Coll

 

At the ferry port on Coll, an hour later after leaving Tiree, we were surprised to see so many people dressed in black- some boarding and some waving people off for the mainland.

This is the gun, brought up from the depths by the islanders,that now points out over the harbour. It is from the sunken ship Nevada II. Above the harbour stands an archway of whale bone.

 

Even our B and B host was in black and apologising for our room not being ready as she had been to the funeral of a lady octogenarian whose popularity spread far beyond the confines of the island. We left our bags and cycled off in the afternoon sunshine through the ferry hamlet of Arinagour stopping at the Coll Hotel for a drink and a look at the menu for the evening meal. It looked like we’d invaded a private party- the wake and more black! We met the grandson of the respected lady who said he’d come from Worthing in Sussex. In his tips about the island he recommended whistling to encourage the seals out. They are naturally curious. I tried it in the harbour but to no avail, though we could see them basking on the rocks out in the loch.

To get to the northernmost part of Coll it was 16 hard miles against the wind and with at least one arrowed road- so steep in places. It feels more spring-like here than Tiree. The flowers, daffodils and primrose, are more advanced and I, needing less layers of clothes, am warmer.

The houses are spread out and the population, mostly incomers, is only a third of Tiree, at a little over 200. The route-  there is only 1 single track road north via Arnabost- felt like a geo park with many different types of rock of varying colours, banded or glistening with crystals. It seems less boggy than Tiree but with more greensward, I thought. Sheep grazed by the road with lambs and flocks of redwings invaded the rougher land near the northern tip, Sorisdale. Here is a crofting settlement of thatched buildings and a pleasant beach though we didn’t linger here having noticed a beautiful one that we would pass on the way back. There are 24 beaches all set away from the road, requiring a walk.

Back 3 or 4 kilometres the beach is set in dunes with large holes in the banks that we didn’t think was made by rabbits. This looked a very suitable habitat for otters with a running stream, rockpools and large rocks dividing the area into shallow and deeper water either side. The tide was receding but it looked like there would be a possibility of being cut off later if you ventured out too far.

After meeting someone on route interested in the tandem, who introduced himself as John the gardener, as opposed to James the gardener whom we met at the B and B later, we finally settled into our cosy room.

 Still mourners remained from the wake (a lot of alcohol consumption!) when we arrived at the Coll Hotel for dinner. It wasn’t busy in the restaurant though and we were so impressed with the food, especially the tasty vegetables grown by the islanders. Here is the only place in Scotland we have had asparagus. It was usually either peas or root vegetables. The hotel is extending and building work extends to the edge of a children’s play park. It looks too dangerous to use it now. Views from the dining room look over Loch Eatharna ( loch of the small fishing boats) which joins the sea. You can see buildings on the other side but there is no road leading that way though there must be tracks.

The cottages of Arinagour are mostly white and built around 1800- a lot are holiday lets. Our B and B lady, Paula, doesn’t live in but a short distance away. She leaves a phone in case there are problems when she isn’t around. A large sitting room looks out over the sea, the flat table-like Treshnish Isles of Staffa and Lunga.. and a beautiful fragrant garden (Well done James)

The sky isn’t dark enough when we go to bed to star watch but later I looked out at a tantalisingly cropped night panorama. Buildings were too close here. I got dressed trying not to wake Bob and went out the front door. It was magical! Paula said that you can see the milky way though I wasn’t sure where to look.

We had a lovely breakfast at 8 with 2 council workers from Tiree. Coll hasn’t its own anymore. They come over once a month for a couple of nights with a digger and a van mending or digging holes along the single track roads which seem much better than on the mainland to us. We found out that 2 people booked bed and breakfast here for today, but they missed the ferry as the times had changed again. This must be frustrating for people like Paula trying to make a living out of tourism.

We visited the Kirk on the hill above the hotel. There are a lot of pews for a small population but they probably needed every one of them yesterday. Service sheets were still on the pews and Shirley’s face smiled out. Later I bought a children’s book, desktop printed and written by her from the village shop.

There were 3 organs,2 electric and an old pedal powered one. Most of the glass windows are clear and the views lovely so who needs stained glass? There are some narrow windows with colour though a hole lets the wind whistle through. The ceiling is lovely- herringboned in oak, I think, and it is lofty.

