Saturday

Today is Munro day for Malcolm.

What’s a Munro you ask,

A Munro is a Scottish mountain with an elevation of more than 3,000 feet (914 metres) of which there are 282 in Scotland. The idea then is to climb or bag all 282, Malcolm has bagged nearly 20 and today he is going to climb the only one on the Isle of Mull, “Ben More”. It will take him about 3 hours up and 2 hours back…….

Meanwhile the rest of us have a trip planned to Iona. Marina dropped Malcolm off at around 8am and came back to the hotel for breakfast and pick us up.

The Iona ferry is at the bottom of Mull in a place called Fionnphort, It is a small ferry that takes a few cars, only for Iona residents, and walk on passengers, it takes about twenty minutes to reach the island.

Iona is known as an Holy Island but it is slightly disappointing as tourism is the big thing, which is not surprising as there is nothing else other than farming.

Iona is known for its religious history and features several notable religious buildings, including Iona Abbey, St Orans Chapel and Iona Nunnery. These sites are all connected to the island’s significance as a center of Christian worship since the arrival of St. Columba in 563 AD. The nunnery is a ruin but the other two still stand. the Abbey is paid entrance but the others not.

Time to pick up Malc fro Ben More. The road to the Munro was supposed to be closed but Marina was able to get all the way to drop him so we sent sent off on the same road but from the opposite direction. All went well, apart from the cow with attitude across the road, until the satnav said we were 2.5 miles from the pickup point and…….

So Marina delivered the good news to Marc that after five hours going up and down the Munro he now had a 2.5 mile walk to join us. Apparently there had been a rock fall a few days before that made the road impassable to vehicles but passable to walkers…. So we wait….

The good thing from those who wait was that the scenery was epic next to the water……

Then it was back to Tobermory for a well earned few drinks…….

“Bagging Munro’s is better in the memory than in the reality ……..” Malcolm Wilde 2025

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Sunday

Farewell to Tobermory and return to Bathgate, a final walk around the town, visit to the pottery shop and the drive home. stopping for a drink at Callander.

A fine drive home and great thanks to the driver, good onyer Malc