Читать книгу The Isle of Mull. Mull, Ulva, Gometra, Iona and Erraid онлайн

46 страница из 48

Ardmore Bay

WALK 1.3

Ardmore

Start Ardmore forest car park (NM 485 558) Distance 12km (7½ miles) Ascent 415m (1360ft) Terrain Forest trails; some narrow woodland paths; short stretch of coastal path Map OS Explorer 374 Isle of Mull North and Tobermory

Ardmore is the name of a lost village, buried beneath trees during afforestation in the 20th century. Nearby Penalbanach suffered the same fate, but now that the forest is being cleared, fern-clad, roofless dwellings are re-appearing to remind modern visitors that people once lived here. The plantation that remains is predominantly Sitka spruce and Japanese larch, but large swathes of it have been felled so that the whole walk is nothing like so enclosed or gloomy as might be expected. The walk concludes with a long stretch on a minor road, but one that passes through a pleasing landscape. Almost all of the route is potentially shared with cyclists.

The easiest of starts sets off from the forest car park, heading along a broad trail with mature trees on the left and an open, hillocky prospect on the right decorated with ling and bell heather. After about 800m, the track begins to descend gently, and ahead you can pick out the profile of Ben Hiant on the Ardnamurchan peninsula.