Mull

A pair of abandoned old trawlers, Just North of Salen on the North of the Isle of Mull, shot in a morning with a nice overcast sky allowing another longer shutter, I'd passed these boats a good few times on the bus and always wanted to shoot them, having the car this time allowed for stopping anywhere, which inevitably I did. Two great old boats, I met a guy here who said he had been climbing inbetween them the previous day, somehow I didn't quite fancy that!

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Glen Cannel at the head of Loch Ba on the Isle of Mull at one time was a thriving community but 200 years on the ruins of Gortenbuie Croft lie empty and derelict now only to be ruled over by the Golden and White-tailed Sea Eagles who roam and govern this now haunted Glen.

Torosay Castle built in 1858 is a large house situated 1 ¹⁄₂ miles south of Craignure on the Isle of Mull, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.

Eas Fors is a waterfall on the island of Mull in Scotland. It is situated on the Allt an Eas Fors (Eas Fors Burn) south of Dervaig.

The name is tautologous: Eas is Gaelic for waterfall, and Fors or Foss is also Norse for waterfall, so "Eas Fors waterfall" means "waterfall, waterfall, waterfall."

The castle and gardens used to be open to the public, being linked to the Craignure ferry terminal by the Isle of Mull Railway.

The small upturned boat take away is located on the lovely “Calgary Bay” on the west coast of the Isle of Mull Scotland, and is part of “Calgary” a holiday complex offering holiday accommodation along with woodland walks, Cafe & Art Gallery and hosting wedding venues. Calgary Bay itself is a splendid place to visit with Golden Sands and a true get away feeling from it.

... wouldn’t be quite like this. I don’t want a place bigger than I can take care of by myself. It would take me a month just to cut the grass here! Fortunately, for all who visit, there are others who keep this place spiffy.

Joyce and I had been on the hunt for castles associated with her Scottish ancestry, though this is not one of them. This is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, as seen from the ferry. It dates back to the 13th century and is the seat of Clan MacLean. There’s quite a history to this place, much of it not so good for the MacLeans, but it is history nonetheless, and many can trace their ancestry to this place.

Many in the United Kingdom seem to have little or no interest in genealogy, though, with some in Scotland who have interest in seceding from the UK, you would think that they would have at least some passing interest in their ancestry as well. Many here in the states are truly mutts, with ties all over this world... that’s largely why they have such concern for their ancestry, as does Joyce. Joyce’s involvement in this has been interesting to me, and I have helped her with her work as a North Carolina convener of the House of Boyd, which is essentially a Scottish Clan. Distant voices draw me on too, though they are those of the Bible and of the Reformation, such as John Knox from here in Scotland... I’m concerned more for where I’m going than where I’ve been.

I grew up in a military family that moved around this country... a lot! We had no roots, and I didn’t really get to know others of my extended family until later in life. I was much a loner then, as I hated leaving friends behind between stations... genealogy just hasn’t been as important to me, because it was difficult to wrap my mind around such connections... and I’m still working on that, which is somewhat weird to me. I love people, I love the interaction with people, and I have a compassion for people, as I hate to see others hurt... and yet, deep down, I’m an introvert. Figure that out!

There’s a small town in Virginia named for some of Joyce’s distant kin, Boydton. She is always invited to Boydton Day, a celebration with a parade that attracts many descendants... it concludes with a service at the old church and a catered dinner at the historic Boyd Tavern. We attended a service along with Joyce’s mother that was only an homily given by an apparent agnostic, who ended her tirade with “And I am the great, great, great, (etc) grandniece of Robert Boyd (one of the forebears of the Boyd family) and the great, great, (etc) grandniece of William Boyd (another forebearer), and it is well documented!” As that "sermon" took us to no edifying solution, my first thought was “Whoop-de-doo!” My second thought wasn’t much better.

Back at the Boyd Tavern, I noticed many had oversized permanent name tags that also gave their supposed association with the Boyd ancestors. It was written as "GGGGGG Grandson of so-and-so", followed by another line, and often another. This included the woman who gave the presentation at the service. So, I found the largest stick-on name label I could find, put as many Gs as I could fit on it, followed by ... "grandnephew, once removed, of Thag Boyd, famous Scottish caveman... and it is well documented!" Everyone was amused... with the exception of the pretentious presenter, which left me with only one conclusion: mission complete!

200 years ago the people of Glen Cannel were hounded from their homes to be replaced by sheep in what was known as part of the Highland Clearances. Progress. I doubt it!!

The Cal-Mac ferry "Isle of Mull" approaching Duart Castle en route to Craignure terminal. To the right of the picture stands "Lady's Rock light" where In 1527, Lachlan Maclean of Duart decided to murder his wife, Lady Catherine Campbell, a sister of Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll. He rowed out to the rock one night at low tide and left his wife stranded on the rock to die. Looking out the next day from Duart Castle he observed the rock was devoid of life, so he sent a message of condolence to the earl at Inveraray Castle, indicating that he intended to bring his wife's body there for burial. Maclean duly arrived at Inveraray with an entourage of men and the coffin. He was immediately taken to the dining hall of the castle for refreshment only to discover Lady Catherine waiting for him at the head of the table. She had been rescued during the night by boat from Tayvallich that had passed by the rock.