Mull Weekend

9th to 11th September 2011

After some cancellations, there were eventually ten of us set off on Friday for Mull with pretty low expectation of weather – the tail end of hurricane Katia was threatening.  The heavy rain kept up all the way to Oban, but it stopped by the time we drove off the ferry.  The improvement continued during the hour’s drive to Bunessan.  Having checked in to the fine hotel we were able to take a pleasant stroll from the hotel in a balmy September evening.

On Saturday we split into three groups.  Three ladies had a couple of short walks near Bunessan and enjoyed nice views and warm dry weather.  Two men drove the hour to Craignure then made their way up Dun na Ghaoithe through low cloud and heavy rain.  The remaining five were ferried by the hotel minibus to the foot of Ben More.  Low cloud remained all day but we were dry most of the time with only a few short showers.  Eventually the low cloud and lack of view  turned us back before the summit, but we were treated to a wildlife treat from the minibus driver – highlight being the family of otters swimming off the roadside rocks.  Back at the hotel we sat out in the sun for a pre-dinner drink.

Next morning the hotelier told us of the storm warning – Katia due to arrive on Monday.  A couple of people needed to be home for work so one carload decided to go home on Sunday.  The remaining six of us, undeterred, set of to the Iona ferry.  The operators refused to take day visitors because they could not guarantee to get us back from Iona later.  By this time the rain was at monsoon level so we all decided to run for home.  The drive to Craignure was impressive – torrential rain, the roads awash, and the hillsides on either side spouting many many waterfalls.  The ferry took us to Oban without trouble, and by the time we reached home the rain had stopped.  Monday’s ferries were all cancelled – so we made the right call.

See my pictures here, and Ute’s here.

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At last I have a plan!  It goes like this:

Car 1.  Brian will take Sally, Ute and Chas.  Already booked on 14:00 ferry on Friday 9th September, and 13:00 on Monday 12th.

Car 2.  Bob and Ethel, can you take Jenny and Maureen please?  It would be good to aim for the same ferries, if they suit everyone.

Car 3.  Pam and I will take Carolle and Judy.  We’ll aim for the same ferries too.

Andre is intending to come and camp nearby.  He needs to set off late Friday afternoon and early Monday (or Sunday).  I’ll speak to him about what he wants to do.

Possible problems:  Five in car 3 makes it uncomfortable for a long journey so we’ll need to stop a lot on the way.  With three full cars it may be difficult to pack all luggage so we need to be careful how much we take.  With only three cars on the island we’ll have to plan outings carefully so everyone can get to where they want.  But the alternative of taking an extra car seems expensive and unnecessary – do you agree?

Finally can we confirm everyone in each car is happy with the arrangements then book the remaining two cars on to the ferries.

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Act now – don’t miss your chance!!

I thought it was about time to make some arrangements for the weekend in the island of Mull, before it all gets booked up, so here goes:
We should aim to catch a ferry on Friday 9th from Oban so we can have two whole days on the island, ferrying out again on Monday.  For our hotel, I’ve chosen the Argyll Arms in Bunessan (click on it to reach the website).  If you want to come, can you contact the hotel direct and book yourself in – sorry,  I usually do a block booking, but I’ll be away too much for that to work.    I have explained to them about DRAM and they are expecting some of you to phone.  They are happy to take single bookings and match up with same-sex others to share as and when requests arrive.  Best to mention DRAM so they know.  Lets hope it all works!!

It would be helpful to me if you could also let me know when you have booked in so I can see how it is going.  So far we have Myself and Pam, Sally, Brenda, Linda Barr, Ute and Chas, Brian W….