Map 48 – Mull

I’m in a pub again. When I leave here I will be on my own this evening in a cosy camping pod in Fionnphort, on the far western tip of the Isle of Mull, opposite Iona. But I still have 5 miles left to cycle there before dark and it is already past 8pm. I have stopped for food because I fear if I had not, I would be left hungry tonight. Mull is very empty. I have cycled for about 55 miles today through breathtaking scenery on tiny, mostly deserted roads, and seen nothing in the way of sustenance since I left Ulva island at 4pm. Until now that is. I am in the Argyll Arms in Bunessan, which came just in time for my hungry stomach.

From time to time I am asked which has been my favourite map so far in this adventure. It is a very difficult question to answer. That said, I will happily place OS maps 47 and 48 very high on the list. It would be hard to think of 2 days of better cycling anywhere, anytime, than those which I have been privileged to enjoy this week.

The weather has certainly helped. It has been pretty much perfect for cycling: warm but not hot and very little breeze. And that, in turn, has allowed me to appreciate the natural beauty all around me. You just can’t really beat mountains and sea in combination. Mull has a great abundance of both. Its highest mountain, Ben More (a Munro at over 3,000 feet that rises straight up from the sea), was in full view all day today, along with its slightly lesser companions. They are all quite pointy and divided by some plunging chasms and deep valleys. I saw them from both sides today, such is the circuitous nature of the journeys taken by the only available roads, which cling to the shoreline in the narrow strip of land between mountain and sea loch.

I started the day in pretty little Dervaig, with a crab samosa from a local shop. Interesting fact: this small village was once home to the world’s smallest professional theatre! Then I cycled the hilly little road to neighbouring Calgary, which, although just a hamlet, gave its name to the fort that developed into what is now a huge prairie city in Canada. I hope they remember their roots! It is a lovely spot by a bay with a beautiful sandy beach. I stopped for tea and a bacon roll, mindful of how limited such opportunities could be.

My next stop, an hour on along a roller coaster narrow road above the coast, was Ulva, a small island off the coast of Mull, served by a small ferry. It lands you by The Boatshed, a delightful small restaurant with tables outside overlooking the loch and straight up at Ben More. It’s pretty special. So was the food. I had Isle of Mull blue cheese with locally made spicy seaweed chutney on Tobermory brown bread with fruit. I was close to being in heaven (no whisky). I’m not sure you can have a more Mull experience. 

Or maybe not… because then, on my memorable cycle though the scenery, I saw a Golden Eagle. Well, I saw two, to be precise. One flew pretty close to me with some prey in its tallons. Now that was cool!

A quick word about the B8035. As a road to cycle, it may be as good as it gets. Eagles aside, you are on the tiniest, quietest piece of tarmac, all alone with the mountains towering above you on your left and the waters of Loch Na Keal on your right, looking out towards a range of other islands, large and small, near and far, including Ulva, from the other side, and its twin Gometra (linked by a bridge). Then you wonder where they can fit a road and you are wedged between tall cliffs and a dry stone wall, hugging the mountainside as you snake around landslips that have left the beach below littered with huge red boulders.

And then, after you pass a waterfall where a stream simply falls off the top of the cliff above you, the road begins a daring ascent, turning away from the sea into a side valley as the precipitous Ardmeanach peninsula takes over completely, leaving no way ahead. And then you get a reward for your climb as the road stretches away for about two and a half miles in a continuous, smooth, straight descent. And then you see the second of your eagles, obviously. I feel this is the right way to ride this road. Try it the other way if you like; but the descent looked like a drag going the other way. Just saying.

Like so much of this trip so far, the whole of today was new for me. I have been to Mull, years ago, but not this part. It is exceptional, far exceeding what I expected. And – to be fair – I expected it to be good. Just don’t plan on too many pub stops!