Lismore - Bliss-more

The latter part of my May holiday was a bit of an island fest because after Kerrera, I decided to head to Lismore for a couple of days. I was really enjoying being at the coast and sucking in the revitalising sea air. There's also an incredible richness to islands where the different sights and sounds of land and water meet. It's pure bliss. My second island was larger than Kerrera and a longer ferry journey from Oban at just under an hour. Lismore is mostly low lying and quite flat which, along with its detached position in Loch Linnhe, affords wonderful views of mountains all around. This changes the character of the island to something much more wild and rugged. 

My mid afternoon ferry left Oban through a curtain of torrential rain which obscured the usually lovely views to Mull and the hills of Lochaber. Eventually Achnacroish, Lismore's ferry terminal, appeared through the gloom and the ferry docked. I walked up the road to the Lismore Bunkhouse which had been built on a renovated croft, now a wildlife haven. There are a few spots for tents but when I was offered a bunk room to myself with a view over the croft, I couldn't resist. The weather cleared later and from my room I could see north to Beinn a'Bheither and Ben Nevis. The couple who own the croft have planted over 7,000 trees here so the dawn and dusk bird song was beautiful. My evening entertainment was watching the rescue chickens who stomped haughtily around the croft pecking at the ground.

I spent the whole of the next day wandering on the island though barely covered any distance because there was so much to see and so many enticing bays. I started my walk by heading over to the west coast of the island at Sailean. I was fascinated by the former lime quarries here. 

Lismore is a rare outcrop of limestone which is unusual in the geology of the west coast of Scotland. So in the 19th century, Sailean was a major industrial site where the limestone was quarried, burned in limekilns and shipped out for use as agricultural lime and building mortar. Extensive ruins remain today, including the limekiln itself, as well as the pier which is still in use. It's such an idyllic spot set on a quiet bay with nature slowly reclaiming the ruins.

Walking on from Sailean, I joined the main road along the island which is all single track and very quiet. The verges were full with primroses and orchids. This is due to the rich, alkaline soils created by the limestone and is why Lismore is also known as the The Great Garden. 

Before too long, I found myself back at Achnacroish. If I had thought that heading to a quiet, west coast island was an escape from the ongoing pandemic, then I was wrong. There were reminders even here. The community hall had been turned into a vaccination centre and at the start of my next path, hand sanitiser had been attached to the fence post. 

My path passed in front of the pretty row of cottages at Achnacroish then headed up the east coast through fields and woods. I was aiming for Tirefour Broch which dominated the horizon ahead.

The broch dates from the late Iron Age and was built about 2000 years ago. The structure would have originally been five metres high and the walls three metres thick. It's believed it was inhabited until the Middle Ages. Among the finds in the broch are a decorative pin from the 8th century and Norse pins and rivets from the 11th or 12th centuries. What is most obvious about the broch is its commanding position above the sea and the east coast of the island. This made it a stunning place to sit a while, with panoramic views all round and an alarming drop to the sea.

It's thought that the broch fell into disuse when the seat of power shifted to the Clan MacDougall castles on the west coast of the island. I headed to one of them next.

A meandering farm road took me back to the main island road and I walked a little way south. Before too long, I passed the pretty parish church whose graveyard was awash with primroses and bluebells.

Just after here, I turned onto a rough farm track and descended steeply to the coast at an idyllic bay. Here were the ruins of Castle Coeffin.

The castle was built in the 13th century but it's thought the site was in use for much longer with an Iron Age fort located close by. Local tradition has always associated the castle with a legendary Norse prince called Caifean. The ghost of his sister Beothail was said to haunt the castle until he freed her by taking her bones back to Norway. At low tide, the sheltered bay below the castle reveals a medieval fish trap and boat haul out. It was yet another blissful spot to sit a while with views over a rocky coastline to the hills of Morvern. 

