During breakfast, the mist turned into a heavy downpour. On this gray dreich morning, Lord of the Glens sailed out of Oban Harbor bound for the Isle of Mull. The short sail brought us to Craignure, the major ferry dock on Mull, which is also one of the locations used in Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Kidnapped. Here we took a short coach ride to the 13th century Duart Castle, perched atop a spit of land with (on a clear day) a commanding view of the Sound of Mull and up Loch Linnhe. Duart is the ancestral seat of the Clan Maclean and home to Sir Lachlan. The wind howled and heavy mist fell giving us a good taste what it was like to live in damp, drafty ancient castle.
We returned to the ship for lunch after which we boarded the coach again, this time for Fionnphort at the end of the Ross of Mull to catch the ferry over to Iona. The coach driver entertained us with stories and wry comments as he deftly wheeled the big bus on the narrow, single-track lane. The ferry ride across the wind-whipped Sound of Iona was a little bouncy but thankfully short.
Iona is where the Irish monk St. Columba arrived in 563 A.D. Though not the first to bring Christianity to the pagan Scots, his remarkable life was recorded in a biography that eventually spread his fame. Iona is also the location where the magnificent Book of Kells was produced. Over the centuries, as many as 48 kings, including Macbeth and Duncan, were buried here. When it was about time for us to leave, a magnificent perfect rainbow appeared, spanning the abbey.
During dinner, we sailed north through more intermittent showers up the Sound of Mull to the picturesque village of Tobermory. After dinner, the conservation group Wings Over Mull brought several of their rescued birds, including a lovely snowy owl, on board and explained the important work they are doing on Mull.
