South of North Berwick and north of Berwick on Tweed (15th July 2021)

As Covid19 continues to hold a grip on foreign travel, campsite space is limited and we turned to the Caravan Club, now re-branded as the Caravan and Motorhome Club. They have a range of Certified Locations which are non-tent, five pitch sites for Caravans or Motorhomes. We paid our annual fee (joining fee waived apparently) and then had access to their online site search etc. and found a CL at Coldingham.

Bee Edge CL is a mile inland (uphill) from Coldingham Beach and is ideally placed near a pub serving food. We drove there from Killin, skirting Edinburgh, making full use of the Roamerdrive (overdrive), which reduces the engine revs and consequent noise in the Land Rover, to the level where you know the other person is saying something.

This is more new ground for us and we have no knowledge of the Scottish Borders and the next few days would be a pleasant surprise. The Bee Edge CL is quite new and although it is just the requisite five pitches, the owner has spent time and money creating the hardstandings, each with electric hook up, water supply and grey water drain. There's chemical toilet disposal too and even a charging point for an EV.

The best bit was that the next morning was sunny and we were able to eat outside and admire the distant view to the sea.

The EV connection is free during the day which surprised me and I had a look around. The charging point has this screen which indicated that there must be solar panels somewhere and a feed-in to the grid.

Just across the farm road there's an array of solar panels. They didn't look much until I tried to count them and I think there's forty. That would amount to almost 12KW of potential power which is about x4 what you are allowed on your roof the last time I looked.

Each of the panels is supported on a frame and then held-down by eight 6" concrete blocks. 8 x 40 panels = 320 blocks which makes that a lot of concrete.

Coldingham has religious roots, with a Priory (not a priori) established here many centuries ago which has been rebuilt over the years, now sitting in the midst of large sprawling tombstones. The long grass around these was being cut by a guy operating the loudest strimmer I've ever heard.

At the entrance to the village it looks as though there has been some jostling for front spot in the 'entrance sign competition'.

Then we walked to St Abb's Head, initially following an old Monk's path down to the harbour at St. Abbs. Someone told us that the harbour is like the Cornwall you go to see but is no longer there. They were right. It is beautiful, unspoilt, quiet and a very long way from London.

We watched this fisherman from the other side of the quay, wondering why he was having so much difficulty hauling-up his catch. He was using an electric hoist, holding the pendant in one hand but the baskets kept getting snagged in the lines on the boat and he climbed down the ladder and then back up, to have another go.

Then I realised that he had a hook on one arm. That would make it a bit harder. If I'd been on that side I could have helped, I can operate a hoist.

It's a nice walk to St Abb's Head from Coldingham and once there, the world becomes one of seabirds. You can hear the noise from the cliffs well before you see them and when you do, it appears that they are covered in snow.

There are various breeds here at different times of the year, including Puffins. At the moment there are Kittiwakes and Guillemots. The latter stand on the rocky perches, many facing inwards, as it's such a scary drop and you wonder how they are able to squeeze together and land without knocking each other off.

The Kittiwakes are more like a conventional seagull and sit on flatter perches and are clearly aggressive creatures, much like the Herring Gulls that are addicted to human food.

Paths around these cliffs are very exposed with convex slopes dropping away. Late Spring / release from Covid lockdown, has also meant there's a lot of grey and white haired humans around and several were taking precarious positions with very long and cumbersome camera lenses which can't be good for balance.

The lighthouse was built by members of the Stevenson family, who later included Robert Louis and was first demonstrated in 1862. It had been commissioned following a sinking of a ship in 1857. It's 68m above sea level and flashes every 10s.

The weather had improved markedly since Mull and we walked back across the beach at Coldingham Bay and then had a great meal in The New Inn, which curiously doesn't have a website but does respond to a Facebook message.

Map is taken from the Ordnance Survey / Bing Maps

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Crossing Scotland (13th -14 July 2021)

Making our escape from damp Mull, we drove east along Ardnamurchan and the northern side of Loch Sunart, for about 50 miles. There were some fabulous views such as this bay, far below the road.

It's actually quite a difficult drive as the narrow road twists and turns, rising and falling through woodland and you are constantly looking ahead to the next passing place. In fact the driving style in all these parts, requires you to be ready to stop fairly promptly at that next passing place, as a vehicle might be just out of sight. It was surprisingly 'busy', although we had forgotten what busy is!

At the Corran Ferry you can take a sneaky trip across Loch Linnie and before we knew it, we were amongst the towering mountains, driving south through Glencoe. 

