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Yes I know it is getting boring, all these adventurous folk compleating, having said that when you sit down in the cold light of day and think about what all these folk have achieved it really is impressive
'None' hill walkers just do not understand why we get up at "stupid" o'clock, drive literally thousands of miles just to climb a hill, I have to admit there have been times when I have questioned my sanity and think what am I doing here, especially when you are in the middle of nowhere, can't see a thing and getting wetter by the minute
Anyway back on track, this would be my second visit to Mull and you would think that the weather in August would be far better than that in October - how wrong could you be. Those of you who read my last little ditty for Ben More will have noticed that the weather was anything but nice, so the chance to return with a half decent forecast on offer was just too good to pass up.
For those of you who don't know Chris (jepsonscotland) and Andy (flump), they have spent the last couple of years almost joined at the hip and really tackled the mountains in all weathers and mainly at the weekend
A few of you will remember when Chris attended his first WH meet in 2014 at Inchnadamph ( the well behaved visit), at that time he hadn't even reached double figures, Munro wise so that shows how busy they have been
I won't bother drawing the route as it is a straight up and down
The plan for me was to catch the first ferry from Oban which leaves at 1005am, so my plan was to leave Fife at 6.30am to make sure I didn't MISS the ferry
When I left it was raining and had obviously been raining overnight as there were large puddles that kept creeping across the road. Interestingly, on reaching the Tyndrum area the damp roads were history and the facts that the weathermen had been spouting forth were true
One fact that stuck in my memory was that in October only 6mm of rain was recorded in the far NW and as the day progressed that was very evident
I arrived at Oban rather early so I topped up the fuel in the car and had time for a leisurely coffee before boarding the ferry. As you can see from the photo's it was a gorgeous morning, hardly a breath of wind, ideal conditions for taking photo's
Early morning on the ferry in Oban
Looking across to Mull, looks a bit cloudy
Oban
McCaig's Tower zoomed
The marina on Kerrara
Ladys Rock Lighthouse
Duart Castle
Zoomed
Black's memorial lighthouse?
Now we are actually on the beautiful island of Mull. As usual the ferry docked on time and as I was near the front to disembark I was soon trundling along the road towards Salen on the only decent / normal road on the island
I arrived at the parking area and there were plenty of cars already parked on the undulating grassy area, I opted for a smooth bit and was met by Andy and his family
As usual Chris was last to the party and then proceeded to do his usual faffing around getting ready
The rest of the party included Chris's wife Anna and her daughter Sophia and the final member of the group was Hazel (Strachan) who is literally a mountain goat, having alreay been up Ben More earlier in the morning
Car park view looking west
Here they are
And again
We eventually set off shortly after 11.30am, which I would class as a very late start
I was booked onto the 7.30pm ferry so time wasn't an issue, the temperature outside was about 8deg so my car reliably informed me, so we knew it was going to rather chilly high up
Chris struggling and lagging behind early on
Same shot zoomed
First of many shots of Eorsa
Water feature, not much water though
Same shot - this time in August
First of many shots of Ulva
Ulva & Eorsa
The way up, busy hill
Looking south to "Ross of Mull"
Ferry zoomed coming down the Sound of Mull
Same shot of the Sound of Mull
Iona in the distance
Nice path easy to follow, ideal for the path lover - you know who you are
One of my infamous 'action shots'
First glimpse of what looks like a cracking ridge
Couple of stragglers
Yes Chris that is the summit
Bubbly living up to it's name
I have no idea how long it took to reach the summit, but as walks go it is one of the easier Munro's and you really do get value for money if you get a view. I was so pleased to be able to see what I missed in August and I ended up taking over 200 photo's
I have to confess I don't think I have ever spent so long on a summit, must have been the best part of an hour, not only celebrating, but chatting and taking photo's in all directions.
Andy's brother John went for a wee stroll
Pretty impressive and rather undulating
Interesting shadows being cast
Interesting angle to catch Eorsa
Staffa and co
Chris's stepdaughter Sophia
Same shot zoomed
Eorsa again
After an hour or so on high it was starting to get rather chilly, so off we trudged downhill. As you can see from the photo's care does need to be taken descending on the loose stony path, but it is so easy to get distracted by the view in front of you of the islands of Eorsa and Ulva.
Time to head down
The way down
Looking back up to the stragglers way behind
Nice contrast of sun and shade
The short crossing to Kerrara
One last shot of Eorsa
Not the best water feature
Here is an interesting comparison, the above same waterfall taken on 13th August this year
Final shot of Ben More summit
Many congratulations to Chris and Andy, you will find it rather strange and a huge anti-climax trying to adjust to life after compleation
Best of luck in whatever path you take
It was a day I thoroughly enjoyed, the drive to and from Oban, the ferry crossings and of course getting views of Mull and the surrounding area
I have nothing planned in the near future but will no doubt be heading south again to visit a few more Donalds
One other thing I was discussing with Chris on the ferry home, does anyone fancy tackling the 3 Peaks challenege next year, I would be looking at organising it and aiming for the weekend of 24/25 June 2017? I will post in the meets, so if anyone is interested PM me.