Isle of Mull Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands

For centuries, travellers have found a safe haven and sanctuary among the

islands of the Hebrides.

This landscape of sheltered bays, sweeping horizons

and distant headlands,

has drawn a host of visitors all looking

to escape the turmoil of the modern world.

In this series, I'm on a grand tour of the Scottish islands.

And while the islands I'm travelling to are very different in character,

they each have their own allure.

Generations of travellers have set out to explore the magic of the

Scottish Islands.

I'm following in their footsteps,

exploring remote and fascinating places

scattered around our coastline and

meeting the people who call these islands home.

Hairpin left.

-Oh, sorry about that!

-Keep up!

For this grand tour I'm heading for Mull and its satellite islands,

discovering why they've become boltholes

from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

The Isle of Mull is the second-largest island

of the inner Hebrides,

lying close to the coast of Argyll.

My voyage takes me around its deeply indented 300-mile coastline

where I'll visit offshore islands

that have offered both a refuge and an inspiration.

I join the crew the crew of this traditional fishing boat

as we set off to sail around the Ross of Mull -

a long peninsula that thrusts into the dangerous Atlantic.

Now I'm heading to the beautifully named island of Erraid,

sailing through a scattering of rocky islets and skerries.

It's just over there.

Mark Jardine is the skipper of this beautifully restored ketch,

which operates as a charter vessel in the waters around Mull.

It's a very gentle breeze.

But it's just serving our purpose.

How long do you think it'll take us at this speed, doing 1.4 knots?

It could take a day trip just to go to Erraid today!

The seas here are full of hazards to shipping.

Reefs and skerries known collectively as the Torran Rocks.

In this day and age with modern navigational aids,

it's a lot easier.

But it's still an area to treat with respect.

A lot of those rocks are just below the surface.

-Deadly.

-Ready to get you.

Hopefully we're going to avoid them!

The great thing is to avoid getting a rock named after your skipper,

you know!

The Torran Rocks took such a toll on shipping that a lighthouse was

eventually commissioned.

Designed by Thomas Stevenson of the famous family of civil engineers,

it's known as the lighthouse of Dubh Artach, the black rock.

Construction began in 1867 and ran for five years.

Thomas Stevenson was the father of Robert Louis Stevenson,

who penned such classics as Kidnapped and Treasure Island.

And as a young boy,

Stevenson came to know this corner of Scotland very well indeed.

Erraid is a small island covering just one square mile.

When the lighthouse of Dubh Artach was under construction,

Erraid became the workers' base.

The young Robert Louis Stevenson visited here,

walking along these shell sands, drinking in the atmosphere.

This is the imaginative source

behind Stevenson's tropical Treasure Island

and also the location that the writer chose

for the shipwrecked hero of Kidnapped, David Balfour,

to pull himself ashore, having spent the night clinging to a broken mast.

"In about an hour of kicking and splashing,

"I got well in between the points of a sandy bay,

"surrounded by low hills.

"The sea was here quite quiet.

"There was no sound of any surf

"and I thought in my heart I had never seen

"a place so desert and desolate."

David Balfour thought that he was marooned here on Erraid,

cut off from the outside world.

And for a few days he was forced to eat a diet of shellfish, limpets,

until he discovered that Erraid is an island only at high tide.

At low tide, it was quite possible to walk from the island to Mull.

He must've felt such a chump!

Reaching Mull without getting my feet wet,

I'm faced with the problem

of how to explore the island's many highways and byways.

In order to get around this beautiful island,

I've chosen a green form of transport.

This electric bike.

Now, I've been told

that the batteries are charged with electricity that

comes from wind turbines, so let's see if I can go like the wind!

Oh, yes, yes, we're off!

Hmm, no faster than a moderate breeze,

but quietly comfortable and sedate.

Plenty of time to take in the scenery

as I make my way around the rocky

coast and through a landscape of towering rocks and big skies.

Close to the village of Bunessan, I come to a memorial at a crossroads.

This unassuming monument

is dedicated to the memory of Mary MacDonald,

who was born in 1789.

Now, Mary never left the island, but her legacy travelled the world.

Mary wrote the original Gaelic hymn which in the 20th century became

Morning Has Broken,

a smash hit that was covered by many a pop star, from Cat Stevens,

Demis Roussos, and even the whistling Roger Whittaker.

Lying close to Mull's western shore is Ulva, the wolf's island.

Today, it's almost forgotten by the world.

