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

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So, after three editions of my guide to walking on Skye, it was time to turn my attention to Mull and its islands. And what a joy it has been. Like Skye, Mull has the full range of walking country. There is clearly less of the craggy stuff that you get in the Cuillin but anyone who loves walking on islands, where the sea is always somewhere in view, will enjoy what Mull has to offer, and be surprised by the diversity and richness of this magnificent landscape.

For the walker, whatever his or her fitness, Mull is a great walking destination, offering easy routes to draw you in and then, on longer but no less enjoyable walks, putting you in your place as you struggle with some of its difficulties. Here you can enjoy long and lonely days among the hills or wandering the coastline, often on splendid raised beaches. Or simply potter along shorter walks, or amble through forests, enjoying the natural history for which Mull is renowned.

This book was written while staying at a former shepherd’s cottage in Glen Forsa, with Highland cattle frequently grazing at the gate or scratching their heads on the gate posts, red deer passing by the door, hen harriers out for lunch, and, far from city lights, night-time views of the Milky Way as clear as could be. Yesterday the light up the glen was amazing, and the walk to its head below Beinn Talaidh quite superb. Today it’s all I can do to see the chaffinches feeding on the nuts on the garden. These extremes are what I find so fascinating about Mull. You get them almost anywhere in Britain, but there is something soothing about Mull, something that makes you want to be out, in the heart of Mull, getting beneath its skin…it’s not unusual to see people of all ages standing by the roadside just looking, mesmerised, as if they have never seen a landscape quite this one.