Unfortunately the rain there was even wetter than on Mull and that epic drive was not quite as spectacular as we had hoped. Still, we did stop halfway up, to reminisce about a family walk up to Bidean nam Bian. I don't really know how we managed this with two girls aged about 10 and 7 but we and they did. It's about 10 miles and 1200m of ascent into the one of the classic mountains in Scotland. We finished the day in the Clachiag pub and other walkers who were following and trying to keep up, congratulated us for our speed and ability.

Today we could only stand and stare through the drizzle and mists and then continued up the valley and past the ski area at the top and onto Rannoch Moor. Now we were back in 'busy' with cars driving at full pelt, swerving in and out as they tried to make faster progress than the main stream.

It was nice to be in these mountains and we turned left to cross the country and headed to the Scottish Borders (a county) where warm weather was still forecast to continue.

We made an overnight stop at a caravan site where the lady in charge thought nothing of keeping her lawnmower running for an hour whilst she chatted to a resident caravanner. I even walked to where she was standing, about 300m from the mower, to tell her but she was cool about it.

The rain held off until the food was cooked on the barbie but we ate inside.

The next day after an impromptu pull-in and short chat at a garage selling and renovating Land Rovers (Lix Toll garage), we continued south and east towards the coast just south of North Berwick.

On the way we stopped for a coffee at a memorial to Colonel Sir David Stirling who was the founder of the SAS Regiment and to all those who have given their lives whilst serving in or with the SAS Regiment. What an amazing airy place it is, with a super statue and a detailed biography of the man. I read it all and then walked around.

In 1941 he was a Lieutenant in the Scots Guards, serving with their Commando regiment. He suggested there was a need for small teams of parachute trained solders to operate behind enemy lines, to gain intelligence, destroy enemy aircraft and attack their supply and reinforcement routes. L Detachment SAS Brigade was formed and operated in North Africa in November 1941.

It seems as if the initial teething problems were countered by his "enthusiasm and endeavour" and they rapidly expanded. In spite of being captured and sent to Colditz, he was freed at the end of the war in Europe and promptly planned to re-deploy to the far east but the war ended there before they travelled.

He received his knighthood in 1990 but died later that year. I wonder why it was left so long to recognise him? 

Powerbank, Covid-19 security, a tick bite and Lyme disease

Before we left home on this trip, I bought a Powerbank for our phones. It isn't something that I've ever used but the OS maps app tends to sap phone power, as does the NHS Test and Trace app, which needs bluetooth to properly work. So I bought one of these...

I chose this one as it has a USB Type-C connection which is bi-directional and can handle higher charging current. This means that the Powerbank can be re-charged more quickly and itself can charge an attached phone more quickly too, using a USB Type-C to Lightning cable (not shown).

It can also charge my MacBook Air using a Type-C to Type C cable.The unexpected benefit of one of these isn't the ability to put it in your rucsac for when you are walking but that it allows 'cordless' charging at base too, so the phone never needs to be out of your hand.  😆 

Covid-19 security seems to be all over the place as we move around and visit establishments such as cafes and campsites. Some sites have their facilities closed and some are open. Some are trying to enforce social distancing within say, the toilet block. There might be a notice saying "two people maximum" and ask that you wait outside but it isn't enforced.

Some places have the QR code for use with the app but others insist on a manual record of name and phone number. I wonder what they do with that? Does someone have to input the list to another 'portal'?

In a pub you have to wear a mask as you walk in and sit at at table but then you can remove it. The poor staff have to wear a mask or visor all the time. Some places don't seem to enforce adequate distance between tables whereas others are visibly spacious.

I wonder who keeps an eye on all this?

To the more serious stuff... very soon after arriving on Mull, Dawn was bitten by a tick. She didn't know this until over a week later, when a very strange rash appeared on her stomach. An infected tick transmits Lyme disease and if you are bitten and develop this rash then you have the disease.

Looking back, Dawn now realised that she had felt discomfort over two successive days which she though was an itchy tee-shirt label. We aren't in the habit of checking for ticks as usually we are fully clothed when walking, especially in cool weather such as we are having. However there are times when you need to have a pee and this is presumably when the tick latched-on. This would have been when we were walking at Coggan on the first full day on Mull (Monday). This is on the south of Mull and there are more deer than humans in these parts.

The rash that developed was first noticed on the Thursday of the following week. It might have been there earlier but we aren't parading in front of mirrors and I suppose she just missed it. 

