Mull is probably my favourite of all the Scottish Isles. There is a strange magical prescience there for me. So to find a special place, on a special island, really is a rare find.
Having landed at the ferry terminal a Craignure, we headed SW along the A849 towards Fionnphort. Whilst an “A” class road sounds substantial, on Mull, much of the main road is single track. A quick tip: Keep your eyes peeled for oncoming traffic so you can anticipate when to use the passing places. Also watch your rear view mirror for Buses. They’re on a schedule to get people from the Ferry at Craignure, to the Iona Ferry leaving Fionnphort and local protocol dictates you should pull in and let them pass.
Reaching the sign for Strathcoil, we turned south along another single track road. What followed was a lovely forty minute drive that took us through woodland, along the banks of Loch Speive and Loch Uisg. At times the road passed really close to the water, however, rather than being a threat, this provided an opportunity to get an even better view of the wildlife of the area. As luck would have it, we had this road pretty much to ourselves, though driving it in February may also have helped.
The main purpose of our visit was to reach the stone circle, where nine granite stones, remain standing since the Neolithic Era. There is a well marked path from the parking area to the Stone Circle, however be warned. We visited in February, and had to do a serious amount of bog-hopping to get to the circle, so unless you are prepared to get a little dirty, you may want to leave your visit to the summer months. Having the made the effort, in pouring rain, we were rewarded with the exceptionally well preserved stone circle.
When walking in the area it does pay to have your whits about you. It was after visiting the stone circle, we realised we were no longer alone. We had been joined by two deer, grazing amongst the vegetation quite simply watching us, watching them.
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