But like a lot of Scottish islands,

its current status belies its historical importance.

From Ulva ferry, a short crossing in an open boat

takes visitors from Mull to the island.

For over 1,000 years,

Ulva was owned by the ancient Clan Macquarie,

until the last chief was forced to sell up to pay off his debts in the

18th century. Back then, about 700 people lived on the island.

Today the population is just seven.

And none of them are Macquaries.

But despite the loss of their ancestral home,

the influence of Clan Macquarie on world affairs has been enormous.

Lachlan Macquarie was born on Ulva in 1762.

A poor relative of the last Macquarie chief.

Like many impoverished Gaels,

Lachlan found an opportunity for advancement in the Army.

Rising through the ranks,

Macquarie was appointed governor of New South Wales and the notorious

prison colony there.

His enlightened and progressive

approach to governorship helped Australia

to become established as a country

and not just a dumping ground for convicts.

Macquarie's success earned him the fortune he desired as a young man.

And at the age of 45 he was able to return to Mull,

and buy his uncle's estate.

But Lachlan's homecoming wasn't easy.

The Government refused to award him

the pension he thought he was entitled to.

On a trip to London to plead his case, he fell ill and died.

According to his wishes, he was buried on Mull,

close to the island of his birth.

This inscription proclaims him as the father of Australia.

And with so many places named after him,

from Macquarie Street in Sydney to the Macquarie River,

perhaps that's no exaggeration.

For a man who'd spent all his adult life overseas,

it's appropriate that Lachlan Macquarie

chose to end his days here,

enfolded among the hills of his native land.

It is very peaceful here.

Mull might be an idyllic island sanctuary,

but once a year the tranquillity is shattered

by the arrival of 150 rally cars,

taking part in the famous Mull Rally.

Emerging through the dust cloud, is rally driver Louise Thompson.

A Mull local, and one of the few female competitors.

Louise, that was quite an entrance!

-How you doing?

-I'm good, thank you.

-Lovely to meet you.

-And you too.

Now the Mull Rally, Louise,

is a really important event in the motorsport calendar.

How did you get involved in it?

I got involved through my family being involved 45 years ago

when the rally first started.

My father was involved with the organising committee.

And then he competed as well.

-So it's in your blood, is it?

-Yes!

It is. I navigated first, with a female driver,

and I competed, I think, about six times as a navigator.

But I always thought that women had a terrible sense of direction!

Oh, the female navigators are very, very good.

I'm thinking of possibly joining you,

because I'm a pretty good map reader.

A very good navigator.

So I reckon I'd love the opportunity of sitting beside you for a while

-and see if I can't get you lost!

-No, that's absolutely great, yeah.

-OK?

-Yeah, no problem. Let's jump in.

Is it a serious competition, the Mull Rally?

Yes, very serious.

People take it very seriously.

It's a challenge, it's a very tough challenge

on the driver and on the car.

How is it rated in the rallying world?

-It's rated as the best rally in the world.

-Really?

-Yes.

Do you think the single-track roads

have got something to do with that?

-Absolutely, yes.

-And how fast do these cars go?

This little car can do probably close to 100mph.

-Right.

-And the top guys, at top speed,

will probably go 120, 130 plus mph.

At these speeds, and on these roads, reaction time is key.

I'm beginning to see how crucial the navigator's job is.

I need to know, when you're driving at high speed,

you need to know whether the bend is going left or right,

and the degree of the bend.

-Right.

-Otherwise if you get it wrong we could have a serious accident.

Oh, dear! I hope I haven't overestimated my navigation skills!

Flat crest and...

Flat...

Hairpin left.

Hairpin left! Sorry about that!

Come on, Paul, keep up!

And long square right.

Caution, medium left over bridge.

Flat right.

Flat left over crest.

400.

Well, I think I've passed the test.

We've managed to cover what seems to be most of Mull in the blink of an

eye, and without serious incident.

But I can't say I'll be sorry to get back on my bike and make a more

sedate entrance at my next destination.

Tobermory, Mary's well in Gaelic, is the capital of Mull,

and largest town, and home to about 700 people,

although in the summer months,

tourists swell the population several times over.

Tobermory Bay is a great natural harbour

and has been used as a safe anchorage for centuries.

In a yacht moored in the bay,

I'm meeting a man for whom sailing became a way of life,

and a means of escaping the pressures of the modern world.

Hamish Haswell-Smith has been voyaging

amongst the Scottish islands for over 50 years.

