9 February: Oban to Lochaline

 9 Feb 

A fellow traveller breaks the news: no ferries to Mull this morning. 😱

But at the ferry terminal there is good news: an 11am service that will time perfectly with the ferry back onto the mainland, Fishnish to Lochaline, to the north.

Oban - funny ol mix.

£2.60 yum coffee but I see £20 for fish and chips. The world has changed.

Buy 2 novels at Waterstones. Fear of too much spaciousness?

CalMac waiting room = airport lounge empty (another story of corruption and white elephant?).

Oban – Craignure. Euphoria as I wheel on board.

Six cars and me.

Lovely views of snow-dusted Mull. Flurry of sisters messaging. Brooding skies, says Phil.

Delay as we dock, feels like a learner driver doing zillion-point turn.

Last on Mull with Edinburgh tree-planting group in 2017.

Sporadic flowering gorse, rusty birch.

Smooth tarmac along the Sound of Mull.

Wonderful, the muted winter pallet, and empty road.

An hour later, I pass the “Haste ye back” sign at the Fishnish ferry. I get lucky. 15 min wait for ferry to Lochaline. This route logistically essential, but not doing Mull justice, obviously. Carpe diem. (But what is the Hotpoint washing machine doing in the waiting room?)

Lochaline bunkhouse, perched above the harbour.

Pulsing pre-ferry-departure café.

Fay, my hostess, here for the diving (bunkhouse was originally dive centre). What’s it like, socially? Too much! Strong community. 

Co-runs with 3 others. Breaks even in winter with itinerant contractors.

An incredibly well stocked village shop.

Cullen skink in the café. Until I am kicked out.