10^th February 2018       Davaar

 

After breakfast at 8 we decided we had plenty of time to revisit the Shell beach at Tarbert before setting off for Cambeltown. Low tide would be at about 2pm for Davaar so we didn’t want to be there too early. Cambeltown is 37 miles from Tarbert, well down the peninsula that is the Mull of Kintyre.

We parked the car some way down the road that goes beyond the East Pier. Then walked past large houses , some quite romantically set, in rocks with cascades of water and tropical planting. Overlooking Portavadie the road ends but there is a path over rocks to the tiny cove mostly made up of broken scallop shells. We have been before and it was beautiful. The ground today is saturated with snow and rain water. With Bob’s help we scramble up. Children will love this but I have trainers not my clumsy boots and I don’t want to get too wet before tackling the causewayed island later.

It’s a good workout! We reach the cove but the tide is in and not much of the beach is visible. Well at least we knew how pretty it is- quite pink when the sun shines. A bit disappointed we gingerly make our way back. We got to the end of the rocks and I must have jumped onto the grass inches from the tarmac. I slid and fell flat on my back in the mud- not a puddle. The indignity! I was wet through to my skin as well as filthy and that was through 2 layers of trousers, coat and jumper. I would have to go back to the B and B and change. I sat on a cycle cape so I didn’t make the seat wet.

Luckily I had 2 coats and with no ill effects from the fall we were soon on our way to Cambeltown arriving at the causeway for Davaar at just after 11am via Kilkerran and Glenramskill. We parked in a puddled layby at the side of the road.  A car drove past sending water from a puddle straight through the open window. 

The causeway has Cambeltown Loch on one side and Kildalloig Bay on the other. It  doglegs out to the Loch and then the island with Kildalloig Bay on the right. There is a marker for where the direction changes. We watched 2 people already on the causeway, naturally formed from the shingle and called the Doirlinn. They waded through where the tide hadn’t receded quite enough.( Definitely a rubber boot walk!)

A 4 wheel drive vehicle came across pulling a farm trailer. Bob held the gate open for him to save him getting out.

We took a couple of bike capes and water in case... The wind was very strong as we set off following the deep tracks made by the wheels. Crushed shells like cockles and mussels were littered about and there were some enormous crab shells. There were plenty of oyster catchers here and waders that could have been red shanks by the look of their legs. As the tide receded the newly exposed sand provided a feast for the birds. I thought I saw a turnstone, small, with a striking black and white striped effect under its wings when it flew.

Hoods up because of the wind we could only look directly in front. We reached the buoy marking the change in direction and we could see the distinctive shape of Davaar said to look like a rabbit jelly mould. The rounded rump pointing out to sea on the right and with its head down, ears back on the left. I could see it! The rocks of varied colours, pinks, greys, greens were also variable sizes which made walking in wellies uncomfortable. I’d put a furry shoe liner in mine before we left the car and I was glad of it for warmth and cushioning.

It takes 20 minutes to reach the island and we are on grass. A sign tells us that the cave painting is on the right but not how far or anything about it .A litter bin is there to encourage visitors to dispose of their rubbish. We decide to go right first. The other people went left and disappeared. We never saw them again. There are south Ronaldsay sheep on the island and we spot them foraging on the beach. One passes us with seaweed in its mouth. I know about these because I have photocopied a bit from a book so we have some information with us today.

We are told the painting is in the 4^th cave after we have passed a derelict building. Trouble is there are holes that are possibly caves and possibly not. The rocks here are more boulder like and walking over, through or round them is exhausting and we are mindful that their might be no one to see us if we injure ourselves. The tide comes over these rocks and some are slippy with rock pools. The island is high above us at this point and we have counted 4, looked in them all and decided we haven’t got to the painting cave yet. Alexander MacKinnon painted a picture of Christ, crucified, in 1887 and in secret. I really want to see it but as we come to a turning round the island where we can’t see ahead we decide to give up- we have to walk back the way we came and we are tired. The wind has been nearly pushing us over as we wobble on the rocks.

