When covid19 cancelled our 2020 safari we decided to do our own GB staycation safari instead! – I had long had a fascination with otters …. We’d been told the Isle of Mull was the place to see them, so we packed our bags and binoculars and headed north west. We spent much of our week on the shore of Loch Scridain watching a family (Mum + 2 cubs) up to otter antics – it was utterly captivating.
The chaps in their ghillie seaweed camouflage outfits looking like yeti got up close and captured some magnificent shots – they also got some sideways glances from the locals! … this camostyle must have been new to the islanders – never laughed so much in my life!
The weather held and we only experienced one midge attack. But we were prepared. They hate a particular lotion called SOFTLY!
We watched fish eagles souring, glimpsed dolphins, saw seals bobbing around, but it’s the scenery that blows your mind – huge vistas – so big, unspoilt and beautiful. So calming… I discovered a world of moss where, if there was ever a magical underworld – this is where it would have been.
We took a trip over to Iona. No wonder the Scottish Colourists Peploe and Cadell spent so much time painting here… the light and colours are just magical … truly breathtaking scenery. Throughout the island we spotted fantastical scarecrows –Skeletor on his bicycle pedaling at a hundred miles an hour wearing his red covid mask made us giggle – it seems there is a traditional scarecrow competition on Mull every year.
This place was like an antidote to the chaos that Covid had brought. We loved it so much it’ll be a regular trip
……No wonder my chosen charity this year is the wild Otter Trust – UKWOT
