SCOTLAND–THE LOWLANDS AND THE BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS OF MULL & IONA

04 JULY 2023 Fort Williams, Scotland

On one of the wettest days of our Ireland/UK adventure, we made our way from Keswick, England into and around Glasgow (Scotland’s largest city) to the western suburb of Paisley (where Paisley shawls originated). There was lots of traffic and even flashing signs on the motorway warning of standing water. Bless Gary for being so good at driving in all sorts of conditions! We were very glad when we found the lovely old Ashtree House Hotel where we stayed for two nights. What fun it was to be able to order something other than the famous “Irish Breakfast,” which later became the “English Breakfast” and (yes, you guessed it) is also the famous “Scottish Breakfast!” I ordered soft-boiled eggs and we couldn’t help but chuckle as we ate our first breakfast in Scotland!

By this time, our “pet frogs” had returned (Gary’s worse than mine) so we decided to pass up touring Glasgow and take it easy for a couple of days. We did take one afternoon to go on a 2.5-hour cruise of lower Loch Lomond—the largest expanse of water in Great Britain (22.5 miles long and 5 miles across at its widest, nicknamed the Queen of the Lochs). It is quite beautiful and we could see why much of this land is dedicated to large hunting and fishing lodges (built by super-rich tobacco barons in the 19^th & 20^th centuries), as well as the very exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club (right). We also admired Ben Lomond, one of 282(!) “munros” in Scotland—mountains over 3000 feet. 

On our way from Paisley to Oban (our next stop), we drove along the entire length of Loch Lomond and discovered that the northern part has several small villages and marinas. There are also far more power boats here (very few sailboats)…just the opposite of Lake Windermere in the Lake District. We also stopped at the amazing St. Conan Kirk, built by an unconventional architect who wanted to build it for his mother so she wouldn’t have to travel so far to go to church! A wedding was taking place soon, but we managed to see most of the inside, together with some amazing views of Loch Awe from the garden…a nice break from driving.

Oban is a wonderful little harbor town but reminded us of summer traffic on Pacific Coast Highway as we crept along past shops, bars/pubs, guesthouses, hotels and restaurants. We stayed at The Scot, on the edge of all this—a great hotel but without a restaurant, so we had to go out more than we’d hoped, often in the rain. Gary’s cough had gotten worse so he used the National Health Services (NHS) hotline and was seen by a doctor at the local Oban hospital. We were relieved to learn that his chest and lungs were clear, but it will be very nice when his cough gets much better. (By the way, England’s NHS provides free services to tourists as well! Wow!) On a happier note, this is where I finally discovered a drink that I like, Strawberry-Lime Apple Cider!

We’ve now found another “favorite” place…The Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides Islands! (FYI: A mull is a hill or mountain bare of trees.) There were many amazing mulls on Mull! It’s a 45- minute ferry ride from Oban and we spent 2 nights at the very nice Mull Hotel & Spa near the ferry landing at Craigmure. The first day we drove west to the fun little town of Tobermory (the unofficial capital of Mull). We walked around a bit and had a nice lunch at a local pub, stalling until our hotel check-in time (3pm). We got back to the car and had a dead battery. We called Enterprise’s roadside assistance and were told it would be up to 4 hours before someone could assist us…sigh! Actually, because we were so far out in the boonies, we were grateful there was any service at all.  We were very glad to see the “Roadrunner Service” show up after 3.5 hours (with jumper cables) and we finally made it to our hotel for dinner! (All part of the adventure, right?!?) Another curious thing: We kept seeing signs warning us of otters crossing the road. We never did see any. 

The next day it was expected to rain all day, but we knew it was the only day we had to drive to the Isle of Iona—a very sacred place—about 35 miles from our hotel plus a short ferry ride. It took nearly 2 hours to get there because it was frequently raining and we followed a “single track road” (one lane). Fortunately the Scots have cleverly created these roads with frequent pullouts where cars can pass one another (on the left in right photo below), so it’s much easier than those we found in Ireland & England. Once you get how it’s done, it’s really quite a dance and everyone is courteous and careful. Gary got really good at these single tracks! 

The other advantage of having to go very slow is that there is astounding beauty on either side of the road that’s a bit easier to take in. In fact, we both agreed that we have never seen a place that had such a variety of beauty…around each turn would be another amazingly bright mull, or a seascape, or a lake, or a herd of sheep. AND, on the way to Iona we finally saw a small herd of Highland Cows (which the Scots call “coos”).

The Isle of Iona is tiny (1 by 3.5 miles) and just a 10-minute ferry ride from a little town on the SW edge of Mull called Fionnphort. Iona has a rich history as a place of pilgrimage and is regarded as the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. It is the site of an ancient abbey and monastery founded by St. Columba. It is also believed to be the location where the famous Christian manuscript, The Book of Kells, was written (later taken to Kells, Ireland, to avoid its destruction by the Viking raiders, and now on display where we saw it at Trinity College in Dublin). The Abbey was rebuilt in the 20^th Century and now serves a sacred communal community where guests can also stay. It’s a very peaceful place with a phenomenal museum housing some of the sacred remnants, some as old as A.D.563. It was very moving to stand in the sanctuary and among the ancient stone crosses that have been preserved and to imagine the work of the early monks and the prayers that have been said there for so many centuries.

On the way back from Iona, we were treated to even more ooos’ and ahhh’s, with different views of the mountains, lakes and sea. AND, because is had been raining most of the day, the hillsides were covered with waterfalls, some streaming down hundreds of feet, others flowing right next to the road. More magic and a perfect way to end a wonderful soul-nourishing day. 

The morning that we reluctantly left the Isles of Mull and Iona, there was a wonderful sign at the ferry dock. This is the first time we’d seen or heard the term “HASTE YE BACK” and we knew, if we ever returned to Scotland, we would come back to these beautiful Lower Hebrides Isles.