III
AMONG THE SOUTHERN HEBRIDES
F the denizens of Lamlash were looking forward to obtaining a good view of the ‘Dunottar Castle’ next day (Sunday), they must have been grievously disappointed, for we made an early start, and were out of the bay before the majority of them were out of their beds. By seven o’clock, we had rounded the Mull of Cantire, and were beginning to feel the swell of the Atlantic. The morning was clear and crisp, and both sea and sky seemed joyous in the sunshine. Nearly every one was on deck for an hour before breakfast, and the sharp air was most exhilarating.
Scarba and the Isles—from Mull.
Loch Buy Head—from Carsaig, Mull.
The Irish coast remained in sight for several hours; but still more attractive was the view of the west coast of Cantire. Machrihanish Bay awakened pleasant memories in the golfers on board. They had been there, and still would go; and very tempting the bay looked with its gleaming sands and sparkling wavelets. Our course now lay through the Sound of Islay, which runs between that island and its sister Jura. Long before we reached the Sound, we were once more in quiet water under the lee of Islay, and with the well-marked Paps of Jura right ahead. In the Sound, the sea was absolutely still, and there we had morning service, reverently conducted by Captain Webster, Sir Donald Currie reading the lessons. Shortly afterwards we met, by appointment, our host’s large steam yacht, the ‘Iolanthe,’ which attended us during the remainder of our cruise, and added greatly to our enjoyment by taking us into narrow and shallow lochs and sounds into which the great ship could not have ventured. Mr. James Currie, of Leith, with his family, was on board, and did all in his power to render our voyage an agreeable one. The interest of the sail increased as we passed northward between Jura and Colonsay. The weather was superb. The Sabbath calm seemed to have settled down on hill and sea. It was a day for lounging on deck, and for gazing at the summer sky, or on the Islands of the Blest which surrounded us.
Outside of Kerrera—Ben Cruachan in the distance.
We were prepared for a toss at the Strait of Corrievreckan; but though the boiling of the tide was perceptible to the eye, it was unappreciable by any other sense, at least to those in the massive ‘Dunottar Castle.’ As we crossed the Firth of Lorne, the mountains of Argyllshire came into full view, Ben Cruachan and Ben More of Mull being specially conspicuous. Off Scarba, we made a wide detour westward in the direction of the Ross of Mull, so that we might see its cliffs and caves and the shores of dark Loch Buy.
Toward evening, we reached our anchorage at the northern point of Kerrera, but outside of Oban Bay, which is crowded at this season with yachts and other small craft. We were opposite to David Hutchison’s monument, set up near the scene of his labours, to remind travellers of the great things which he did for them, and for Scotland, in opening up the Western Highlands to swift steamer traffic. We had also a distant view of Dunolly Castle, the ancestral home of the Macdougalls. Evening service was conducted by Sir Arthur Blackwood, Secretary of the General Post-Office, London; and the earnestness and freshness of his address were highly appreciated.
The ‘Iolanthe’ off Oban—Rainy Weather.
The weather changed in the night, and we awoke to find ourselves enveloped in mist and in drizzling rain. A projected trip up Loch Linnhe to Ballachulish was consequently abandoned; and we spent the whole day at our anchorage, awaiting the arrival of expected guests at Oban, who were brought off in the ‘Iolanthe,’ and thence in the steam launch. Those of us who were so inclined had thus an opportunity of seeing the capital of the Western Highlands, though not under the most favourable conditions; of visiting its attractive shops, and of admiring, though at a safe distance, its numerous or innumerable hotels. When it rains on this coast it does so with a vengeance. In fine weather Oban is one of the most beautiful places in Scotland; on a wet day it is one of the most disagreeable under heaven.