From the castle, it was a few kilometres of walking under a hot sun to return to the bunkhouse via the island museum and cafe, and its little shop. I was lucky that the weather held for my return ferry journey the next morning and I could enjoy the views from the deck that I'd missed on the way out.

Fact File

Start/Finish: Achnacroish

Public transport: Oban is served by regular buses and trains, and there are several ferries per day from Oban to Lismore.

My walking route: From the ferry walked up the road to the main island road then turned right. Less than a kilometre from this junction a road leads to the left between two cottages. The bunkhouse is a little way along this road. The road swings right, turns into dirt track and drops down to the coast where the limekilns can be seen.  Followed this track passed the bay at An Sailean to the left of the cottage and up the hill to join a tarmac road. Turned left then left again on the main island road and returned to Achnacroish. A track then path heads in front of the cottages towards the broch. Where it meets tarmac, turned left up the road but then left it quickly on a track to the right after the cottages which quickly swung left. I crossed the field to pass ruins then I walked over the rocky knoll above the ruins. Crossed the dyke/fence and an obvious path continued to the broch. Descended from the broch to the tarmac road to the west, followed it to the main island road then turned left. After the church, a track leaves to the left of a white farmhouse. Followed this to Castle Coeffin then retraced my steps to the main island road and returned to the bunkhouse, visiting the excellent museum and cafe. 

Kerrera - Small but perfectly formed

If you've ever taken the ferry from Oban to Mull, you might recall it leaving the harbour by skirting a peninsula of land on the left (or should I say port) side. This bit of land is actually the very top of the island of Kerrera which sits close to the mainland just south of Oban. Despite being only 7km long and just 2km wide, Kerrera boasts a rugged coastline, wild beaches and a ruined castle. So you could say it's small but perfectly formed!  Despite this, I'd not been before but finally made the hop over when I was near Oban on holiday. 

When I say "hop over" I really do mean that. The Sound of Kerrera is only 500m wide and the crossing is made in the smallest Calmac ferry I have ever seen. It was quite a contrast to the huge, sleek ferries that I'd just been watching in Oban that serve Mull and the further away islands. But this little ferry is a key link for the island community as there is no shop or school on Kerrera. So when the first ferry of the day from the island pulled in, it deposited a large rabble of school children. 

Once on the other side, I set out to walk a loop of the island. The tarmac road at the ferry slipway quickly gave way to dirt track which was lined with colourful wild flowers. So many flowers seemed to be in bloom all at once that I wondered if the very cold spring had delayed some of them.

I quickly reached the broad sweep of Horseshoe Bay. It was here that King Alexander II died on 8 July 1249. He was poised with a large fleet in Oban Bay to try to retake Western Scotland from the Norwegians when he fell ill. Just beyond here, and backed by a pretty row of whitewashed cottages, is another bay called Little Horseshoe. It also has an interesting snippet of history attached to it as it was host to a milestone in electrical engineering. In September 1956, Little Horseshoe Bay became the eastern terminus of the world's first submarine, transatlantic telephone cable. The other end of the string stretched to Newfoundland! 

As I continued my walk down the island, a short rise then descent, put me on Kerrera's south coast at a breathtaking spot with a rugged, rocky coastline and a pebble beach washed by incoming waves. Sitting on top of the rocks with a commanding view out to sea, was the ruin of Gylen Castle.

The castle was built around 1582 by Duncan MacDougall of Dunollie to control the trade through the Sound of Kerrera. In the sixteenth century it was one of the busiest shipping lanes in the region, offering easy access to the islands of the Inner Hebrides. The castle was originally a four storey tower with a small courtyard occupying the edge of the cliff.  Although primarily built for defence, Gylen Castle also served as a status symbol and craftsmen were employed to create the Oriel window, much of which is intact today. The MacDougalls still owned the castle when the Wars of Three Kingdoms broke out in the mid-seventeenth century. The clan were supporters of the Royalist cause and in 1647 a detachment of Covenanters besieged the castle. The clansmen eventually surrendered and Gylen was sacked and burnt. It has remained a ruin ever since.

