Update Clan Tour - Trip to Isle of Mull

January is not my favourite month for travel as the weather can be very unsettled and the 21st and 22nd were no exception. After visiting several hotels in Oban last year, I suddenly thought how much nicer it would be if you could stay for 2 nights on the Isle of Mull rather than in Oban. I found a nice hotel on the internet, but decided that I better go and check it out for myself. The drive to Oban from Aberfeldy (where I had been visiting my Mother) was very pleasant and I arrived in Oban in good time for the 4pm ferry. I had time to go to McCaig's folly above Oban and look out to sea from there. The views are spectacular with the snow covered mountains at this time of year. The ferry crossing from Oban to Craignure on Mull takes 40 mins, by which time it was dark. In Jan the daylight hours are from around 9am to 4.30pm. When you come in July daylight hours are from 4am until around 9pm which is much better for sightseeing. I stayed in a nice Bed & Breakfast locally. The next morning, I visited the Isle of Mull Hotel at Craignure. It is a lovely long hotel with accommondation only on the ground or first floors. The views are to Duart Castle, ancestral home of the Clan Maclean. You will have wonderful views to the castle on the ferry into Craignure as well. The manager and receptionist at the hotel were very welcoming and showed me all the hotel facilities which includes a swimming pool and gym area as well as a Spa. I drove from the hotel for just over an hour to Fionnphort where I planned to embark on the short 10 minute crossing to Iona. I went to pay for my ticket and the purser said are you staying overnight on Iona, I said no I was planning to return on the 3pm ferry. He said the winds getting up the ferry may not be running this afternoon. I gave up the attempt as I was due to get the ferry back to Oban in the late afternoon! I had forgotten that when you live on an island or visit one, it is not always possible to do exactly what you want! However hopefully in July, we will not have this problem. Every corner I drove round in the south of Mull gave me new and it seemed even more stunning vistas. One of my very special events that day was I saw very close up a white tailed eagle. They are magnificent birds even larger than our golden eagles and were reintroduced to Mull a few years ago. They are now breeding successfully and their young are repopulating the west coast of Scotland. If you click on the photos above they will open as a larger version in another window. The top photo is a collage of my trip to Mull and the bottom photo shows McCaig's folly when I was leaving Oban on the boat. On the right of the page are links to the hotel and information on Mull and Iona.

On your arrival in Glasgow we will be staying at the Beardmore Hotel on the banks of the River Clyde. We will spend 2 nights in this lovely hotel which has large and well appointed rooms with views from them to the river Clyde. The hotel is unusual as it is owned by the National Health Service, the only one of its kind in Scotland. I found the management team very friendly and helpful and the porter was a fund of information on the area. It is a short journey by taxi from Glasgow International Airport to the Hotel. A link to the hotel is at the right. From Glasgow a trip is planned to the Falkirk Wheel and Linlithgow Palace. Links are on the right.

After our trip to Mull and Iona we will be heading south and staying at The Mill Hotel New Lanark for 3 nights. The hotel is also situated on the River Clyde and most rooms in the hotel have views to the river. The Falls of Clyde are a short walk from the hotel. We will also visit the Mills and learn about life in the 1800s. The village first rose to fame when Robert Owen was mill manager from 1800-1825. Owen transformed life in New Lanark with ideas and opportunities which were at least a hundred years ahead of their time. Child labour and corporal punishment were abolished, and villagers were provided with decent homes, schools and evening classes, free health care, and affordable food.A forerunner to our free education and national health service. Links are on the right.

I have provisionally booked a hotel for us in Dumfries and I will be visiting it later in the week. I will write a further report about the remainder of our tour in mid February when I return from a short break in England visiting family and friends. Dumfries is one of the areas along with Alloway and Edinburgh closely associated with Rabbie Burns. The Homecoming year in honour of his memory has started very well with Burns Nights all around the world including one in Harlingen, Texas organised by Warren Kininmonth. I now know who I can get to do an immortal memory for us when we hold our own Burns night on the Clan Tour! Links to Dumfries and the The Gathering are on the right.

There have been several interesting programmes on Scottish TV this year to do with the History of Scotland, Robert Burns, and Scottish Clans. I have collected these onto DVDs which I hope to show you some of on our travels around Scotland. I am excited that Clan MacDuff is going to be a part of Homecoming Year and am looking forward to renewing friendships and making new ones.