Day 44: Coll to Dunstaffnage, Argyll & Bute

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

17th February 2021: 99.36km walked today taking the total to 4519.35/8868km. 14% of 99 entries submitting 709.73km.

Today we visit Coll before returning to the mainland at Oban where we take a look at the sites before heading round the coast northwards towards Connel.

Route 14A: Tiree & Coll

Route 15: Oban to Fort William

Coll is another island in the Inner Hebrides which is about 20 kilometres long and 5 kilometres at its widest. Coll, like Tiree, has many sandy beaches but on Coll they are sometimes harder to reach, as they are usually quite a long way from any road and are often backed by high sand dunes. In December 2013 Coll secured ‘dark skies’ status, as the island has no street lights and little other light pollution, allowing unobstructed views of the night sky on clear nights. Coll is also known as the inspiration for the fictional Isle of Struay in the Katie Morag children’s books. Mairi Hedderwick who writes these books based them on her experiences on Coll.

From the ferry pier (New Pier), we head along the only road into the main village of Coll, called Arinagour. This comes from the Gaelic, ‘Airigh nan Gobhar’, meaning ‘Shieling of the Goats’. As we enter Arinagour we pass the second of Arinagour’s 3 piers, called Middle Pier, which is used by local fishing boats. We then enter the Main Street where there are a row of white cottages overlooking Loch Eatharna and finally, we pass the third pier, Old Pier, which is used by small leisure craft.

When the road forks we take the left branch, signed for the airport. The road crosses open moorland dotted with lochs and lochans such as Loch Ronard. After about 7 kilometres we pass the airport and at the next junction turn left. We take another left turn just past a white cottage to head down the track to the ‘new’ Breachacha Castle. This was built by the Macleans of Coll in the 1750s in the Palladian style, before being sold to John Stewart of Glenbuckie and Lorn in 1856. As Palladian architecture was no longer fashionable, he extended it in the new Scottish baronial style adding pepperpot turrets and crenelations. It was the seat of the Lairds of Coll until 1944 after which it was left empty and then sold in 1968. Since then, over the years various renovations have taken place.

Past the new Breachacha Castle we reach the old Breachacha Castle, a tower house built in the 15th century. This was the original stronghold of the Macleans of Coll, the island having been granted to John Maclean in 1431. Although this castle was superseded by the ‘new’ castle it continued to be occupied and only became ruinous in the mid-19th century. It was restored in the 1960s. The old castle is in a stunning setting above a beach on Loch Breachacha and, from here, basking sharks are often seen in the bay while there are also occasional sightings of minke whale, porpoise, and dolphin.

The stream that flows past the castle into the loch is called Struthan nan Ceann, ‘the stream of the heads’. In 1590 the Macleans of Duart invaded Coll and a battle was fought at Breachacha Castle. The Macleans of Coll overwhelmed the Duarts, apparently chopped off their heads then threw them in the stream, hence the name.

We now turn west along a track which leads us to the end of the road to take a grassy track signed northward for Feall Bay. The land we cross here is owned by the RSPB and is home to the rare corncrake as well as lapwing, redshank and snipe in the spring, and barnacle and white-fronted geese in the winter. The grassy track takes us up Ben Feall which although only 66 metres high is one of the best viewpoints on Coll, taking in Feall Bay to the west, the rocky coastline to the northeast, and south back to Breachacha Castles.

We retrace our steps and then take the track right at a junction to reach Feall Bay with a superb beach, Traigh Feall, stretching for 1 kilometre with high sand dunes behind it. We walk to the end of the beach where we look back to see Ben Feall at the other end of the bay. We then follow a faint grassy track westward, following markers to Calgary Point. We pass another beach, Traigh Halium, before reaching the trig point at Calgary Point with views to Gunna Island and Tiree.

From the trig point we head directly eastward towards a prominent wind turbine. There is no path at first, but we soon reach a stony track which takes us to a farmhouse at Crossapol. From here the track leads down past a cemetery to the sands at the western end of Traigh Crossapol. This beach, as well as being the largest, is one of the finest on Coll and is backed by large sand dunes. We walk across the beach for 2 kilometres before taking the sandy track which heads north eastward back to the end of the road.

