Loch Linnhe, Sound of Mull and Duart Castle
Fine weather, with a hint of an autumnal feel about it, greeted us this morning as we made our descent of Neptune’s Staircase; the flight of eight locks that took us back down almost to sea level. Swing bridges over both the main road and the railway then were opened to allow Lord of the Glens to make progress along the last reach of the canal. We then entered the Corpach basin where we tied up along side to wait for the tide to rise. We went for a look around the Village of Corpach and waited for the steam train to pass that runs from Fort William to Mallaig. The tide was then sufficiently high to permit our passage from the canal out into the open sea.
The nature of our journey had changed. We were now on Loch Linnhe, heading South past Fort William and on out towards the ocean. Fortunately there was little wind and the waters were calm. We were soon passing through Corran narrows and out into the much wider body of water of lower Loch Linnhe. Loch Leven and Glencoe were off to our left and the Islands of Lismore and Mull were ahead. The resident population of harbour porpoises came to visit us. For a few minutes, ten or so animals swam beside us, clearly visible in the calm waters and apparently very pleased to see us. We passed on the southeast side of Lismore. This long narrow island is formed from limestone a rare rock in these parts. Over 2,000 people used to live on this fertile island before the clearances. It was from this island that the lime cement came from, that was used in the construction of many of the castles built in this area. At the light house on the south end of Lismore the ship turned to the right and entered the Sound of Mull passing close to Duart Castle on our way across the water to Craignure, our destination for today. Mac Brayne’s ferries seemed to be unusually numerous this afternoon. Sailing from Oban these ferries use the Sound of Mull to access Mull and many of the other islands to the west.
A coach met us at the dock to take us from Craignure along to Duart Castle. This castle commands a spectacular location high on a rock over looking the south end of the Sound of Mull. Belonging to the clan of MacLean it laid in ruin for many years but now has been restored and opened to the public. We all seemed to enjoy exploring the many rooms and spiral staircases of this outstanding building. The fine views from the roof top of the castle, back up Loch Linnhe and out to the west, reinforced our appreciation of the outstanding beauty of the area. On our return from the castle in the coach about half our group opted to walk back through the woodland grounds of Torosay Castle. Back on the ship a lively re-cap of the day’s events preceded another most enjoyable evening meal. After dinner a presentation from Wings over Mull describing the work they do to help preserve the birds of prey on the island was most fascinating. We all seemed to enjoy meeting the live hawks, falcons and owls that were on display.
