Mulling over Tobermory in the rain…

Today is as miserable as the forecast suggested.  We were hoping to get the boat over to Mull before the rain began but it started before we even left the campsite to catch the 10.15am ferry over to Tobermory.  Mull had quite disappeared from view…

There were already three cars in the queue and when we saw the ‘Raasay’ come out of the mist towards us we did seriously wonder whether we would get on it – it was tiny!

We had been forewarned that because this was a ‘replacement boat’, and not a roll-on-roll-off at that, we would have to reverse on.  Watching the rather poor reversing skills of the three cars and the diminishing space left on deck, it was a miracle that Peter managed to back on smoothly, even leaving a tiny space for a little Fiat which was fifth in the queue.  The CalMac crew were, as ever, helpful and allowed the lady in the Fiat to drive on forwards in the circumstances although this would, inevitably, mean that she would then have to reverse off at the other end!

The 35 minute crossing was smooth (we spotted a couple of Guillemots on the way) and it seemed no time at all before the hydraulic ramp was coming down and we all piled off.

I had always imagined that we would get a wonderful view of the colourful houses along the harbour as the ferry approached, but the harbour was full of small yachts and the slipway was at the side.

As we drove off, however, the houses came into view and, even in the poor light, they looked great.

We managed to park along the harbour front and headed off for the bakery-cum-teashop we had passed.  Two lattes and couple of chocolate muffins.  Absolute heaven.  And free wifi too!

We stayed as long as we reasonably could and then popped into the Mull Museum – a tiny building, but one which held a remarkable amount of memorabilia and artefacts from the island.  It was free to enter with, maybe, a donation – with which we complied, of course.

Delightful cherub water fountain

Then a trip to the Co-operative further along the street, making good use of our Co-op card, which had been burning a hole in our pocket ever since we had sent for it months ago.  We will now be eligible for a ‘divvy’ on an annual basis.  How nice it was to be re-united with the Co-op brand hash browns – a tasty addition to our alternate day cooked breakfast!

We had thought of returning to the warm bakery for a sandwich lunch but it was raining so hard now that we decided to head off for the campsite.  The main road follows the coast along the Sound of Mull and we were pleased to discover, when we stopped in a lay-by, that we could get a good internet connection with our 3 dongle.  Of course, the big problem with that is that we will run out of battery on the laptop rather quickly whilst uploading the blog post and have to return to the campsite for a re-charge.

The campsite, Crannich Farm, is only about 10 miles from Tobermory and is situated in Glen Aros near to forestry commission land.  It is neatly set out on hard standings – just as well!

We have made a decision to book in for an extra night here (three nights all told) as Fidden Farm, set above a sandy cove on the west side of Mull and originally our chosen campsite for Monday and Tuesday, has no electricity.  Ok for one night but with our propensity for taking loads of photos and needing to charge batteries on the laptops regularly, it was probably not such a good idea.  Maybe a small generator is an idea for the future?  Only joking.  Sort of.

For the first time this holiday we have unearthed the electric fan fire.  There is probably another day of this rain to come, with the weather gradually improving on Monday.  On Tuesday the sun should be out.  Can’t wait!