A volcano? It sounds bizarre but that is exactly what we
did. The fact the volcano erupted fifty five millions years ago doesn't
detract from the glamour.
This all took place last weekend when we
drove Bessie to Ardnamurchan in the West Highlands of Scotland. Although
Ardnamurchan is a peninsula, the five minute Corran Ferry crossing saves an
hour drive and gives the trip a real 'getting away from it all' feel. We have
made this crossing many times but this was the first with a van and we only
just squeezed in behind a huge lumber truck. The peninsula is ribboned
with mostly single track roads but we reckoned if the truck can do it so can
we.
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| Corran Ferry - Bessie's first ferry crossing |
Our first night was spent at Far View Campsite in Kilchoan, a motor-home specific site that had all we needed for a stopover.
The owners keep an impressive garden and sell honey and herbs. It is situated in
walking distance from the pier where a regular Mull ferry and trips to Staffa
leave daily, so it would be an ideal base to leave the van and take a day trip
to the islands.
The Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is reported to
be the most westerly point on the British mainland, but Corrachadh Mòr, a
wee tip of land a kilometre south of the lighthouse, should hold this title.
Never the less a visit to this Stevenson lighthouse is a must. The climb
up the stairs of the thirty six metre tower is not too hard and rewarded with
amazing views to the islands on gfood days.
From there we drove through the Ring of Ardnamurchan
(the volcano crater!) to the small crofting community of Sanna. There
large sandy beach is littered with lava rocks and an abundance of cockles. The
now rare sound of a skylark heralded our walk. Along with other walkers on the
beach I craned my neck to spot and there it was, a speck, way up in the sky,
warning us off with its distinctive chirup.
Sanna is an idyllic spot on this remote west
coast, but life has been a struggle for the crofters there. The excellent
lyrical memoir Night Falls on Ardnamurchan by poet, Alistair Maclean laments
the decline of Sanna's crofting community and is worth reading if planning a
trip to the area. Because if the precious nature of the crofting land here we
were forbidden to park the van overnight, so we headed back into the crater.
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| Wild Salmon and squeaky cheese kebabs |
We found a perfect flat piece of land just
off the small road, put a couple of blocks under two wheels and set about
preparing our first Bessie barbie. Upon leaving Kilchoan I popped into
the well-stocked village store and bought a couple of pieces of wild salmon to
go with squeaky cheese and veggie kebabs. Colin had our spanking new Blue Mountain folding BBQ smoking in no time and then stumbled on a wee pile of wood, just
perfect for a camp fire.
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| Smoking in the crater |
As the sun set behind the western ridge of the
ring and a golden hue burnished the van, it felt as if we really were inside a
volcano.
The night was empty of animal and bird
sounds. Only the disturbance of a car
passing on the road about four am broke the impression of total isolation.
The next day broke warm and sunny. We
donned our running shoes and ran a trail over a hill track, past a ruined hamlet
of Glendrian until we reached the trail end in a remote pebble cove northeast
of Sanna. The first and last parts of the trail were good drove roads but
a bog trot in the middle soaked our feet. I guess this route was once used by
the crofter of Glendrian to take cattle and sheep to boats, but sadly this
pastime has long ago fallen into history.
Maybe the dry sunny weather contributed to
the enjoyment of this trip, but I suspect in all weathers Ardnamurchan will remain
a special place.
The sound track for our trip was
unintentionally in keeping with the remote, mountain and island theme.
The recently acquired Fred Morrison CD Outlands is a blend of whistle, Highland,
Uilleann and Reel pipes accompanied by banjo, mandolin and bodhran to create a
rollicking blend of Scots Trad with an Appalachian feel. Yea hah.
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| Eigg and Muck with Rhum in the background |
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