As it was the evening, I sent an email explaining in detail the 5W & 2H that I used so much at work. What, When, Where, Who, How etc. to our medical Practice. I then received an auto-reply saying that if my email contained an attached photo. (it did) then it wouldn't be handled and I would need to ring them.

So the next morning Dawn attempted to talk to the Doctor but couldn't get past the receptionist who simply said "go to a Minor Injuries unit at a hospital". Obviously this was ridiculous and so a little later she rang again and spoke to someone else and with some persuasion, was added to a Doctor's call list.

However the Doctor said the same, she had to go to Minor Injuries where they would assess and issue medication if necessary. By now we were in the Scottish Borders, enjoying nice weather and we packed up, which only takes 30minutes and drove to Melrose hospital, only 20 minutes away.

We were able to walk through the doors to A&E where next to their desk is the minor injuries desk. They took her three vitals as she stood at the desk (O2 (98%), pulse (91) and temperature 36.8). As the nurse typed her details into the keyboard it must have pinged the Doctor because he came out of A&E to look for her. Very speedy!

Anyway he looked at the rash and the mark in the middle and without doubt said, tick bite and three weeks of antibiotics. "Let's hope they do the trick". He wrote the prescription and we took it into the town, went to Boots and then had a cream tea to celebrate!

What a smashing, quiet hospital is the Borders General Hospital 😀

Update: no symptoms of Lyme disease and little trouble from the antibiotics so far but precautions need to be taken, especially careful in the sun and also if taking indigestion remedies. There's not much known about Lyme and most of what is known has been collated by 'sufferers'. No-one in the UK is classed as a 'Lyme disease specialist'. We hope that the antibiotics work because otherwise Lyme can linger for years.

Ardnamurchan (Sunday 13th July 2021)

That was the end of our slightly curtailed trip to Mull, with a few things missed off the list. There has been virtually no sitting out in warm sunshine, fewer views of mountains than hoped for and no boat trip to Staffa to see Fingal’s cave and puffins because of wind. The trips were still running but we didn’t fancy a few hours on a choppy sea.

To cap it all, my boots leak. They are the Keen brand and I only bought them last year. They have been looked after, treated with the correct waterproofer but now I’m getting wet feet whenever I get into squelchy ground. I wish I’d brought my big Meindl Borneo ones but they can often be an overkill. At least they don’t leak.

The plan was always to go to Ardnamurchan and from Mull it’s easy as the ferry leaves from there. Tobermory to Kilchoan only takes 45’ and on Sunday at 11:00 there were just three vehicles.

The view was just as limited as on the Oban ferry but at least we were first off

The Ardnamurchan peninsular is a long way west of anywhere and the lighthouse marks the western-most point of mainland Great Britain. It features on the inshore waters forecast on BBC R4 and I have always fancied a visit.

It is a wild and forbidding place and the dramatic skies and frequent squalls added to the atmosphere.

The only problem was that a few miles from the lighthouse we reached a ‘Road Closed’ sign that also informed us that the lighthouse wasn’t accessible on foot either. So that plan failed.

We tried the next road that also ended at the sea. This was open but at the tiny fishing quay it was clear that there would be no overnight parking.

The final attempt to get near to the end and stay overnight seemed to be much more promising. We drove almost to the end of the road, opened the farm gate and continued to an idyllic bay, overlooked by a modest farm and a beautiful new build.

Unfortunately no one was around. The house was open and the three chained-up dogs were going wild but no one was to be seen. After ten minutes we gave up and reluctantly retraced our route all the way to Kilchoan and then onwards towards the east on the only road.

I was quite sad not to be spending more time here but bad weather makes for unhappy travellers and we decided to make a swift run towards the warmth in the east.

The Coggan ferry awaited us!

Except in the western isles... (12th - 13 July 2021)

The word ‘community’ crops-up a lot in these parts and there’s something nice about it. Community gardens are common, even produce sold at a side of the road stall can be labelled “community produce”.

These new, timber clad houses we being built “for local occupation”, on a hillside on the west coast. I wanted to get out and walk around but it felt intrusive and I was content with a photograph. A lady was tending the community garden just above too .

The pub in the village of Dervaig looked inviting. There was a certain bustle around at the end of the afternoon and we tried to manoeuvre into the small car park. We were hoping that we could align in a private sort of way to enable us to stay for the night. We didn’t know if the pub allowed this but anyway there was no ‘private alignment’ as we found that we were overlooking houses and the back entrance to the pub.

So sadly, we turned on the windscreen wipers again and drove up the hill and back into the swirling mists and very very wet drizzle. It was time to scour the Park4Night app again and we saw three possible pull-ins on the road over to Tobermory. We already knew that the campsite at Tobermory was closed that night for a private gathering. So it had to be a pull-in.

