Northumberland road trip
by SV Taipan 3 Jun 2018 16:50 UTC
Departing the Caledonian Canal © SV Taipan
Departing the Caledonian Canal in early May we sailed 19nm south, down beautiful Lock Linnhe past Corran Point Narrows and Light to Dallens Bay behind Shuna Island, dropping anchor in 6m on mud on a spectacular Scottish afternoon.
In company with Sentijn we set off to do a circuit of the island Castle Stalker. Privately owned and not open to the public except at certain times during the summer, it sits on a tiny island in Loch Laich. With enough tide it is possible to motor around it in the dingy.
Next morning a 27nm trip south and west down the Sound of Mull to Tobermory. Tobermory is the main town on the Isl of Mull. Some provisioning was required and some internet!.
Moorings for the first night then a night at anchor before heading back down the Sound of Mull to Duart Castle where we anchored and went ashore to check out the 13th Century home of Maclean Clan. Bought back from a ruin in 1911 it is one of the last remaining privately owned Castles in Scotland and is the home of the Clan Chief himself. This restored castle is open to the public and during our visit the road was closed so we had the place pretty much to our selves.
After the Duart Castle visit we continued 7nm to Oban Marina where we picked up another mooring and packed to leave on a road trip to visit Andrew and Christine in Northumberland.
Normally a five hour trip we managed to spend over nine hours on the road but did divert to the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. Kelpies are huge Stainless Steel clad sculptures of horses heads. I watched them being built online some years ago and had resolved to try to see them. They are spectacular.
The Falkirk wheel is a form of boat lift. The revolving structure transports boats up or down at Falkirk to get vessels from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal. Its the only one of its kind in the world.
Northumberland provided numerous opportunities to spot Castles once again. The Bamburgh Castle was just down the road and Alnwick Castle 20 minutes drive inland. Both are magnificent but crawling with tourists so we enjoyed them from afar. Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island was also close by but its still covered in scaffolding so we passed.
A short drive north back into Scotland and on to the port town of Eyemouth where we found the sculptural monument dedicated to the memory of those lost on the 14th of October 1881.
The countryside is bursting with spring color and we spent the day meandering around the Scottish border towns and villages enjoying the scenery.
Hospitality at Frosts Static was exceptional as usual and we were sad to leave after almost a week. Time to head north again along the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and the Highlands, back to Taipan in Oban.
Ocean Cruising Club gathering is in just a few days at Craohb Haven.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of svtaipan.blogspot.com