As it turned out if we had gone another 50 yards we would have been on grass to make the going easier. There is a small identifying plaque over the cave and we saw the painting on the mobile phone of the man who went over the causeway in the 4 by 4. We met him by the other extreme of the island by the lighthouse. He said you could get to the caves down by the beach below us but it was very dangerous. You could go over the top but the best way is to go the way we went and he thought it was the 7^th cave. My book on Scottish islands said it was the 5^th out of 7. (no wonder we didn’t find it!)  His photo of the life sized Christ was very good. He showed us the tall and narrow entrance that you could just about squeeze through and then the space widens where the mural is. He thought we should have time to still get there but we were hungry and didn't fancy our chances going back again before the tide changed. People have been caught out and killed on this causeway.

Opposite the lighthouse (marked private and now automated) built by the father and uncle of Robert Louis Stevenson is the light house keeper’s white house, a holiday let. The interior of the island, the back of the” rabbit”, would have been OK to visit in less wind. That is probably where the wild goats would be hanging out. There are rabbits( we saw plenty of droppings) but no predators, except for the odd eagle but it's too windy today!There was a lot of water in the land which is marshy by nature or moorland on top of Davaar. We decided to call it a day and walk back  across the shingle where the tide is almost at its lowest. Perhaps we’ll try another day to see the cave. We’ll come back to the Mull of Kintyre for Jura and Islay this year.

We parked in Cambeltown and found a lovely but popular place to eat called the Bluebell Café. We had soup but people were eating huge dishes of fish and chips. The cakes looked really good too and it wasn’t expensive.

We drove back to Tarbert with a deviation over the moors to Skipness on the East Coast. We walked up the private drive to Skipness Castle where there were snowdrops, the first we’d seen in Scotland. The substantial ruins are worth walking round even though the day was almost closing. There is a view across to Arran through the archway and the stones of the castle are grey and pink. It was built in the 13^th century by the MacSween clan and abandoned in the 17^th after add- ons through the centuries. It is said to be haunted by the Green Lady.

A lot of the road over the moors is single track and we had to retrace our route to get back to the main road to Tarbert. We wanted to eat at the Argyll Arms again but despite it being empty we were told it was fully booked. If we are here on a Saturday again we will remember to book ourselves in- though there are more eating places to choose from in the Summer. Our meal was fine but not at the previous night’s standard.

 

 

We left the next day with gritting lorries de-icing the road so it was slow progress but by Loch Lomond the roads were mostly fine again. We enjoyed the islands, the scenery and the hospitality but February isn’t a good time to get the most out of an island trip!

 

 

Gigha and Davaar off the Mull of Kintyre           8^th February 2018

 

Gigha

 

We left home just before 10 after taking the grandchildren to school. It was a drive of sunshine and showers. There was the most spectacular rainbow spanning the motorway and ending in a field with a backdrop of lightly snow sprinkled mountains. A good spot to dig for that pot of gold!

 Traffic was light through the Lake District but still the lorries made so much spray you couldn’t see as you passed them. We drove through low clouds and missed quite a lot of the scenery. Tebay was good for a driver change, a stretch and a sandwich.

Our next stop after petrol near Glasgow was at Tarbet by Loch Lomond. There was a little cabin with a few chairs and a refreshment kiosk. The lady there hadn’t heard of Davaar, the small island we would walk to from Cambeltown and had never been to Gigha (pronounced Gia) I noticed a picture of a capercaille and asked if she’d seen one as it is on my wild life bucket- list but she hadn’t, though said she’d love to spot an otter. There’s a family just down by the loch but you need infinite patience or immense good luck to get a glimpse. I remembered waiting at Brodick, Arran , for the boat and the family of otters swimming in the harbour for all to see. We were lucky!

The road from Tarbet towards Cambeltown is winding and hardly wide enough for the huge lorries that hurtle down it, taking up more than their fair share of the tarmac. Several places have road repair going on and the first held us up quite a while as we had to wait to be taken by convoy. The roads her are very damaged by the icy conditions. Water seems to run in streams across the road from the banks and when it freezes…! They need more drains.

