Framedlight

  We have never booked a holiday a year in advance before so the anticipation leading up to our sea trip on yacht Zuza was immense. We had arrived in Oban the night before and at the appointed hour (2.00pm) we wheeled all our luggage, far too much with cameras, a laptop, walking boots and Alan's, new to him, yachting trousers and jacket recently purchased from eBay, down the jetty and onto the boat. The good ship Zuza is a Bermudan cutter rig ship built in 1998 as an expedition boat for the Royal Geographical Society. She is 22m long and weighs a  goodly 42 tonnes. When we were on her there were 3 crew and 8 guests who occupied two twin bunk cabins and two double en suite ones. I was too late to get a double cabin so we were in a twin. With a saloon and a covered wheel house she was perfect to take us all the way to St Kilda and then around some of the Hebrides. Bear with me while I introduce everyone. Neil was the Captain, Erin the First Mate, and Grosia the chef. Neil was ve...

After the wet day we had had previously, Sunday morning was cloudy but dry. We took the first ferry from Tobermory on the short crossing to Kilchoan the 'capital' of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. The clouds were still enveloping the sky and made for some dramatic pictures. On reaching Kilchoan we booked into the Ardnamurchan Campsite, run by Trevor Potts, the first man to single handedly follow Shackleton's heroic rescue journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia in a replica 22ft open rowing boat. He still travels and lectures on the cruise boats going down to the Antarctic. The campsite has a lovely communal room packed with books on local flora and fauna as well as more southerly tomes. There is limited room for small camper vans but plenty of space for tents and the site runs right down to the water's edge with views across to Mull. We thought we would visit the Ardnamurchan Point lighthouse which figures in the 'shipping forecast' as it ...

Overnight it had rained torrentially, and there is nothing like the beating of the rain on a metal roof to keep you awake. So feeling slightly groggy, I went down to the beach the next morning with my camera shrouded in a Tesco bag to look at the view. And it was dramatic, even apocalyptic. I was eventually driven back inside by the rain and we drove off east towards Tobermory. We passed through the village of Dervaig and stopped by the Loch an Torr, a manmade lake. The rain had stopped now and the water glistened on the side of a rocky crag. We made coffee in the small car park and decided to return to Dervaig as it seemed worthy of a visit, back across the fairly exciting steep and bendy road. Dervaig is supposed to be the 'prettiest village in the Hebrides' and indeed the main street is fringed by old cottages built around 1800. We did a little shopping in the local store and watched from the car as the local dairyman unloaded his crates from the back o...