I think we checked all three and drove back to number two. It was next to the road but just set back. There was nothing to do except lift the roof and stay inside. Drizzle poured down (Scottish drizzle does do this) and it was yet another ‘inside evening’. These are a little harder to deal with when you simply can’t put anything outside but we have a good method, stayed dry and didn’t starve.

We were resolved to move away from the western isles as we were suffering from heat and sun envy. The rest of the UK was basking in sun and warmth and we would listen to the weather (when we could pick up a signal) to hear the familiar “except in the western isles...  

So the next morning we closed the roof and sorted ourselves out in a damp atmosphere but it wasn’t actually precipitating. Then we drive to Tobermory and actually got there just as the first ferry of the day was loading, with a single vehicle.

It’s a turn-up and go ferry and we motioned to the crew that we would stay and wait for the next one and with that they were off.

Tobermory has a well known waterfront and even in the cloudy weather it looked pretty.

We had a coffee in the converted church I think it was and also used their wifi. Yet again EE has no useful coverage with only a gprs data signal which is about 2.5G in decimal  

Towards Tobermory (12th July 2021)

 

That evening was another 'inside' one, as the rain came in squalls and the wind didn't relent. It's our fault for camping at such a superb spot. If it were warmer, the wind wouldn't matter. If it wasn't so windy the cool wouldn't matter. At least there are no midges at Fidden.

However we decided that all good campsites need to come to an end when you are on a road trip with no advance plans and it was time to drive north.

This being the Ross of Mull, you first have to drive a long way east, on the road that serves as an artery here. The mist was low as the northern shore of Loch Scridain got nearer and then we turned left around the head of the loch and took notice of the sign warning us of otters crossing for six miles.

This road is narrow, uneven and skirts the southern flanks of Ben More, the highest mountain on the island (966m). Unfortunately the skies were grey and so views upwards were limited.

It's certainly dramatic and the crags tower over the road which hugs the shore, either along or above, especially once the Ardmeanach peninsular has been crossed.

There are few road edge kerbs on Mull and the road thickness that has built up over the years has produced some significant wheel-swallowing verges that even the 235/80 R16 tyres should not drop onto. Many years ago, I was a passenger in a car, a Ford Granada, when the driver caught the near side edge of a country lane in the Yorkshire Dales and couldn't steer back onto the tarmac. The car was drawn into a deep ditch, and turned onto it's side (my side). When we came to rest, the driver was still sitting there above me and we climbed out of his door as if we were exiting a hatch on a boat.

The take away here is to keep your eyes on the road and be sure there's no slack in the steering components (there isn't).

We stopped under the cliffs and waved as a campervan we had seen at Fidden drove past, followed by another that we had seen at Loch Buie. Mull isn't busy yet.

We passed the cars parked at the spot from where an ascent of Ben More would start but my days of walking up into cloud and rain are few and far between. We weren't prepared for that sort of walk.

So on we drove, into the head of the sea loch, Loch na Keal and then we darted over the narrow strip of land to the other coast at Salen but we didn't stay.

Continuing along the west coast we came upon a waterfall but missed the pull-in. At the top of the next hill we found another, from where we would walk back to look. At that point I grabbed a nice angled pic of the Landy but also we found we were at a memorial to a lady who had died some years before.

Tbe lady is Susan Cameron who died in 2003 competing in the Tour of Mull rally, as co-driver, alongside her husband. There are lovely words on the memorial which is in a beautiful spot.

Down the road the waterfall, more of a series of waterfalls, looks innocuous enough until you get to the last one that drops over the cliff. This is a sheer drop of about 50m, not sure really but it is sudden and an edge of which to be wary.

At Calgary Bay, one of only a couple of camp areas on the west coast, there was quite a gathering of vehicles and we decided to press on to Dervaig.

We didn’t encounter any otters crossing but did see geese. These are very much in family units and we have seen them in the sea with an adult at each end of a line of goslings, swimming across stretches of water. Here they are crossing the road. It’s probably less dangerous than the water.

Erraid (11th July 2021)

 It was no surprise but nevertheless, mid summer in these parts means very little dark. The sun set at exactly 10pm when we were at Craignure on the northeast coast. I know this as I watched it dip below the north west horizon.

At Fidden you can see a jetty and just up from there, a row of cottages, each with a brightly painted door. They are a lovely sight, better for us campers than the inhabitants. They look across to a field of camper vans and motorhomes, which is a bit sad.

