Calgary Bay

After a slow start, a walk up to the hill fort behind Kate’s Cottage and lunch, we set off via Salen and Dervaig for Calgary Bay on the north western coast of Mull. We only saw two cars and a lorry on the road across the island until we got to Dervaig, which is a small village at the head of a loch. We past some broken down crofts, some by the roadside and others on the far side of the valley we were in. 

There were a few more cars as we headed around the coast towards Calgary Bay until we came to the gallery and café before the beach. At one point, we came to a restaurant which we had heard about the day before from the female crew member on the Hoy Lass who was its manager. It was a new building with a good looking seafood menu.

Calgary Bay opens out to view when you pass the café and descend the road to the small car park. The tide was out revealing the wide, sandy beach set in the long bay. There were a few other people on the beach including an American family we had been on the boat with the previous day. Emily and Toby ran to the water’s edge. Toby immediately wanted to swim. We persuaded him that paddling would be better and he soon realised why when he felt the cold, Atlantic water. 

Penny and I walked around the beach throwing Archie’s tennis ball for him until we came to some rocks where we stopped and watched the children play in the water. Across the bay, we could see people walking along the coastal path and stop on a stone pier. 

Behind us, high on a rocky edge, we could see four Golden Eagles soaring and circling. To our right, about half a mile away, were some tents by a stream which we soon found out was a ‘wild’ camping site. 

Soon, we were back at the car and driving around to see the camp site. There, we decided to stay an extra night on Mull so we could camp there on Saturday. We, then, stopped at the café for a cup of tea and for me to log on to the internet. 

We drove back towards Tobermory and past a handful of rude drivers who did not thank us for letting them pass by (mainly women, for some reason). In the town, we walked up and down the road looking at boats including a compact cruise liner called ‘Lord of the Glens’ with an older set of passengers. Supper was fresh fish and chips from the stand on the jetty and then a drink at a pub opposite the colourful side of Tobermory, before heading back to the cottage.

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