Friday 9th May - Day 8
We could have happily stayed on at Fidden but we were also looking forward to our final stop so after granola for breakfast, we started to tidy up the van and then had a final walk round the other side of the site. As we were getting ready to leave another van spotted that we were about to move on from our prime spot so we reluctantly moved on from what was a pitch-up highlight.
The drive to Port nan Gael was good, although it soon became clear that not everyone understands how to use passing places! We arrived at the campsite at 1.30pm and pitched up on 32 which was very sloped, in fact, it was so sloped that even on the top section of the levellers we were still noticeably pitched forward.
We grabbed some provisions from the shop and then made some ham, cheese & tomato relish rolls for lunch.
We spent some time reading and relaxing and I took the opportunity to sit outside sheltering from the sun in the van shadow and also took a walk along the shore of the loch which was absolutely beautiful.
The Port nan Gael Inn opened at 4pm and l popped in and managed to get a table booked for dinner. We headed over early for a drink and then for starters I enjoyed Macaroni fritters and Kevin had a ham hock terrine with piccalilli and oat cakes, we each had gammon steak with grilled pineapple chips & slaw and for dessert I had a honeycomb brownie with raspberry sorbet and Kevin had a chocolate pyramid … it was all delicious.
We headed back to the van and had a seat outside for a while then we watched episodes of High Potential and Cheers and then retired for the night.
Saturday 10th May - Day 9
We had another good night’s sleep and before we started to get the van packed up to move on we got a few final supplies from the shop and then after a nice hot shower (slightly on the too hot side for me) we headed off back along the single-track road with a stop at Glenforsa Cafe & Farm shop for some breakfast.
Kevin had chilli Eggs and a latte and I had sourdough toast with poached eggs & black pudding and pot of tea - very nice indeed!
Kevin picked up a book (River Cottage Outdoor Cooking ) and as we still had plenty of time before we needed to head back to Craignure for the ferry we sat in the van and read for a while.
We got to Craignure but the ferry check-in wasn’t open yet so we headed round to just before the campsite to wait until we could see the lanes open (using the webcam) and headed back around and got into lane 3. Popped into Spar to get some snacks and then into the Isle of Mull chocolate shop to get sandwiches (egg mayo, brie & cranberry) a wee card for Melodie and 2 hand-picked boxes of chocolate (one for Ellen) - noticed what we were charged when back in the van & it was way too low so Kevin went back to shop to ensure we paid them the correct amount.
Vans were last onto the ferry but we got to drive quite far up into the middle of the boat. We ate our sandwiches, which were very tasty, sitting inside then put on our hats and headed out to sit and watch the journey back to Oban - very windy again, definitely needed the hats!
We were off the ferry quickly and headed home via the A84, rather than the A82 as the road gets quite tight around Loch Lomond. It was a beautiful drive but when we reached Loch Lubnaig there was a huge tailback due to an accident - when we got to the accident site it looked really bad with a car upside down. The road continued to be slow through Callander but then it was nice and easy the rest of the way.
Kevin ordered a Chinese when we got onto M74 and by the time we had parked up and emptied out the essentials from the van it was delivered and we settled down to enjoy!
Our week in Mull was fantastic and we will definitely be back some time.