We head north-eastward along the road, continue straight on at a junction until we reach Tutronald where there is an RSPB visitor centre. The reserve was set up to protect the corncrake, once a common bird in the UK, but now rare because of changes in farming practice. We might not see one, but we might be able to hear its very distinctive rasping call.

We walk along a grassy track through the machair onto the west end of Traigh Hogh, another stunning beach. We walk to its east end, cross the burn, and then follow it back to another grassy track where we turn left and head towards Ballyhaugh Hebridean Centre situated on Loch Ballyhaugh where the headquarters of the Project Trust are situated. The Project Trust specialises in organising overseas Gap Year placements for school-leavers and has been based here since 1988, having previously operated from the new Breachacha Castle where it opened in 1974. All Project Trust volunteers spend time on Coll during selection, training and debriefing and the charity is the biggest employer on the island.

We now walk along the road which takes us between Beinn Tioradh on our left and Ben Hogh, the highest point on Coll at 106 metres, on our right. At the cottages in Clabhach we follow the grassy track heading south so that we can climb Ben Hogh to see the views over Coll. Although the track soon disappears, we climb steeply up the heather slopes aiming for the prominent boulder, the Queen’s Stone, or Clach na Ban-righ. This is an erratic which sits balanced on 3 small stones. From here we walk up to the trig point on the summit to see the views across Coll to Mull as well as out towards the Outer Hebrides. We retrace our steps to Clabhach where we rejoin the road and continue to head east for about 5 kilometres until we reach a sign for Cliad Bay.

We turn left here, past the island’s recycling centre, and follow the grassy track down to the sandy beach at Cliad Bay. As we continue north-eastwards along the coast keep a look out offshore as there are usually seals hauled up on the rocks. We pass more beaches, Torastan Beach at Bagh an Trailleich and another, Traigh Garbh, before we see a small rocky peak ahead called A’Chroic. When we reach it, we scramble up to the top, which is only about 40 metres high, but still gives great views across this part of Coll.

We head south from the top to rejoin the road and then walk 5 kilometres eastwards along the road to its end at Sorisdale which is at the northern end of Coll. We pass through what was once a crofting community, with the remains of thatched cottages along with more modern houses, before walking past Sorisdale Bay. We then head northwards over the machair, with views across to Ardnamurchan on the mainland and Mull, before we arrive at the secluded beach, Traigh Tuath. We retrace our steps towards Sorisdale but keep to the coast to arrive at the point on the east side of Sorisdale Bay before returning to Sorisdale itself.

We now must retrace our steps back along the road past A’Chroic before passing the remains of a medieval church within a walled graveyard and cemetery at Killunaig. At Arnabost we turn left to head south. The road reaches the head of Loch Eatharna and follows it down to Arinagour. At a fork in the road, we turn left to see Coll Parish Church ahead of us; built in 1907, it is Coll’s only active church. From here we walk back into the village, then onto the ferry at the New Pier to head back to Oban.

Oban’s name comes from the Gaelic language and means ‘little bay’. The bay is horseshoe-shaped and is protected from severe weather by the island of Kerrera. Although people have lived in Oban since Mesolithic times the modern town of Oban grew up around the distillery which was founded in 1794. It further developed when steamers came in ever-increasing numbers and when Oban became the departure point of ferries to the Western Isles. It was the arrival of the railway in 1880 though, which saw tourists arrive in increasing numbers. Oban is still the main ferry terminus for islands such as Mull, Coll and Tiree as well as the Western Isles. It is also the centre for sailing on the west coast and it still has a significant fishing fleet.

From the pier in Oban, we can see our next destination - McCaig’s Tower also called McCaig’s Folly, the Colosseum-type building, on top of Battery Hill. Construction was started in 1897 by John Stuart McCaig to provide work for local stonemasons, during a time of high unemployment, and to be a monument to the McCaig family. Unfortunately, John McCaig died before the tower was completed and, although he had left a bequest to complete the building, this was successfully challenged by his relatives, so it remained unfinished. Within the tower is a lovely garden which also continues down the hill on the east side and there are spectacular views across Oban Bay to Kerrera, the other islands as well as Pulpit Hill.

We, unfortunately, don’t have time to visit Pulpit Hill which rises to 72 metres but, if you come back, it is worth the climb for the views over Oban. Pulpit Hill also has the remains of an Iron Age fort and nearby is the Minister’s Stone, which was said to have been used by preachers to give sermons to outdoor congregations who met here giving rise to the name Pulpit Hill.

