We wake at 6:30 and leave at 7:15 including packing the tent and our car. We’re one of the first to arrive at the ferry, well in time for 8:45. We eat breakfast while we wait to enter the ferry and sail back to the mainland.
We treat ourselves to a hot tea and explore the decks and the ship. There is a nice rainbow the moment we cross the castle and country house on Mull.
Our first stop is the supermarket as all food is finished after three days. Restocked with bread, peanut butter, hummus and fruit, we visit Dunstaffnage Castle and Chapel. The small, partially ruined, castle is set on a prominent headland and was built in the early 1200’s on top of a huge outcrop of rock. It’s one of Scotland’s oldest stone castles built by the MacDougall lords of Lorn.
There are various floor levels to explore, as well as wall top walkway with nice sea views, some grounds within the walls and a 15th century house.
In the woods lie the ruins of Catherine’s Chapel, an atmoshperic site.
We also visit the next door Ocean visitor center, where Cleo is stuck to the microscope for 10 full minutes. Zeno prefers crawling through an “ice” tunnel with a blacklight to discover sea creatures.
We spend the afternoon in the car for a three hours drive to the Isle of Skye. A special visit after 7 years.
On the way, we take short hiking/drone stops. We pass Fort Williams and several lochs. The heather is blooming and sun and clouds take turns. We even get some rain later in the afternoon.
The highlands are green and stunning. We enjoy the views and don’t even mind driving behind slow caravans as it enables us to enjoy the views even more. The mountains get mighty when we enter Skye, making cows, trees and cars seem tiny. We don’t dare to take too long stops, however, as we did not book any camp site and won’t arrive before 16.
The worries are valid as the first camp site is fully booked, the second one has awful reviews and the third one is also full. We call to our fourth option and we’re welcome there. It’s a funny coincidence as it’s the site where we stayed seven years ago too.
Zeno falls in the river when Tim pitches the tent and Olga was checking the neighboorhood. It’a a tiny stream on our campsite, but enough to make the poor boy wet and cold. So also today he gets a hot shower and we pay for another drier cycle to dry his only cardigan. Luckily there is a drier on the campsite.
It starts to rain as Olga cooks diner, Tim puts up our awning to give some shelter from the drizzle. At least we don’t have to apply sunscreen every hour. We have booked a caravan for a midweek starting on Monday, so four more nights in the tent before we have central heating again.
