Farewell to Mull....

But first, my last breakfast in bed.  I am giving my Guiding skills the accolade for my solution to 'no wee fridge in the room'.  A small (until now unused) insulated bag, filled one third with cold water and placed on the tiled bathroom floor has kept the milk, cheese and kefir good since Tuesday and allowed me to have breakfast and my picnic lunches.  Well done to me.  But the rest of the break is on B&B basis so farewell to the remaining milk and kefir.

After that I had another 45 minute swim and then after checking out a walk down to the shore.  It's all very well laid out, seats and an outside wood burner.  Unfortunately, the steady rain meant going down there to watch the sunset was never an option.  Another time.

I then set off to see the NW of Mull.  I knew form the Shipping Forecast that it was going to clear from the west and by the time I got to Ulva Ferry there was definitely blue in the sky.  But no time to visit Ulva.

Then off to Calgary.  Not so much a single track road as ribbon of asphalt through the vegetation.  Quite a challenging drive.  Revived driving skills honed on the hairpin bends of the Col de Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.  Calgary has changed sine the last time I was there, wild camping, about 45 years ago.  Now a campsite, a car park and an ice cream van (shut).  But I did remember the graveyard.  The rain had returned so it was another picnic lunch in the car but the view of the machair made up for it.

Final drive across Mull was back to Salen.  I managed to solve a key card battery issue in the Spar there. Lowered my stress levels.  Then on to the ferry queue at Fishnish but not too long a wait and then off back on the mainland at Lochaline.

I took a detour to Strontian as I remembered we stopped there in that holiday all these years ago, which subconsciously I seem to be revisiting.  There was a queue for the Corran ferry too but again I didn't have to wait long. 

In Fort William I found the Morrisons no bother and filled up with petrol then paid for parking so I could have a walk along the main street and photograph the end of the WHW for #1 son and WH. It was after 5 so most of the shops were closed but there were a lot of tourists, and walkers. Fort William hasn't really improved, a relief road along the shores of Loch Linnhe, it's best asset, so I decided to skip out to Glenfinnan so I could top and tail the Jacobite '45.  Heard the steam train as it passed above Glenfinnan.

And finally booked into my hotel.  Small, but adequate room, good bar food and luckily I got there before the huge group of walkers/cyclists got there.  So noisy, but very good natured.

I gave up early but struggling with the wifi and gave myself a shock when I decided to have a hot shower to relieve the niggly pain in my leg and found it only ran cold. Ouch!

I am really enjoying this break even if the credit card is burning!! It's nay cheap.