After leaving McCaig’s Folly we head back down to the Esplanade walking past Oban Distillery. This was started by Hugh and John Stevenson who arrived in Oban in 1793 and opened the Oban Brewing Company with ‘Cowbell Ale’ being their first product. They started distilling whisky the following year and it remained in their family for 3 generations. Since then, the distillery has changed ownership a number of times but still uses only the 2 small stills, making it one of the smallest Scotch distilleries.

Walking down John Street to the Esplanade we pass Oban’s War and Peace Museum. This museum is within the old Oban Times building, which was built in 1883, and gives an insight into the heritage of the town and the local area. It features exhibits on the fishing and maritime industries as well as the role Oban played in World War 2 when it was home to Canadian, Australian and US aircrew, and RAF flying boats which operated in the bay. Amongst other exhibits, it tells the story of the first transatlantic telephone cable link, the building of McCaig’s Folly, and the sport of shinty.

We then walk along the Esplanade northwards turning right at Corran Brae just past Saint Columba’s Cathedral. This cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. It is relatively modern, as the foundation stone was laid in 1932 and the building completed in 1959. It was designed by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the Neo-Gothic style and is built from pink Peterhead and blue Inverawe granite.

Just up the hill we turn left and head along the path to Dunollie Castle. For 900 years this land has belonged to the Chiefs of the Clan MacDougall but before that, it was the home of Iron Age settlers and the Kings of Dalriada. The castle which exists today was built by the MacDougalls in the 15th century. The Marquis of Argyll captured it in 1644, but it was returned to the MacDougalls in 1661. The estate was forfeited in the 1715 Jacobite Rising before it was returned to the MacDougall’s in 1745. At this time, they abandoned Dunnollie Castle and Alexander MacDougall, 23rd Chief of the Clan MacDougall, built what is now called the 1745 house. A large addition to the house was built in 1836 which the family moved into, called Dunollie House and the 1745 House became the servant’s quarters. More recently the 1745 House has been opened as a museum exploring the history of the MacDougall family.

The island of Kerrera was also owned by the MacDougalls and Gylen castle was built on the island in 1587 by Duncan MacDougall of Dunollie, the 16th Chief. It was captured in 1647 by Covenanters who looted and burned the castle. The Brooch of Lorn, which reputedly belonged to Robert the Bruce, was stolen by a Campbell from the castle when it was looted. It was only returned in 1824 after it was found in a chest belonging to a descendant of the Campbell officer who had stolen it and returned to the Chief of the MacDougalls. Gylen Castle is now open to the public after conservation work was completed in 2006; the castle and the island are worth a visit.

From Dunollie we make our way to Ganavan Sands and then head up the path which takes us to the top of the cliffs, round Ganavan Hill, across Aonadh Beag before we reach Dunbeg. We then turn left at the Marine Science Centre before heading to Dunstaffnage Chapel. This was built in the 13th Century as a private chapel to Dunstaffnage Castle and is renowned for the intricate stonework.

After leaving the chapel we head to Dunstaffnage Castle itself occupying a strategic position on an immense rock overlooking the Firth of Lorn, guarding the entrance to Loch Etive and the Pass of Brander. This was the stronghold of the MacDougalls and was built in 1220 by Duncan MacDougall, the ‘King of the Isles’, at the time when Scotland and Norway were fighting over the Hebrides. It is known to have been captured by Robert the Bruce in 1308 but was passed back to the MacDougalls before James III granted Dunstaffnage to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll. He appointed his cousin as the Hereditary Captain of Dunstaffnage and his descendant still holds that title today, although to retain the title the Captain must spend 3 nights a year at the castle in the company of the castle ghosts. The castle was occupied by the Captain of Dunstaffnage until a fire destroyed the gatehouse in 1810 and he moved to Dunstaffnage House. In 1958 the castle was handed into state care and is now a Historic Environment Scotland property. It is in Dunstaffnage Castle in 1746 that Flora MacDonald is believed to have been held before she was sent to London on the charge of helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape; she was released a year later.

On leaving Dunstaffnage we walk around Dunbeg Bay, before heading along the A85 to Connel.