The shop near the hotel is open 10 till 1 but they are waiting for the boat, to restock. It seemed half empty. We were looking for food for lunch and there was only bread in the freezer. We bought 2 birdies which looked like Cornish pasties but they tasted a bit like sausage rolls (and I don’t recommend them!) yogurt, a sort of round flapjack and some crisps.

Opposite is the community hall in white wood opened in 2012. An Cridhe means the heart and it is a place of activity of all sorts. Local art is exhibited( the paintings were bright and humorous and I was tempted but an unframed print was £50 and £100 for framed.  Books can be exchanged or you can sit and read while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee made at the self service “bar”. Ceilidhs, concerts, nature talks, sport, cinema all go on through the year in this purpose- built building which is for islanders and visitors use. The administrative desk is beautifully carved with icons from Coll like the corncrake. Unfortunately the bird arrives too late for us to see, or more likely hear- at the end of April/May.

It had been drizzling with rain and windier than yesterday, so we made sure we had plenty of warm clothes then we left for the other side of Coll. After the hotel we took the left- hand fork instead of right heading south which took us through the only wooded area we saw on Coll. Later we saw signs of peat cutting in the heathland. We wonder if the Collachs ( inhabitants of Coll) can just cut it when they need it.

 

It was a long quiet road up through rocky landscape and the view ahead was limited. Eventually we came down to farmland with sheep and cows. An orange windsock waved from a sandy field which indicated the airfield. We’d reached the airport building-  like a small portacabin with 14 chairs and a wheelchair, deserted as no planes scheduled- Somewhere out of the wind with toilet facilities and chairs. A sign over the sink says do not drink the water as it contains too much zinc. Bob noticed water is collected from the zinc roof.

 

We chatted to 2 cyclists who’d hired their bikes from near the ferry port for £25 a day each totalling £150 for their holiday, shocking us.

From a distance we noticed the 2 castles at Breachacha, both private but one a picturesque C15th ruin the other from the C17^th ( rather mutilated in the 19^th) and lived in. Paula, our host, told us a cautionary tale of 6 lady guests who made an expedition to the castles and ended up in the elderly gentleman’s bedroom. Audacious, lost or stupid who knows, but Paula wasn’t amused when she received a call complaining about her guests in very impolite terms.

Further down the road is the car park- a grassy patch- for the RSPB reserve. We left the tandem here. The reserve spans a large area and we walked towards Crossapol with dunes on one side with holes in for birds or animals (we weren’t sure). There were several 4x wheel drives on the beach and it turned out there was a litter pick organised by Hazel, another girl from the International charity project like Maya on Tiree. We could see the Paps of Jura from this beach where small piles of marine debris- ropes and multicoloured plastics-were building up by the efforts of Hazel’s team.

Before exploring any further on we decided to go back to the airport to eat our lunch. We found a spoon to use for the yogurt and a brush and dustpan to leave it better than we found it. We wonder if anyone ever slept in the building. It made a good shelter.

We rode uphill toward where we thought there was a hide. Finding a gate with RSPB logo on we went through. Here are the 2pillars of Na Sgeulachan which are thought to be a part of an astronomical calendar. They stand about 5 feet high and seem pointed either by design or weather. We carry on and find some RSPB buildings, but they were unmanned. A barn had a little information on birds you might see. At a bird feeder, in need of a refresh, we did see a twite which we’d not encountered before. There were geese around but not yet in the numbers we saw on Tiree. There was no sign of a hide that was marked on the map. Further down the lane is a viewing platform- probably for the corncrakes who hide in the vegetation before nesting in the long grass meadows. Beyond this the tarmac stops and we decided to go through the gate into the sand dunes keeping to the dusty path. It was time to walk and push, as the wheels get stuck in sand. We weren’t sure where this track would lead, though Bob hoped that we would eventually reach the road around Ballyhaugh.

A quad bike came by with a sheep and 2 lambs and the weatherworn farmer confirmed that we would get to the road this way. The dunes gave us protection from the wind and the sun was out now with a sky in various blue shades that made me wish for a paint brush. We came to a babbling stream that once followed came out at a fantastic beach of white sand with all colours of rock, tiny and large. We could have made a lovely mosaic from this natural resource but the weight and the ethics…. The waves must have been ten feet high as they rolled in to break as nothing. The sea was turquoise and we could just see Rum and Eigg across the water.

