Hogmanay on Mull.

I have just returned from an excellent trip to the UK where I spent a few days over the Christmas period in Southern England and then the New Year in Scotland, with the weather causing all kinds of problems for the locals. Hogmanay was of partciular interest as I was with my partner Jane on the glorious island of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. We were staying at her sister and husband's hotel, which is situated in the hamlet of Dervaig with a population of 300 people. The establishment is the Bellachroy Hotel and it is simply gorgeous providing fantastic accommodation and superb food - I was treated to my first ever portions of fresh Oysters, Scallops and Venison!. Despite the continued revellry of Scotland's New Year celebrations, which are of course legendary, we did manage a day out visit some of the classic locations within easy reach of the hotel. We visited the island's main town - Tobermory, now made famous by the children's TV programme Ballamory and as they rightly ask "what's the story". The houses are all colours as are the pubs, but it fits in with this quaint 'old world' fishing town where a local friendly Otter shows itself along the sea front. We drove down the coast to just beyond Salen Bay where we found a good flock of Wigeon, Goldeneye, Red breasted Merganser, several Mute Swans, Oystercaters, Curlew and a Redshank amongst the seaweed. Nick and Deb then kindly took us to the other side of the island where we walked out to the lovely headland of Langamol, over the ice and snow which was (and still is) covering the whole area. It was cold but we braved the conditions the short walk produced a few Common Buzzards (actually they are everywhere), Ravens, Hooded Crows, Great Black backed, Common & Herring Gulls, a single Red throated Diver and a few Shags off-shore, Goldfinches and a Water Pipit. Back at the Landrover (essential today) we tucked into our homemade sandwiches and hot coffee, which was most welcome after the walk we had just been on. We continued south to Calgary Bay en-route seeing small flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare. Calgary must be absolutely glorious in the warmer months being a cove with a classic white sandy beach surrounded by short grass and deciduous trees. However today it was sheet ice making it more akin to a skating rink than a tourist hotspot but was comical as we literally had to get on all fours to negotiate certain areas. One memory was of Nick having to be rescued by Debbie with her scarf as he couldn't get off a particular section of the beach, which was completely frozen over. Back at the Landrover we tracked further south hugging the rocky coastline and encountering countless views of breathtaking scenery, until Jane said "what's those big birds there?". Nick stopped and I climbed out and checked the soaring pair, confirming their identity as adult Golden Eagles. So we got closer to them at Treshnish Point and watched as they flew around being mobbed by Ravens and a Kestrel. This was a fitting end to the short winter day as it was now getting very cold (-9 at night!) and the roads were again starting to freeze, so we made our way back to the hotel for a celebratory pint of the black stuff. Thank you very much to Nick & Deb for their generous hospitality and friendship, if anyone is planning a trip to this superb island I can heartily recommend the Ballachroy Hotel. You will not be disappointed.