Having been to the south, the north east and centre of the island, today we decided to explore the north and west of the island, heading out through Tobermory and around to Dervaig, then crossing over a moorland area down to Torloisk, then turning right to head towards Calgary Bay.
The journey from Dervaig produced absolutely nothing, a huge disappointment, but it was a beautiful ride from Torloisk around the mountain roads with wonderful views out toward the north west islands of Coll and Tiree, before dropping down alongside Calgary Bay.
On an island with as few sandy beaches as Mull, Calgary Bay really is outstanding. The bay faces west towards Coll and Tiree. The beach is broad and sandy. The sea is an idyllic blue if you catch it in the right weather conditions. And arms of high ground sweep round the north and south sides of the bay, framing it perfectly.
The name comes from the Gaelic cala ghearraidh, which
translates as the meadow beside the bay. The origins of settlement
here are unclear, but it seems unlikely that in their travels around the Western
Isles the Vikings would not have spotted what would have been an almost ideal
location for them, combining shelter, a beach on which to draw their boats
clear of the water, fertile land for planting, and surrounding high ground to
make attack difficult from the landward side. But this is all supposition: if
the Vikings were here, we are not aware of any evidence of their stay.
The meadow is another example of the Machair habitat on Mull and we could see many Common Gulls feeding amongst the daisies and grass.
After the machair come sand dunes that are covered with marram grass. When we were here back in 2008 there was a large colony of Sand Martins nesting in the dunes, today there was no sign of any Sand Martins let alone any nest burrows. The area of machair is fenced off to ensure it is not unduly used. You can access the area but are asked to do so with caution.
We walked across the beautiful white sandy beach. The sun wasn't out and it wasn't possible to enjoy the colours in the crystal clear water, but this did not take from the beauty of the area.
A stream flowed into the sea on the south side of the bay and here the Common Gulls were bathing in and drinking the fresh water. They would fly in from the machair where they were feeding, coming low across the beach.
In the shallow valley of the stream flowing down to the shore , you can still see the walls of up to 20 houses plus their associated barns. This is all that is left of the crofting township of Invea, whose story came to a halt in the early 1800s. Its 200 inhabitants were "cleared": invited to leave by their landlord so he could earn more from his land by grazing sheep on it. Departure was not optional, and on the north shore of the bay you can still see signs of the stone pier from which many of the residents of Invea left for a new and uncertain life in North America.
We took the footpath north of the bay and headed towards the pier, the edge of the bay is lined with huge rocks that have probably fallen from the sides of the mountain.
Looking up the sheep were up on the top of the ridge, this one appeared to be having a conversation with two Hooded Crows
Buzzard and crows were seen above the ridge, plus a Kestrel, while from the shelter of the woodland on the slopes a Cuckoo called.
Looking across the bay the straight vertical cliffs of the headland stood out.
Coming back the rocks that lead down to the beach.
We had a cup of tea and ice cream in the little cafe on the beach and watched the small car park slowly fill up, despite the overcast conditions the beach was very popular.
From Calgary we re-traced our route heading south. The road was very winding and slow. As we headed towards Ulva we passed a waterfall, another place that I could remember from our last visit. There was a small car park so we stopped and paid what turned out to be a very good visit.
The waterfall is known as "Eas Fors Waterfall" and is one of the most spectacular waterfalls on the island. The ‘Eas Fors Waterfall’ place name is tautological as all three words are synonymous. This often occurs when a name from one language is imported into another and a standard descriptor is added on from the second language. Eas is Gaelic for waterfall, Fors is Norse for waterfall so it could be said that Eas Fors Waterfall is labouring the point slightly!
Eas Fors consists of a series of three waterfalls, the Upper
Falls being above the road, and the Middle Falls just below the road. The final fall plunges 100 feet over the edge
of the cliff to the sea below.
The Upper Falls
Crossing the road you reach the Middle Falls and as I made my way to the water a Dipper flew past me, under the bridge and up towards the Upper Falls.
While this is where the stream disappears and falls about 100 feet to the beach below:
Looking along the cliff a Buzzard sat on a dead tree.
The Dipper put in another appearance but again was here and gone in a flash, there were too many people about to allow it to settle. In the grass by the side of the stream were Common Spotted Orchids.
Walking back to the Upper Falls there was a steep path that wound up over the cliff that allowed you a spectacular view of the Upper Falls as the main river tumbled over the plateau.
From this position there were views across Loch Tuarth to the island of Ulva.
A path then led alongside the stream as it came across the plateau, following the path it was possible to walk to a further waterfall that emerged out of a gorge, the water having cut this as it came down from even higher up the mountain.
The path wound its way through the bracken and with the sun now out it was very warm in the shelter of the slope. A Golden-ringed Dragonfly appeared and settled on the bracken stems, this was my first dragonfly of the year, I can't recall having to wait until June to see one before, another indicator of the strange spring we have had.
If these two were a surprise the next were as much again. Two orange butterflies were seen dueling in the bracken, when they broke away one settled on the bracken leaves.
I walked on and scrambled around a corner where I could get a view of the gorge, but my attention was taken from the view as two small butterflies were fighting in the heather. They appeared dark but I knew what these were, Green Hairstreak and I followed one until it finally settled on a new Bracken leaf.
It looked as if it had just emerged looking immaculate and showing the dotted white lines on the hind wing that give it the hairstreak name.
We waited to see if it would fly again, but it appeared quite settled perched watching the surrounding water and country side. It was time then to move on and we made our way to Salen and then turned left and headed north to Tobermory.
The name Tobermory comes from the gaelic Tobar Mhoire, meaning well of Mary. The town was built as a fishing port in 1788 on a design by Thomas Telford and is now the main town on Mull. It is a picture-postcard of a place with the brightly painted buildings that curve around the harbour along the main street to the pier and the high woodland-fringed hills surrounding the bay.
As the tide rises and the water remains still reflections of the brightly coloured houses ripple in the water.
We wandered along the harbour road while shopping was conducted and then ate in one of the local pub / restaurants, after that it was back to the cottage.
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