Now Hamish, you are the author of the celebrated, I have to say,

Scottish Islands, a true Bible for any sailor or lover

of the West Coast of Scotland and its very many varied islands.

In fact, this is part of the inspiration behind my own journey.

Now, I'm fascinated to know

what was your attraction to the Scottish islands?

I think it's the sheer variety,

but coupled with the fact of the number of lovely anchorages.

And the other thing I like with Scotland

is that you can get on some of the small uninhabited islands

and you can feel,

"I'm the first person ever to stand on this island!"

Which you know you're not, really.

But you could imagine you are.

One of the delightful things about this book,

apart from the historical information,

is the way that you've illustrated it with your own line drawings and

watercolours. Now for someone with an artistic sensibility,

what's so inspiring about the islands of the West Coast?

Well, I think the light is certainly one of the things.

And you get all the effects of light here.

A place like, say, Iona,

it attracted so many painters

because the light is something that's quite different.

You've got beautiful white shell sand, you've got wonderful sea,

turquoises and greens and blues and all sorts of lovely colours.

I love taking photographs.

But unlike me, Hamish captures treasured moments

with exquisitely drawn sketches and watercolours.

He makes it look so easy.

This is Castlebay,

it's just a few lines,

but it's instantly recognisable.

-Yes.

-Because of Kisimul Castle.

-It's wonderful.

-Even when it's raining, if you're out at sea,

and suddenly a little bit clears and there's a shaft of sunlight comes

shining down, and it catches an island or some distant mountains,

and the number of potential paintings

that you could make out of all that

is absolutely fantastic.

I feel it's time for a little therapy.

And to get it, I'm heading for the Treshnish Islands,

which lie in a chain about three miles west of Mull.

To get there, I'm joining Ian Morrison,

who regularly makes the crossing with visitors

who are all hoping to meet the islands' rather special inhabitants.

Ian, what's the island right on the bow here?

That's Lunga. This is the one we're headed for now.

This is where we go every day.

Does anyone live on Lunga?

No, no, just puffins and guillemots and razorbills and kittiwakes and

fulmars, shags and a whole lot of other birds.

-So it's a sea bird city?

-Absolutely, absolutely.

For those uninitiated in the ways of the wild,

getting ashore on Lunga can be something of an ordeal.

And once safely on land, you are here to stay.

At least until the boat returns with the jetty.

And then what? There's nothing much here, except the puffins, of course.

And there are plenty of them to entertain

even the most cynical of city dwellers.

Ian, why do people come here to Lunga?

Well, you can see them all arrayed along the edge of the cliff there,

these are the boys, these puffins.

That's the whole reason.

But they do come out for all the other birdlife as well,

there's thousands of guillemots and lots of other sea birds.

-That's the main reason.

-What would you say is the great allure of

puffins over other sea birds?

They're very, very attractive.

Very comical.

In some places they call them sea parrots.

Various other names, that they've got

that indicate a comical creature, I think.

And the way they get about, they kind of puff around!

Do you think we identify them in some ways?

Probably, I think we're probably quite like them, really.

I believe that's why they're studying us, you know.

I tell people that they're doing an ongoing study of homo sapiens

and the people should be on their best behaviour!

Ian describes these encounters as puffin therapy.

A way of decluttering the urban mind and getting close to nature.

People feel, or seem to be,

a lot happier when they come off this island

after two hours communing with these creatures

than they are when they arrive.

I love them more than any other little bird on this whole planet.

I just adore them.

They don't seem bothered when we're, you know, inches away,

they seem quite happy. It seems some kind of mutual respect

between humans and animals. It's brilliant.

I've never seen it anywhere else.

Last year we missed out on this tour, we couldn't get on it.

So we came back, really, this year, just to come and see the puffins.

And it's been incredible.

I think that's what I love about them, the humour of the birds.

They're very funny. I just wish I could talk their language!

Having achieved a positive and contented mental state,

I leave the puffins and their soothing vibes

to wander higher on the island.

Until the 1820s, Lunga was inhabited

and boasted a population of about 20.

Amazing to think that people once lived out here.

Leaving the empty houses with the ghosts of a lost way of life,

I climb to the highest point on this tiny island.

Wow, look at that.

The view from up here is truly magnificent.

A great sweep of islands on the horizon,

from Iona and Erraid to the south of me.

Behind me Ben More and Ulva, and below me, the Treshnish Islands.

All of them offering respite from the modern world.