - duration 2 hours
Meet: Top of the ferry slipway Iona.
Cost: £10.00

Booking essential - telephone Discover Mull 01688 400415 or 07780 600367