After some time, through another gate we came to the Hebridean centre. This looked like some sort of accommodation and offices though I wondered if there would be information on Coll here. People inside saw us looking and came out to see if they could help. They told us this is the headquarters for the International Project that Maya and Hazel are volunteering for. Other young people involved with this had worked on preserving the castle ruin on Coll and it looked like some were digging allotments not far from the gate here now. We were offered a sit down and cup of tea which was kind. We declined though.

We were soon riding on a tarmac road back to Arnabost. We hadn’t ridden this way before so now we had covered every road marked on the map. Progress was slow because of the hills and wind. We passed a farm with several handsome alpacas and we were surprised to see many white ewes with black lambs- the cleanest white and shiniest black ever!

 We took the right turn onto the road back to Arinagour and at last the wind direction was in our favour. We arrived back at 5 and had a 6 o’clock, delicious dinner at the hotel. It had to be local lamb for me. Heartless! The landlord told us we could walk to the little island just past the pier and as low tide is at 10.30 we should manage it tomorrow. The ferry leaves for Oban at 7.15 so a whole day to play with.

We hadn’t realised it would be so wet and slippery just to get to the access point to the island. Cycle shoes haven’t much grip and Bob fell in the mud. You could twist or break an ankle between the lichen covered rocks. We needed walking boots.  It was a lovely sunny day so we gave up and decided to try another of Coll’s beaches ( recommended by the Cal mac ferryman on duty this morning).

Despite being told we could leave our gear at the B and B till the ferry time we foolishly decided to take everything with us making us several stone heavier which we certainly felt going uphill. We’d gone to the other food shop- T.E.S.cos. and bought cheese and rolls. This shop had lots of interesting food probably because it was attached to a café but it was quite dark inside and toilet rolls were piled high at the window so not tempting people in.

Access to the connected beaches is by the island’s cemetery just past the Windy Gap. We left the bike here and walked down through fields, after asking a lady farmer, haring around on a quad bike if we could do so. ( I believe I was eating her lamb last night) We went through the permissive campsite gate, through the daffodils in the field, passing a dead hedgehog, and down where there is a  wind turbine on the left.

The beach was beautiful and empty. We thought there were otter prints on the otherwise smooth sand. We counted 5 toes a good sign! I spotted what I thought was a seal out at sea between some rocks. I tried whistling and to my surprise 2 seals headed towards me. Bob was amused when I started jumping up and down and singing to get them to come closer. That was too much for them and they swam away!

We sat on some rocks and had a picnic, but it was cold and cloudy again. We explored a bit, sure there were otter families nearby from the scuffle marks on the sand near the water and holes in the banks though no otter poo.

 

We sat in the graveyard on a wooden bench- luxury- listening to the sea and birds before returning to Arinagour. Herons were in the Loch and seals were on the rocks. We took coffees outside in the hotel’s garden. A concrete mixer clattered away at the hotel building site and someone was strimming and burning the vegetation on a bonfire. Then he realised people were in the garden and he put it out. It was John the gardener! He came to talk to us, apologising.

Later Bob and I played cards and had a pint till it was nearly time for the café- attached to T.E.S.cos- to open at 5 oclock.

We wandered on to the old pier where some French people were trying to buy fish. We saw the Calmac man from this morning and he asked us if we found and liked the beach, then told us he worked on the fire engine (which had just gone past back to its depot) and was also a plumber. Everyone here multi tasks! I had been surprised at the size of the fire engine which hadn’t attended a fire by the way. Hardly a day goes by without police , ambulance or fire engine sirens where we live and the peace of Coll was so welcome.

The café was late opening but we were the first customers. Our meal of pork in cider sauce , saute potatoes and heaps of various(6 kinds) vegetables was delicious and not expensive. It was good that we ate then as the boat served food for a vey limited time.

After sorting out our tickets, which said we were with a car, we were let on the ferry with the pedestrians. Again we had a huge lorry blocking us in by our side. It was under 3 hours back to Oban and the sea was as flat as a pancake. The boat, Lord of the Isles is at least 30 years old but its interior is very well looked after. It must have been refurbished – the metal work shone and the seats were smart and comfortable. Last to disembark along with the footpassengers, it was a short ride back to the B and B around 10pm.