Julian Worker's Blog, page 7

Day 15 – Glasgow to Arran

Today I travelled from Glasgow to Arran via Troon. The pier at Ardrossan is not structurally safe for ferries to use so the only way to get to Brodick on Arran from the mainland is Troon on the Ayrshire coast, more famous for its golf course. The problem with the pier at Ardrossan is current as of early May 2025 but Caledonian MacBrayne are hoping to make the necessary repairs by the end of June.

The ferry I caught from Troon was run by Pentland Ferries as Caledonian MacBrayne has a number of vessels being repaired at the time of writing.

Brodick is a lovely-looking town. As the ferry arrives, the high point of the island, Goat Fell, is on the right and Brodick Castle can also be spied through the trees.

Day 14 – Back to Glasgow

I started out from Tobermory on Mull at 9am on the 95 bus to Craignure where I caught the 10am ferry to Oban and arrived in plenty of time to catch the 12:07 train to Glasgow Queen Street. The journey highlights included Loch Lomond in its glory.

The sunshine was glorious in Glasgow and I was reminded of how many beautiful buildings there are in this former second city of the British Empire. The low sun brought out the textures in the stone buildings beautifully and it was a pleasure to walk around the centre on an evening such as this.

The photo is of Duart Castle on Mull the headquarters of the clan MacLean.

Day 11 – Staffa and Lunga

My original post for this day has been removed, so here is a picture of a pair of razorbills on Lunga in the Treshnish Islands.

Day 13 – Sights in Tobermory

The Museum of Mull is on Main Street. This free museum is well worth a look – please make a donation – and includes some useful information on all the ancient sites on the island including crannogs, standing stones, and burial cairns. There are rather a lot of them and I’m surprised more isn’t made of them by the island’s tourist board. There’s also some interesting information on the galleon from The Spanish Armada that mysteriously blew up a few days after seeking shelter in Tobermory Bay. Lachlan Mor Maclean, chief of the Clan Maclean, offered aid to the Spanish captain in exchange for support against his rivals, the MacDonalds, but the hundred Spanish soldiers didn’t make much difference when the MacLeans attacked a local MacDonald castle.

The distillery in Tobermory offers interesting tours around their premises where the whisky producing process is explained and tasting samples are included at the end.

I also went to Craignure where the Oban ferry leaves from. There wasn’t a single cafe open though a few places did offer coffee to take away. I walked along the road towards Duarte Castle, the home of The Macleans, and took some pictures of the place in the grey landscape though there was plenty of definition in the sky.

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Day 12 – Iona

Iona is one of the cradles of Christianity as it was here in 563 that St Columba set up his first house of prayer. The Book of Kells was created here in the late 8th Century but was taken to Dublin for safe keeping once the Viking raids started. In 806, the wisdom of this decision was shown when the Vikings arrived and killed a number of monks and pillaged the remaining treasures. Further raids followed through the next two centuries.

Ironically, it was the established Roman Catholic church that did for Iona. At this time Iona was a bastion of the Celtic Church, but the Celtic Church was suppressed by King David in 1144 and in 1203 Iona became part of the mainstream with the establishment of a nunnery for the Order of the Black Nuns as well as a Benedictine Abbey.

Iona began to be overshadowed by the royal city of Dunfermline and its demise came with the Reformation when the buildings were dismantled and most of the Celtic crosses destroyed.

The abbey and surrounding buildings we see today date from the period 1899 – 1965.

Iona is a 5-minute ferry crossing from Fionnphort on Mull. The island is not that big and it’s easy to walk to most places including the Bay at the Back of The Ocean though you should be aware that the local golf course is here too, so you may be asked to remove yourself from the fairway when a golfer is trying to make a shot.

Also, if you have a dog, keep it on a lead as otherwise it could well start chasing sheep and close the gates behind you as there are working farms on the island.

Day 11 – Staffa and Lunga

Lunga is one of the Treshnish Islands and is unhabited by humans, but not by birds. Guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, terns, skuas, and gulls are just some of the species of bird living here. The most famous inhabitants though are the puffins and these birds are the main reason most people come on organised tours to Lunga. Puffins nest in burrows on the cliff and aren’t scared by the people with their telephoto lenses a few feet away who keep behind the blue rope lying on the ground indicating the limit of human encroachment.

Staffa is famous because of the hexagonal, basalt pillars towering out of the sea. These pillars were formed 60 million years ago by the cooling of basalt lavas. Fingal’s Cave has been formed by the pounding of the sea and is an impressive sight. This cave inspired Felix Mendelssohn to write the Hebridean overture after his visit in 1829. The basalt pillars are the same as those on the GIant’s Causeway in Antrim and have caused many gigantic legends. The basalt columns are similar in scale and size to those in the Garni Gorge in Armenia.

Day 10 – Tobermory on the Isle of Mull

Today I travelled from Oban to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull on the ferry. The ferry goes to Craignure on Mull and then I caught the 496 bus from Craignure to Tobermory. It’s just over fourteen pounds return. The bus was full with day-trippers from Oban. Mull is a very popular destination and I’m sure they’re not all Wombles fans.

The pastel shades of most of the buildings along Main Street are lovely and it’s a picturesque sights to behold, especially with some fishing boats in the foreground. There are companies in the harbour offering trips to see Staffin and the Treshnish Islands with their bird-watching opportunities. This is where I’m going on Sunday.

Earlier I’d visited the sights of Oban including the distillery and McCaig’s tower on the hill overlooking the town.

Day 9 – Kilmartin Glen.

On Day 9, I caught the 423 bus from Oban down to the village of Kilmartin (about 70 minutes) and from the museum I picked up a free map of the walking trail that connects the ancient cairns in this part of the world.

There are five burial cairns, 1 set of standing stones, and the Temple Wood stone circle within 1.5 miles of each other. The going is completely level and the only thing to worry about is the usual, inconsiderate dog owners who let their mutts run wild whenever possible.

All the sites date between 3 and 5 thousand years old and it’s an incredible visit to walk between these ancient sights with the sun out and few people around. These Kilmartin Glen sights are not well known, even in the UK, so don’t expect to see many people around. Remember to close all the gates and don’t clamber over the ancient monuments. Also, don’t forget the ornately carved grave stones in the churchyard.

Day 8 – To Oban

A travelling day from Glenfinnan to Oban via Crianlarich with the train packed with holiday makers moving from Fort William to Glasgow and points south of there.

I had time to have a look at the monument to where the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion started at the head of Loch Shiel. Bonnie Prince Charlie, otherwise known as Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart, was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland as Charles III.

After raising the Stuart standard at Glenfinnan on 19 August the small Jacobite army marched towards Edinburgh, which surrendered on 17 September. Four days later Charles achieved an unexpected and resounding victory against Sir John Cope and his British army troops at Prestonpans, the battle lasting just over 15 minutes with the key to their success being the Highland charge, a furious manoeuvre that regular troops had little experience of.

Charlie’s army would get as far as Derby in England and the Swarkestone Bridge over the Trent about 120 miles from London. But rather than push on, at a council of war the prince was completely outnumbered by his predominantly Scottish commanders and the Jacobite army returned to Scotland before being defeated at Culloden on 16th April 1746.