It was wonderful to linger here, taking in the history and natural beauty of the spot, but eventually I continued on my walk, rounding the south of the island and making my way up the west coast. The views from here to the hills of Morvern and Mull were stunning. I was envious of the people who lived in the isolated cottage at Barnabuck which sat in its own wooded bay on the coast with a view over all of this. I was less envious of them as I faced the steep climb from the cottage up and over the spine of the island. 

This track took me back to the ferry slipway via Kerrera's main community at Balliemore. I was grateful I had some change for the honesty box at the craft hut here so I could have ice cream and a cold drink before the ferry back to the mainland. My walk had only been about 4 hours but there was so much variety and beauty packed into this small island.  

Fact File

Photos on FLICKR

Start/finish: Ferry slipway, Kerrera

Public transport: A local bus from Oban connects to some of the ferry times but it's less than 3km to walk there from the centre of town. A nice way to do the walk is over Pulpit Hill in Oban. Walk down from Pulpit Hill along Pulpit Drive and a little way along a footpath to the ferry is signed. It passes through a lovely wooded landscape above the coast.

My route: Turned left off the ferry and followed this main track south to the house at Lower Gylen, ignoring any side tracks on the way. From Lower Gylen, a grassy path heads down to the castle. Returned to the main track and continued west to the house at Ardmore. Here a path ascends to the left of the house and continues north to Barnabuck. Skirt to the front of the house then the track climbs steeply above the cottage and returns to the east coast of the island at the ferry slipway.

 

Bridge of Orchy to Taynuilt - Mind how you go

Mindfulness is a popular concept these days. It's defined as being fully present in the moment such that we are aware of where we are and what we’re doing. It's also seen as a form of meditation and thought to be good for your mental health. I think when I'm in the outdoors, I mostly walk in a mindful manner. It's being fully engrossed in the moment that enables you to notice the fine details of everything around you and it's this that makes a walk enjoyable. I was especially mindful on a recent walk from Bridge of Orchy to Taynuilt because it rained non-stop. This forced me to find joy in the detail of the immediate vicinity as I drew in tight my cagoule hood and limited my vision to the immediate world around me. But there were plenty of pleasures ... the colours of rocks wet from the rain; beads of water on tree twigs; the sound of a stream gurgling under the path; the blaze of bluebells in the woods; staring a barn owl in the face from a couple of feet away. So what might have been a miserable plod in the rain was actually a wonderfully rich walk. 

Here are some photos from the walk.

There was a brief moment of sunshine on the first evening which picked out the grain of the bark on the pine trees.

The cold spring meant the woods were largely leafless but there was still plenty of green in the moss-covered forest floor.

One of my favourite spots on the walk was the old, stone bothy of Narrachan which provided a lunch stop out of the rain.

At Ardmaddy Bay on Loch Etive, the gorse was a splash of colour in an otherwise grey palette.

Bluebells carpeted the woods close to Taynuilt.

Fact File

Start: Bridge of Orchy
Finish: Taynuilt
Public transport: Trains between Glasgow and Fort William stop at Bridge of Orchy; trains between Glasgow and Oban stop at Taynuilt.

My route: At the bottom of the steps at Bridge of Orchy station, turn left and this is now the West Highland Way. Follow it to Victoria Bridge then take the track west which is signed for Loch Etive. It passes Loch Dochard then descends into Glen Kinglass. When it reaches Ardmaddy on the shore of Loch Etive, follow the main track over the bridge and south down the shore. There is a new hydro track through part of the glen but stay on the track on the north side of the river until Ardmaddy. When the track reaches a tarmac road, turn right and a little further on the smokery at Inverawe is reached. Cross the car park and pick up a path signed down to the river. Cross the fine pedestrian suspension bridge and follow the track up to the right on the other side. This leads into Brochroy. At the end of this residential road, turn left, then first right to Taynuilt village centre and the train station.