Tobermory to Rum
We awoke to a beautiful, calm sunny morning in Tobermory, the painted houses reflecting their colours in the mirror-calm sea. After breakfast we walked the length of the town to join our coach outside the Tobermory Distillery, which Konia told us was currently not working owing to a lack of water – there has been no significant rain for months. The coach followed the Sound of Mull southwards, paralleling our route north the previous evening, and our destination was Torosay House and gardens.
We were welcomed outside the castle by Jacquetta James, the mother of the current owner of the castle, who showed us around. She gave a fascinating account of the history of the castle and of her extraordinary family. Her sister had been the US ambassador in Paris and her father had twice escaped from a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Although not old, dating from the early nineteenth century, the castle is full of beautiful paintings and other artefacts, and is surrounded by a beautiful garden and grounds. The garden has both formal and informal sections, as well as a water and woodland garden. The primulas were looking particularly spectacular.
All too soon it was time to leave, although not before taking time to photograph the Highland cows. We retraced our steps northwards, arriving back in Tobermory in time for lunch. The afternoon was free, an opportunity to experience the delights of Tobermory. We set sail in the rain, which, although dampening ourselves and our spirits, at least meant that the distillery can soon restart operations!
As we rounded the point of Ardnamurchan, the westernmost part of the British mainland, the wind picked up and we encountered a choppy sea off our port beam. However, as we neared Rum, our destination for the night, we noticed an abundance of seabirds in the waves and the wind – guillemots, puffins, gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes and Manx shearwaters. We soon entered the calm waters of Kinloch Bay and moored at the new jetty, where we could savor our dinner in peace.
We awoke to a beautiful, calm sunny morning in Tobermory, the painted houses reflecting their colours in the mirror-calm sea. After breakfast we walked the length of the town to join our coach outside the Tobermory Distillery, which Konia told us was currently not working owing to a lack of water – there has been no significant rain for months. The coach followed the Sound of Mull southwards, paralleling our route north the previous evening, and our destination was Torosay House and gardens.
We were welcomed outside the castle by Jacquetta James, the mother of the current owner of the castle, who showed us around. She gave a fascinating account of the history of the castle and of her extraordinary family. Her sister had been the US ambassador in Paris and her father had twice escaped from a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Although not old, dating from the early nineteenth century, the castle is full of beautiful paintings and other artefacts, and is surrounded by a beautiful garden and grounds. The garden has both formal and informal sections, as well as a water and woodland garden. The primulas were looking particularly spectacular.
All too soon it was time to leave, although not before taking time to photograph the Highland cows. We retraced our steps northwards, arriving back in Tobermory in time for lunch. The afternoon was free, an opportunity to experience the delights of Tobermory. We set sail in the rain, which, although dampening ourselves and our spirits, at least meant that the distillery can soon restart operations!
As we rounded the point of Ardnamurchan, the westernmost part of the British mainland, the wind picked up and we encountered a choppy sea off our port beam. However, as we neared Rum, our destination for the night, we noticed an abundance of seabirds in the waves and the wind – guillemots, puffins, gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes and Manx shearwaters. We soon entered the calm waters of Kinloch Bay and moored at the new jetty, where we could savor our dinner in peace.
