Ardtoe, Ardnamurchan

Early this morning all was quiet. No wind. No rain. No bleating sheep. No high pitched, sharp, incisive calls from the normally noisy oyster catchers. They must have sensed the presence of the white tailed eagle which circled and then settled itself on a rock a little offshore.

Then a cacophony of noise from all, sounding the alert. John was cooking his omelette at the time. Caught up in the moment he quickly secreted his hens eggs away. Behave, it's the poor sheep who need to worry, their lambs are on the menu. 

Earlier Angela had taken a walk out through hundreds of iris on the point of flowering, the vast carpet of yellow that would appear would rival a field of French sunflowers or a English meadow of buttery yellow buttercups. 

But today was the day to leave the beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife of Mull behind. Once again we drove into Tobermory, managing to secure a space on the ten vehicle one o' clock ferry to Kilchoan on Ardnamurchan. Problems with the loading ramp meant we'd have to reverse off, turning part way up the slipway. 'I will guide you, don't worry', said the crew member. Well that'll be O.K. then. And it was. Still a little unnerving though.

Ardnamurchan feels like the forgotten area of Scotland. Out on a limb, it tends to be passed by as visitors head straight for the Great Glen and Fort William. An area we'd rather avoid. But this little Scottish jewel is not for the faint hearted. The roads are particularly narrow with lots of twist and turns and blind summits and sheer drops. Not an area for the 'panic vans, as Angela likes to call the hire campervans. But the area never fails to delight us and we were very glad to be back here.

The little bay we are staying across the road from at Ardtoe is literally at the end of the road. There are three other vans here and a German couple who this evening have set off with their camping gear and inflatable kayak to camp overnight on one of the nearby beaches inaccessible by vehicle. A micro adventure. Why not? As the saying goes. ' You only regret what you don't do in life'.