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Wully Davidson: Bus Pass Rambles – The Road To Iona

Back to Mull

Road Signs

I’ve been to the isle of Mull twice, since starting the ramblings in 2019, both times to visit Tobermory. This time, I’d be returning to do a 36 mile trip to Fionnphort, on the extreme southwest of the island, at the end of a long peninsula, called the ‘Ross of Mull’. Fionnphort isn’t a village – it’s the ferry terminal for vistors to Iona, which lies a mile across the sea. It’s also the landing station for seafood, such as lobsters, almost all of which is exported to France. And, there are twice daily excursions from both Fionnphort and Iona to Fingal’s cave, on the island of Staffa.

Road to Oban – Cloudy Hill

Mull Ferry at Oban

Bookings no shows

It was yet another day of leaden skies, but if I’m going to wait for the sun to come out, I could be waiting for some time. It is the school holidays, after all. I got to the booking office at Buchanan bus station shortly after it opened at 0800 and asked to book a ticket for the 0830 bus to Oban, only to be told that it was fully booked. I joined the queue, anyway, along with about eight other passengers who hadn’t booked. We stood to one side as the driver got all the booked passengers on board, then he waved us on board. Despite being ‘fully booked’, the bus was half empty. About half the passengers who had booked hadn’t bothered to show up. It’s hard to know what to make of that.

Bus to Fionnphort

Craignure Harbour

Anyways, the bus took the usual three hours and a few minutes to arrive at Oban, and I bought a return ferry ticket to Craignure, which cost £8.50. The ferry left Oban at 1215 and arrived at Craignure at 1305. The bus to Fionnphort departed from the ferry terminal at 1330 and would take an hour and a quarter to make the journey. It was a pleasant enough trip on the single track road, which was only completed in the 80s, but would have been better in brighter weather. What struck me most was the amount of deciduous woodland, much of it new growth, with young trees. I see this a lot travelling around Scotland. It’s as if the country is ‘rewilding’ itself back to the primeval forest landscape that would have existed shortly after the Ice Age. But, I also saw the dreaded invasive rhododendrons, although they didn’t appear to be nearly as rampant as in other parts of Scotland. So, maybe an eradication program could be effective on Mull.

Dunollie Castle

Road to Oban – Cloudy Hill

Iona

Iona

Welcome to Fionnphort

There were only a couple of small villages on the road, Pennyghael and Bunesson, and the bus arrived in Fionnphort at 1445. I’d have just 35 minutes before the bus left again for Craignure. Iona is a major tourist attraction in Scotland, catering for some 130,000 visitors annually. It’s known as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity in Scotland. St Columba came to Iona in 563 to establish an abbey, and Iona abbey is the main attraction. It is one of the oldest Christian religious centres in western Europe. About 125 people live on the island.

Fingal’s Rock

Split rock Fionnphort Beach

An interesting feature on the beach at Fionnphort is a massive granite boulder deposited by glaciers during the Ice Age. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘Fingal’s rock’. It was split by local quarrymen, who intended to make use of the stone. But, they were stopped by the Duke of Argyll, who recognised it as an important geological item.

Tourists

Iona Ferry

The fact that there were about eight coaches parked is an indication of how many tourists visit Iona. The ferry from Iona returned to Fionnphort shortly before the bus back to Craignure was due to depart. As I was taking a photo of the ferry, I didn’t notice the queue that was building up at the bus, so i got a little panicky when I realised that there were so many people waiting to board.

Coaches at Fionnphort

You’re not allowed to stand on buses, these days, so when all the seats are taken, you’ve missed the bus, and better be prepared for an overnight stay, because there would be no way to get the last bus or train from Oban to Glasgow, if you didn’t get the 1705 ferry back to Oban. I managed to get a seat, but it looked as if the bus was full, and some intending passengers may not have got on. So, if anyone is intending doing the trip, main advice is to get your seat on the bus before the Iona ferry passengers get back.

Hooded Crow on Ferry

Wully Davidson, Wednesday 17 July, 2024

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