Virtual Walk: Scotland

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021 16th February 2021:  97.10km walked today taking the total to 4419.99/8868km. 12.5% of 110 entries submitting 776.99km. Today we complete Mull then sail back to Oban to catch the ferry to walk the Island of Tiree. Pop on your walking boots and grab a cuppa!! Route 14: Mull Route 14A: Tiree & Coll We continue south to arrive at Salen, Gaelic for ‘willow’, which sits on Salen Bay. The village is an important junction for travel to all areas of the island and, as we approach, we see 2 old boats decaying on the shore. These are the most photographed boats on the island and have a haunting beauty about them, so we pause to take a photo. Salen was here before St Columba came to Iona, becoming more developed in the early 1800s when the Laird of Gulaine and Ulva, Lachlan Macquarie, decided a harbour would be an advantage here. So, steamers and mail boats from Oban docked en route to Tobermory, dispensing of mail, goods, and people, until 1964 when the arriva...

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021 15th February 2021: 103.88km walked today taking the total to 4322.89/8868km. 10.5% of 129 entries submitting 989.38km. Today we continue round the Isle of Mull, visiting the west and the north of the island before visiting Tobermory, the capital. Route 14: Isle of Mull We walk the B8035 for a short time before leaving the road at Gruline to visit Macquarie’s Mausoleum. I have never heard of this man, but he played a significant role in history. Major-General Lachlan Macquarie was born on Ulva in 1761. Labelled the ‘Father of Australia’, he was Governor of New South Wales, from 1810-1821, where he greatly improved the infrastructure and morale of the colony. Macquarie was the first to use the name ‘Australia’. Macquarie retired due to ill health and returned to Great Britain in 1822, passing away in 1824 and, according to his wishes, was buried here. A mausoleum was built in 1851 where he, his wife and their 2 children are interred. In 1948 the site was ...

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021 14th February 2021:  99.77km walked today taking the total to 4219.01/8868km. 13.5% of 98 entries submitting 739.05km. We continue our journey on Mull today, visiting the iconic Island of Iona with its beautiful Abbey before retracing our steps back onto Mull to venture along the wild Ardmeanach Peninsula’s coastline before climbing Ben More. Enjoy your visit! Route 14: Isle of Mull We re-join the road for 8 kilometres through the Ross of Mull, passing Loch Pottie, ‘Loch Poit na h-l’, (no potty humour please lol) arriving at Fionnphort to wait for the ferry to Iona. It is a small crossing on the Sound of Iona and takes us just 10 minutes. It is worth noting if you plan to return sometime, that cars are not permitted on Iona. It has had a Prohibition of Vehicles Order since 1978 to preserve the island environment. Iona, ‘Chalium Chille’ or ‘I’, has a lot of history for such a small island. The land, 2 kilometres wide by 6 kilometres long, is much like the...

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021 13th February 2021:  123.87km walked today taking the total to 4119.24/8868km. 12.5% of 137 entries submitting 990.96km. Today we walk round the rest of South Uist, walk round the islands of Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay before sailing on the ferry to Oban before taking another ferry to the Isle of Mull. A lot to read about so grab a cuppa! Route 12: Berneray to Eriskay Route 13: Barra Route 14: Isle of Mull The main village on South Uist, Lochboisedale, is located on ‘Loch Baghasdail’, the Gaelic of its name, and is surrounded by hills and mountains. The village benefitted from expansion during the 19th-century herring boom. Today it is the ferry terminal for the island, linking them to the mainland at Oban and Mallaig, also providing moorings in the harbour with quayside facilities. We retrace our steps back to Daliburgh, turning left onto the B888, to walk 7 kilometres to the West Kilbride settlement, ’cille bhrighde’ on the south coast. As we walk, we ...

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021 12th February 2021:  101.18km walked today taking the total to 3995.37/8854km. 13% of 110 entries submitting 778.31km. We travel down North Uist and Benbecula onto South Uist today. Enjoying coastal scenes and settlements as well as ancient places en route to Lochboisedale in the south of South Uist. Route 12: Berneray to Eriskay Lochmaddy is named after its sea loch, Loch Maddy, ‘Loch nam Madadh’, meaning ‘Loch of the hounds’. A ferry from Uig also docks here. Due to the nature of the east coast, it is the only settlement on the island’s east side. Historically, it was remarked as a place of ‘piracie and murder’, but by the time of King Charles’s reign, it was the site of a Royal Fishing Station. The Hut of the Shadows is in this area, a grass-roofed, dry stone camera obscura. It was constructed in 1997 by English environmental artist, Chris Drury, as a tribute to the architects of similar prehistoric buildings. Inside the dark chamber, a lens and mi...