Scotland - Day 2 and 3

Day 2
On day two we visited Tobermory (the Balamory of children’s TV fame). But the highlight of the day was an eco-cruise. With a great boat to ride on and friendly experts on hand to answer our questions, it was a great experience!


We saw seals, porpoises, rare seabirds and an awe-inspiring basking shark. The shark was 10 metres long and we were close enough to see its great mouth slicing through the water. These sharks eat plankton and are no danger to people – much to the disappointment of the children!

Day 3
While Kevin walked from the campsite over the hill to the loch in the next valley for fishing, we scaled the hills behind our campsite to get a better view of the wildlife.

After a hard walk up the boggy steep slopes, and wading through small streams, we were rewarded with a “Sound of Music” style landscape of green plateaux carpeted with wild flowers and surrounded by tall trees and bracken-covered slopes. The view of wooded mountains and the river with its many waterfalls, against a backdrop of hazy mountains was wonderful. Sea eagles and buzzards soared, and even a sudden short and fierce downpour did nothing to dampen our spirits.

In the afternoon we walked over to the other side of the valley to view the standing stones, crossing the river, passing deserted farmsteads. The track was much dryer, making walking easier. We could see a sea eagle perching (close to the sheep and absolutely dwarfing them), then soaring high into the sky over our heads so that we could see its vast magnificent wingspan.

In the evening, we made a trip to Salen Bay, where we parked near the shipwrecks to watch the seals. They were playing in the water close to shore and basking on the tiny rock islands a few metres off shore. Unfortunately, with a noisy four-year-old in tow, we could not get as close as we would like; nevertheless it was a fabulous sight.