The cottages are on Erraid, a small island cut off at high tide and only accessible on foot across the sand. There is no marked path over that sand and also, to get to the crossing point, you have to walk two miles along the road from Fidden.

When I say walk, we are the only people to do that. The very few other people had clearly driven round. "Oh you've walked quickly" they said when we caught up with a couple who had presumably passed us on the road. " Yes", I said, "we walk quickly if we're cross and I'm cross because I didn't look to see quite how far it is along the road."

On crossing the wide strip of sand between mainland and island, we headed straight up to the top of the hill. This is Mull though and you can't walk in straight line. So skirting the wet bits we got to the top and managed to see the view in-between the now frequent squalls.

Then it was onto an unused, small observatory, a circular wooden building that is painted white and was once... an observatory. Here we discovered that the island is owned by a Dutch family, the Mac Flinderhoorts, (I made that name up) and the inhabitants, the Erraid Community, live there rent free in return for the maintenance of land and buildings.

Each of the 6-10 members live there for three years or more and has an area of focus such as gardens, kitchen, wood, boats etc. They are a spiritual group and share, meditate and eat communal meals. It's not for me but I am happy for those who live there.

 www.erraid.com

We were able to walk near to the cottages before striding out along the track above their beach. We had to stride, as the rain was being driven by a 'fresh' breeze and we were by this time in full waterproofs.

Back at the other side, we ate our picnic communally and shared our experience so far, of the wet walk and the trudge to come along the road back to Fidden.

If getting wet wasn't bad enough, I spotted a very poorly Land Rover 110 hi-cap behind a farm. It was too far gone and too far way from away home to be of further interest to me 😩

Fidden Farm and Iona (10th - 12 July 2021)

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The last sight of the sun for several days would be at Fidden which is about as far south and west as you can be on Mull without getting wet feet.

It’s only just a handful of miles along the coast from the Ardlanish Weavers beach. The site is a wide, close cropped grassy area, without pitch markings. You just find a spot and spend the rest of the time looking at the sea and holding onto anything that would blow away. It is very exposed.

Looking west there’s the coast of Iona close by and to the south, the bay is full of islets which are partially submerged at high tide.

The campsite seemed to be full of  elderly dog walkers who didn’t seem to do any dog walking and elderly kayakers who did lots of low risk kayaking at high tide.

What it doesn’t have is a mobile phone signal that EE customers can find. We were completely isolated 😱. No signal for a few hours can be tolerated but it really is hard for longer than that. The DAB radio was useless, FM radio was full of stations talking in at least two languages that sounded Gaelic maybe and on MW, both Radio5 frequencies were faint.

So we talked to each other.

Then we went to Iona. The ferry leaves from Fionnphort at the western tip of the Ross and only takes 10 minutes.

We didn’t go there as pilgrims but to appreciate the beauty of the island. It isn’t hard to do that. It’s a short walk to the north where there are white sandy beaches all around the northern end and around to the west. The sea was turquoise and the people scarce.

We bought our sandwiches from the St Columba larder, named after the abbot and evangelist who spread the Christian word across Scotland and founded the abbey on the island.

We walked past the building housing the Iona Community. Their current leader, John Bell, often features on the Radio 4 Today programme’s Thought for the Day slot.

After a beach lunch we followed the coast south, trying to walk the high water mark but were eventually diverted up onto the boggy ground and continued at a higher level 

We met Vicky from Bradford on Avon, a place familiar to me as I have stayed there and worked nearby. The most memorable evening in Bradford on Avon was in 2005 watching Liverpool beat Inter Milan on penalties in the Champions League final (Dudek saved a penalty with arms that seemed longer than his body).

Today’s top tip is for successful business relationship management. Take your client to the pub the night his or her team win a top European title. 

Vicky said she was very glad to walk along with us. The going was tricky due to lack of a path and surprise drop-offs and sudden boggy ground. We often had numerous attempts to ‘get to the other side’ but the chats helped and we covered plenty of ground both literally and metaphorically.

Waiting at the end of the walk was an Ionian (sic) cream tea. Perfect reward.

The ferry is a walk-on affair which is well organised except for the curious wearing of face masks during the crossing. This is bizarre given that all passengers are on the deck and it was so windy that I couldn’t keep my cap on.

I grabbed a pic of the Pretender next to the authentic version.

There’s about 25 years in age between these vehicles but perhaps about a hundred years of technology. Or maybe more accurately, there’s zero lines of computer code in mine and a million in the new Defender!