Whitsun on Mull

This trip turned out to be something of a movable feast as Pete and Wendy arrived on Friday, Andy with Aly and kids arrived Saturday, I came on Sunday with Francis and Catherine and Anna and Andrew turned up with Alice on Monday. The camp site was beautifully situated at the eastern end of Loch na Kean, but as there was barely half and inch of soil on top of shingle it was rather hard on the tent pegs.

Sunday appeared fine with only moderate wind from the southwest. Aly, with her kids and half of mine went off to sample the delights of Tobermory, while the rest of us headed for Ulva ferry, in order to paddle around Ulva. I took Francis in the double while Andy, with some difficulty, squeezed himself into my sea kayak. The exit from Ulva ferry was sheltered by small islands, but as we headed west along the south side of Ulva it became more exposed to the wind. Further along we went into a deep bay and paddled in the shelter of a group of small islands. In the distance we saw two beaches which looked like promising lunch stops. However, although they had been visible from a long way off because of the whiteness of the 'sand' there was barely space to land and pull up the four kayaks. The 'sand' was composed of small pieces of coral and coarse white grit probably derived from the same material. We found a pleasant sheltered spot for lunch. Francis found a rock face to climb on, nearly killing himself in the process, as a bit came off in his hand.

We set off again around the southwest corner of Ulva. We were very much aware from the strength of the wind and the height of the swell that there was nothing but sea between us and America. We could see the headland in the distance where we were to turn north into the shelter of Gometra. Francis and I decided to put our heads down and go for it. The passage between Ulva and Gometra was flat calm. As it was just before high tide it was too shallow to paddle through so we had to pull the kayaks through the channel and under the bridge. The paddle back along the North of Ulva was very pleasant, as we were mostly sheltered from the wind.

The following day the wind was still from the south west so we decided to go out of Tobermory harbour, as it would be more sheltered. Our aim was to get everyone who wanted to go out on the water. The first group consisted of Pete, Wendy, Anna and myself, with Andy and Sam in the double. We paddled across the harbour and around Calve Island, finding some seals in a bay on the north side. After lunch Pete and Wendy went out with Andy and Aly in the double. I went for a walk with the kids round to the lighthouse in a possibly vain attempt to work off a bit of energy. That evening we decided to splash out and have dinner in the Inn at Graigmore as Andy, Aly and the kids were due to leave the next day.

The Wednesday appeared rather windy in the morning so we decided to go our separate ways and see if the wind dropped towards evening to allow a late excursion. Francis, Catherine and I crossed to Ulva on the ferry and went for walk. We went into the newly thatched black house now used as a visitor centre and learned that Ulva was the home of the clan McQuarie. The laird of the said clan was apparently visited in October 1773 by Samuel Johnson and James Boswell. Pete and Wendy went down to the Ross of Mull and somehow managed to make contact with Claire, who duly turned up at our campsite that evening while we were tucking into coffee and fruitcake.

The wind seemed to have dropped slightly, but had also changed direction and was now coming from the south east. Someone suggested that if we were going to go for a paddle we should get up and go, which we did. However, as we drove along the south side of the loch it darkened and started to rain. Undeterred the intrepid group set off for Inch Kenneth in a strengthening wind. We switched boats around so that Anna and Claire shared the double and Francis took my boat, paddling solo in a sea kayak for the first time. We had a look round the chapel and were not too surprised to find that Dr Johnson and Mr Boswell visited there also in October 1773. As the weather was getting rather unpleasant we decided to leave further exploration and/or circumnavigation of the island to another time, and headed back to Mull. Francis was clearly thrilled by paddling alone - 'er, Mum, how about buying yourself a new sea kayak, then I could have your old one!'

The weather became very stormy through the night and I was pleased the tent stayed up, considering how little was holding the tent pegs. We made our planned departure the next morning, and followed by Anna and Andrew. Pete and Wendy stuck it out a bit longer making a visit to Iona (on the ferry). In the end even they gave up and got an early ferry home when it was clearly not going to improve.

Mull is a lovely place with a lot of potential for paddling. I have marked the Treshnish Isles as a possible future trip if anyone is interested.

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	Swaledale Outdoor Club

Whitsun on Mull

Ann Jones