Spread out like a spider’s web, the Cal Mac routes provide a vital lifeline for the people living on the islands which spread all long Scotland’s rugged west coast. In addition they carry thousands of visitors every year. Such is the variety of the routes that the crossing times vary from five minutes to five hours.
Stepping Aboard
Stepping aboard one of the ferries is always an invigorating experience, thanks to the magnificent scenery and often rapidly-changing weather. In high summer the ships on the main routes are likely to be crowded with vehicles and people; at quieter times on a minor route, you could be the only passenger aboard.
My most recent trip aboard a Cal Mac ferry was part of a journey from London to go on a walking holiday on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula. The most westerly part of the British mainland, it is just north of the island of Mull.
Travelling to it via Mull involved two ferry crossing but shortened the drive and provided welcome breaks from sitting in my car.
From Oban to Mull
First I boarded Cal Mac’s ‘Isle of Mull’ at the busy port and resort of Oban. It took me to Craigmure on Mull, a 45-minute crossing which is one of the company’s busiest routes. The sun was shining and fast-moving banks of white clouds helped set off the magnificent scenery all around. Indeed most passengers remained on deck, though the ship had a small shop, café (The Mariners) and a bar selling a good selection of whiskies.
Dark brooding hills, a mixture of fields, forests and wild moorland, rise behind the solid stone houses and hotels along Oban’s mile-long waterfront. Looking across to them, the words of famous Scottish ballads soon come to mind like "Westering home with a song in the air".
Colourful Tobermory
Landing on Mull at the small village of Craigmure, a 21-mile drive north took me to the island’s colourful little capital, the port of Tobermory. For much of the way the road is only single-track but passing places are clearly marked by signs on poles every 150 yards or so.
Tobermory’s seafront is lined with colourful buildings, immortalised as the setting for the BBC children’s television series "Balamorey". On the quay, the former ferry waiting room now houses a small but top-class fish restaurant, Café Fish.
Kilchoan on Ardnamurchan
From Tobermory, a smaller Cal Mac ferry, ‘Loch Linnie’, crosses to the village of Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Taking 35 minutes, it passes an isolated lighthouse near the start and ends at a lonely slipway by the ruined 13th-century castle of Mingary.
The Ardamurchan peninsula is a rugged remote area with brooding hills, rich in tweed-like colours, few roads and, apart from Kilchoan village, few houses. Indeed it has many more sheep than people and you also see magnificent horned Highland cattle, flocks of deer and a profusion of bird life. Tiny wild flowers carpet the rugged moorland.
Hopscotch and Rover Tickets
For those who want to visit a number of the islands, Cal Mac offers Hopscotch tickets (named after the traditional children’s hopping game) which allow you to spend a month doing a particular itinerary, though you can only sail once on each section.
There are also three distillery tours covered by Whisky Hopscotch tickets or you can buy Island Rover tickets which last 8 or 15 days.
'Explore' Brochure
For any visit to the west coast islands of Scotland, Cal Mac’s glossy "Explore" brochure provides a mass of information about its ferry services and also the accommodation and tourist sights on the islands. It is available free from Caledonian MacBrayne, Ferry Terminal, Gourock, Scotland PA19 1QP; tel: 0800 066 5000 (UK) or 0044 1475 650100; e-mail: enquiries@calmac.co.uk.
Gillian Thomas - Having left the BBC's Paris news office to return to England and get married over 20 years ago, I have freelanced as a journalist ever ...
