Isle of Eigg and Tobermory
Most of us were woken by the sound of our ships engines firing into action about 7am. It had been a wonderfully quiet night tied alongside at Inverie but now it was time for another busy day to begin. We were on our way out to the island of Eigg, one of the four islands to west of the mainland between Skye and Ardnamurchan known as the Small Isles. Conditions were calm as we made our way out from Loch Nevis and numerous dolphins were seen all around the ship breaking the surface of the glassy sea. Shafts of sunlight found their way through holes in an ever changing cloudy sky. Gannets were feeding, plunging into the sea and more often than not coming to the surface with a silver treasure in their beak. Rafts of Manx shearwaters were seen close to the ship along with the occasional pair of Guillemots. We made good progress out towards Eigg, arriving before 9:00 a.m. It looked like it was going to be another excellent day.
Eigg is an interesting island with an extraordinary turbulent history. Today, run as a community trust and partnership with the Scottish Wildlife Trust, its future seems secure. We had a warm reception on arrival at the pier. Some of us went exploring the island in a minibus while others went off walking in guided groups or independently. The weather was kind and remained bright and sunny all the time we wandered around the island. Out over the sea exceptional silvery light danced across the water. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be birds of all descriptions, oysters catchers, eider ducks and a large flock of kittiwakes filled the harbour. Up on the hillside ravens, hooded crows, rooks and buzzards were ever present along with swallow’s darting about. All too soon we had to leave this wonderful island and make our way across to Ardnamurchan Point and on down the Sound of Mull and into Tobermoray. The wind picked up a little along the way, creating a moderate swell, just enough to remind us that we were at sea.
Safely alongside Tobermory pier we were off exploring this interesting harbour town. Some of us went on guided tours while others chose to putter around by themselves. Most of us came back with bags bulging with merchandise of one kind or another: books from the excellent book shop, jewellery from the exclusive gold and silversmiths or whiskey from the Tobermory distillery. Oh what treasure there was to be found! A few of the more hardy amongst us went off on a long walk round the bay and out to a beautiful lake in Aros Park. After dinner we were entertained by Richard Dewar from Wings over Mull, an organisation that provides assistance to injured wild birds and runs a birds of prey interpretation centre. He came along to Lords of the Glens with a hawk, a falcon and a couple of owls. The star of the show was a magnificent snowy owl.