Just before our first night stop, Inveraray, we arrived at the humped backed stone bridge. Traffic lights made it one way. How did they manage with horses and carts? It seems very steep and the summit is “blind”. On the way back home Japanese tourists stood here taking photos of the loch. A lorry would have squished them!

It was ten to four and we decided to visit the famous Inveraray jail before going to our B and B. We were surprised when we were told it was too late as it was supposed to be open till 5pm. Maybe we could try it on the way home. The town is mostly comprised of 18^th century black and white buildings at the side of Loch Fyne, the longest in Scotland. The mountains around the Loch are covered in snow and the day is closing in. After deciding to eat later in the George hotel we drive the little way to Newton Hall and look for the car park down a track at the back. We are glad we didn’t wait till dark as it wasn’t apparent where we should go. I waved to someone in the house who came and opened the door and made us welcome. From the front you can see it is a converted church with large arched windows. Our room was downstairs and looking very appropriate for Valentine’s day- a lot of red. Shame it wasn’t the 14^th. The high ceilinged and spacious room was generously heated by radiator and an extra heater. It was a lovely stay with delicious home cooking.

The George was old fashioned with a maitre d who had to be the one to greet and seat you. With log fires and beams it had a welcoming atmosphere and the staff were friendly. Our meals were lovely, despite the wait as they were very busy. We are surprised by how many tourists were here on a Thursday in the dead of winter. I had a crayfish bisque and Bob a fisherman’s soup. To follow Bob had the chunkiest piece of gammon and I a huge plate of Spaghetti Bolognese. The best thing was we had a large plate of beautifully cooked vegetables (not the normal Scottish root vegetables. I like green on my plate).  Well, we do intend to do some exercise tomorrow!

It was tipping it down with rain when we left and our coats were sodden despite us trotting the short distance back to the B and B.

 

9^th February

 

We both slept well and enjoyed a cooked breakfast while watching the loch as the sun rose. Our car was encased in ice despite the sun. We left at 9.30 with Bob driving in case the roads were hazardous. We drove through several snowstorms but with it laying only on higher ground. Sometimes we were under blue skies with a view later to Gigha. The ferry was leaving Gigha and the sea was various shades of turquoise. We were going to take the bike across and leave the car on the mainland but when the clouds brought a sudden burst of rain and the wind was so biting that we decided to take the car. Next It went dark and the sea turned an inky colour as rain fast became a blizzard.  We waited with a hot drink in the café at Tayinloan as the next ferry would leave at 12.

The ferry was docking and there was only us and a lorry carrying live fish waiting for the green boarding light. The boat is quite small and there wouldn’t have been much room for another vehicle. It was £24 return for us and the car, which I thought very good. There was somewhere warm to sit inside and we chatted to the crewman (the man who wasn’t steering the boat) who travelled all over Scotland as a relief worker for Calmac. He told us the next boat back would be at 3.30 and then 5.30. He said in the summer the Boatyard restaurant with its Michelin stars pulls in a lot of trade and the boats are busy. He also said the hotel does deals for dinner bed and breakfast for under £60 for 2 during the winter.

It was a twenty minutes ride on the boat. The island was in sun again and the crossing was smooth. Although cold, as soon as we parked in the tiny ferry car park we decided to build the bike and cycle. There was a man repairing a strimmer at the back of his van brimming with tools. He was the only other person around. He was surprised we’d been in a snow storm. It seems Gigha has its own microclimate.

The single track road was muddy and devoid of cars going north to Port Mor. As we passed the fields flocks of grey and white geese took off noisily from their grazing. Their feet were pink so I am thinking they were pink- footed geese but they could have been greylag. There must have been hundreds along the route. The sun was lovely on our backs and mostly there was just the sound of our wheels on the road which was in a very good condition. We could see the snow- clad hills on the mainland and later fantastic views of Islay and Jura again covered in snow.

Not far up the road we passed the fish farm and obviously the destination of the lorry that came over on the ferry with us.

We passed 2 farms with cows and then a large group by the side of the road with their calves. The fields looked boggy so maybe the grass verges when they could stand on the tarmac was preferable. One calf took off unfortunately and despite us waiting to see if it would come back it just kept going until it disappeared round a bend. We hope it returned to its mother who didn’t seem the least concerned.

