The Wild South East
Posted: Monday, 10 December 2007 |
There had been a bit of talk at the last geology class evening about the wild and remote south east corner of Mull. This is the bit that is almost an island becasue of the string of Lochs Spelve, Usig and Buie! Check it on the map and you'll see what I mean. I hadnt done a lot of exploring but needd a good day to check out some geology for a possible research project. I have been waiting for months for the right opportunity - Monday looked like a good day - the forecast was good, certainly in the morning so I decided to have a look.
I parked at the head of Loch Uisg and walked round to the south shore of the loch - there is a "path" cuts over from this point. The views of the surrounding hills were great:
Beinn nan Gobhar:
Ben Buie:
Creach Bheinn:
The path over to the shore on the other side was a sorry saga of mud, tussocks, bracken and well, you know what I mean. Heavy going, really heavy going. Worth it though. Here is Port a Ghlinne and a foamy sea:
And a close up of the foaminess:
Complete solitude here. Absolutely no sign of anyone. I had a quick look at the rocks and then after lunch it was time to head back over - just a quick sprint of a trip this!
Some old ruins:
And a view to the south , looking into the sun:
I managed to find a "path" with a lot less bog and tussocks for the trip back over to Loch Uisg. Still soggy and heavy going however.
Some more pics of the hills:
There is a bit of a "bealach" here where the glen descends to Loch Uisg - here's Ben Buie peeping through with a bit of snow on top:
And here's Creach Bheinn again:
So that was that - curiosity satisfied, but I would definitely want to spend a lot more time exploring - didnt really have an awful lot of time today but the weather was too good to miss. Well worth it!
See you all soon
JW (MM)
I parked at the head of Loch Uisg and walked round to the south shore of the loch - there is a "path" cuts over from this point. The views of the surrounding hills were great:
Beinn nan Gobhar:
Ben Buie:
Creach Bheinn:
The path over to the shore on the other side was a sorry saga of mud, tussocks, bracken and well, you know what I mean. Heavy going, really heavy going. Worth it though. Here is Port a Ghlinne and a foamy sea:
And a close up of the foaminess:
Complete solitude here. Absolutely no sign of anyone. I had a quick look at the rocks and then after lunch it was time to head back over - just a quick sprint of a trip this!
Some old ruins:
And a view to the south , looking into the sun:
I managed to find a "path" with a lot less bog and tussocks for the trip back over to Loch Uisg. Still soggy and heavy going however.
Some more pics of the hills:
There is a bit of a "bealach" here where the glen descends to Loch Uisg - here's Ben Buie peeping through with a bit of snow on top:
And here's Creach Bheinn again:
So that was that - curiosity satisfied, but I would definitely want to spend a lot more time exploring - didnt really have an awful lot of time today but the weather was too good to miss. Well worth it!
See you all soon
JW (MM)
Comments
Brilliant. It looks jolly cold, though, you can almost feel it.
Jill from EK
Wow. Can't believe these photos are taken on the 10 December on Mull!
Kamala from Australia
Hi MM - I've always been curious about that part of the Island - not familiar with that area too - glad you took advantage of the weather on Monday - it was a fabulous day and crisp too! great photos - will wait for some better weather and check it out!
Wild Freckle from Damp Mull
Hello WF! Yes, the weather was very good - the forecast said that there would be a ridge of high pressure and sunny most of the day. Got it right! I have explored that area before - it must be the most inaccesible part of Mull - I spoke to a few people about it who have explored it a bit more and they all agree how difficult some of the terrain is. The Great Glen Fault runs through Lochs Spelve, Uisge and Buie, so it means that that part of Mull is technically part of the "central highlands" whereas the rest is in the same geological area as the "northern highlands". Need to explore it more!
MM from Tobermory
The smoke signal over Ben Buie is interesting...I hope the natives are friendly...
Flying Cat from in fine feather
MM, Hamish Haswell-Smithh writes ih his "The Scottish Islands" that "Betweeen the masses of basalt ... has given Mull well-drained and fertile soil. Would this apply all over the island or mainly in the N. part? (or not at all, of course!)
Barney from Swithiod Mulling it over
Barney, most of Mull is basalt of one type or another - if you look at a geological map, the basalt gets represented by a pink colour - and theres a lot of it, esp in N Mull. The south west is a bit more varied. Not sure how really fertile it is, mind you a lt of bracken has taken over where once there would have been fields. Certainly, active volcanos tend to have good fertile soils on the slopes. Kinda dangerous, though.....
MM from Tob
MM, c'm awn, no active volcanoes on Mull since ... when?
Barney from Swithiod stable since the Cambrian/2
The smoke you see over Ben Buie is not transmitting any message, save that someone may have been smoking a poorly designed corn cob pipe. I live in NM, Land of Enchantment and Smoke Signals, and should know.
mjc from NM,USA
Exploring the hills and coasts of Mull and Iona and occasionally elsewhere, with a close eye on the geology
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