Customer service announcement. This post contains a catastrophic event, not for the easily disturbed. We are also currently (as of 10pm) marooned on Skye.
An early-ish start today to ensure we got off Mull as there were threats of ferry cancellations due to storm Austen. The dining room was like the Mary Celeste at breakfast and the waitress said everyone had already gone! The first ferry on our schedule was the short local one from Fishnish to Lochaline (the one the locals use) and there were only two cars waiting when we arrived. An uneventful (if a bit windy) 15 minutes later we were back on the mainland with a long drive ahead, as our second ferry of the day had already been cancelled.
We were planning to get the ferry from Mallaig to Armadale (on Skye) but that one was cancelled yesterday so our revised plan involved driving up to the Isle of Skye bridge via Fort William. We used a very small ferry at Corran to cut out an hour and a bit of single track road. This meant we had time for a short stop and a bit of a diversion when we got to Fort William, for a coffee stop (vegan coffee shop, good coffee, terrible red velvet cake, would not recommend).
A petrol stop was required and Google suggested a side quest to see the Harry Potter viaduct at Glenfinnan, so we topped up on fuel for the car and picnic lunch for us (Morrisons as we didn’t know they had an M&S Food Hall…sigh) and set off. The road was practically underwater with terrible drainage so aquaplaning was a constant hazard, as was the number of drivers terrified of the conditions, and the number of coaches. Our first exposure to large quantities of foreign tourists today as the rest of our trip has been very peaceful (spot the slightly amended photo).
The tourists provided plenty of amusement when we arrived at the parking for the aqueduct as they were not at all appropriately dressed for the wind and rain (we counted the number of box fresh white trainers turning rapidly brown!). We put all our gear on and took the umbrella so we were fine.
It was not a long walk and some pictures were taken, despite the cameras’ lenses getting covered in the pouring rain. A useful information sign said there had been a blue Ford Anglia spotted and to please contact the information office if it reappeared! Back to the car to strip the outside very soggy waterproof layers before heading back to Fort William. Traffic here was annoyingly heavy and the weather had got much wetter. We topped the car up again and then set off towards Skye.
A stunning vista was mostly hidden by rain and cloud but the bits we saw were very dramatic. It was at this point that we suddenly wondered if the bridge would be open… Traffic Scotland reassured us that the bridge was currently open but the forecast was for it to be closed from 9pm tonight until 3pm tomorrow.
That would stop us going back to visit Eileen Donan Castle tomorrow (as per the plan). Having said that, the weather forecast for tomorrow on Skye is for 70 mph winds so we might not be doing very much anyway!
The bridge was indeed open and the weather changed immediately we arrived on the island with the sun bursting through the clouds and a patch of blue sky opening up. We managed to get some great rainbow pictures and get the bags in from the car before the heavens reopened.
The hotel was fantastic, small and quiet. The first like it on the trip. Dinner and wine were both fancy and amazing. And we get an extra hour in bed due to the clock change!
Breakfast – The Isle of Mull Hotel, Mull
Lunch – picnic by Morrisons
Dinner – Duisdale House, Skye
Hotel – Duisdale House