We passed some standing stones beside the road but thought there might be might be others across the fields according to the ordinance survey map. There was no information anywhere on Gigha- not the café, the boat, the hotel or the one shop and no signs much either. I wished I’d brought some blurb with me.

Gigha was bought by the islanders for £4,000,250 but paid for by Scottish taxpayers, in part by the National Lottery and the sale of Achamore House, the island’s mansion that was rebuilt after a fire in the 1890s. Sir James Horlick (of the night time beverage) did a lot for the island, modernising farms, building up dairy production to 250 gallons of milk a year and converting deciduous woodland into fine gardens of rhododendrons and sub- tropical plants at Achamore. The National Trust was gifted the plants in 1962.

The beaches are beautiful with fine white sand. To get to them today we would have to have crossed sodden field or muddy track but they looked tempting in the sun. We didn’t know how long we had to completely cycle the island and we thought 5 o’clock would have been to late to leave so we kept to the road until we reached the bumpy track through rocks at the northern end.

With the sun in our faces we rode back, now against the wind, so it felt a lot harder work. The foraging geese didn’t seem bothered by us on our return journey. Bob thinks that predators often come at their prey from the direction of the sun so they can’t be seen and maybe we looked more a threat too with the sun behind us, whereas now they could see we were just 2 people on a bike.

We reached the hotel passing the road down to the ferry. Next door are some buildings-The craft shop and café weren’t open and what looked like a Heritage Centre wasn’t open either as the computers were down. They hadn’t any printed facts about Gigha though, as I asked. The buildings, chalet like and built from wood, I am sure would be open and widely used in the summer. There were Gaelic and craft courses and will be a Music festival later this year.

The hotel provided us with sandwiches though we aren’t sure why they were cut into fingers- Bob’s grated cheese fell out. It was nice thick bread though and we enjoyed them. There was no one else there. Even the barman disappeared. It was the weather for hot drinks so we didn’t try the ale. There wasn’t a homely feel to the place though perhaps it just lacked people.

We carried on past cottages, bungalows and a fire station making up Ardminish. The gardens (open all year) were behind  deciduous woodland.  Gigha is said to have plenty of trees for a small island but we didn’t see many in the north. There was a drive or track off the road here, marked for the gardens. I think if we had taken it we would have come across the ruins of 13^th century Kilchattan church and nearby would have been the Ogam stone with its ancient Celtic, largely undeciphered, writing.

 

At the southern tip we could see Cara Island and rocks jutting out of the sea. Cara was the centre of smuggling activity for Gigha, Islay and Jura. There were some sheep at this end of Gigha. It is a very fertile island and the Irish were said to buy their potatoes from here to place on top of their potatoes when they went to market. The 3 second hand wind turbines from a windfarm in Cumbria are set facing west on the southern slopes. They are known locally as the Dancing Ladies. Another was added in 2011- a new one this time and it started producing power in 2013.

Going back we visited the shop at the top of the road to the ferry. Beside the door is a modern glass phonebox with a comfy chair and wall hangings to make the caller feel at home. A little girl was riding a scooter around the well- stocked but small shop. I bought a card with a local artist’s painting of an owl on one of the standing stones. We would have cycled right by it the owner of the shop said.

The ferry arrived at 3.20 and there were 4 cars to go this time with us at the front. Inside we chatted with a lady who’d been doing supply teaching at the school on Gigha. It must have been quite a journey as she lived in Cambeltown.

 The sun had shone all the time we were on Gigha and as we neared the Mull of Kintyre the clouds came over and the sea changed colour again. We disembarked in wind and rain.

We drove to Tarbert and our B and B, parking in front of the harbour. Knap House is part of a terrace with optimum use of space. Our room was small but had everything we needed. In minus temperatures it felt lovely and warm. We ate at the Argyll Arms- a steak deal for 2 with a bottle of wine for £35. Mine was fillet steak and quite big Bob’s was ribeye. It was quiet when we arrived but by the time we left it was buzzing.