This was to be an Expedition cruise. This means we usually had to dress in wet gear, put on special life vests, step into rubber zodiacs, and climb onto shore. A little more daring and close-up than a standard cruise.
As it was an Expedition cruise, the stops are "suggested". We were going to more remote, less frequently visited locations that do not have proper docking facilities so if the weather didn't cooperate, we didn't go.
Each day the Expedition leader, Lea, would have an half hour to hour briefing session, reviewing what we had seen that day and sharing with us what to expect the following day. She was very clear in sharing expectations and we really enjoyed her insights. Also, a couple of the Expedition team members usually would came up on stage each evening to share their expertise, such as on geography, weather, wild life and the like. They did a fantastic job of making it easy to understand for us non-scientists, and even one time demonstrated wind speed by throwing water all over one of their fellow expedition members.
Our first day was no exception with a visit to a remote location, the Isle of Mull--- in the rain.
Duart Castle is a castle on the Isle of Mull, beside the Sound of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. The castle dates back to the 13th century and is the seat of Clan MacLean.
The MacLean's lost the castle over time but bought it back and restored it in 1911.
The Isle of Mull is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye). It has a population of about 3000 people.
As I wrote above, we anchored offshore and took our Zodiacs to shore. Boy did we get wet, even with our rain gear, and the islands felt so remote and desolate.
The position of Duart was well chosen, it is sited on a high crag at the end of a peninsula jutting into the Sound of Mull. It commands the channel between Mull and the mainland, entrances to Lochs Linne and Etive and the neck of the Firth of Lorne as it meets the Sound of Mull.
This is particularly important as it looked out and controlled an important shipping channel.
The Keep was built by Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean and on the vulnerable landward side is 29 feet high and 10 feet thick. The walls facing the sea are less thick ranging from 5 to 9 feet.
As we toured the inside we felt badly that water was literally dripping from our noses onto the carpets.
The views were beautiful but we imagined how lonely and sad it would have felt to live here in the time the castle was originally built in the 14th century.
It was fun to see the interior of the classically styled castle. Its so classic that the castle has been featured in film and TV in the following titles:
- Entrapment (1999) – starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones
- When Eight Bells Toll (1971) – Starring Anthony Hopkins
- I Know Where I’m Going (1945) – starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey
After we returned to the ship we treated ourselves to a well deserved hot tea at the end to warm up a bit.