Yet again we awoke to a gorgeous morning. Around the ship clear blue skies and mirror calm waters and off to the east, a bank of low cloud. Those who work or live in these parts often mention how unusual this weather window is.
For the first part of the morning, there was a choice of activities: an early walk to the lighthouse, a photo walk around Tobermory, or a saunter about this scenic little town and its surroundings.
The walk to the lighthouse started through a shaded wood with many ground plants in bloom and periodic glimpses of the sea. The low clouds hung over the water in the distance and gave a ghostly appearance to the hills on the mainland. The foghorn made its deep mournful sound at regular intervals, warning all nearby ships to be careful. The lighthouse was resplendent in the morning light and off in the distance a yacht sailed by.
No matter what option we had chosen the meeting point was to be 10.15 outside the distillery for the guided tours. And what wonderful tours we enjoyed around this very old whisky distillery, with its brand-new stainless-steel masher, traditional wooden vats, where the yeast does its work to produce alcohol, and then to the beautiful copper stills. We then proceeded to taste a 12-year-old unpeated whisky and then on to an 18-year-old lightly peated whisky. The lovely little shop became a crowded affair as we all piled in to make our respective purchases. Another very popular place in this town was the bakery, where we tasted the delicious fluffy doughnuts filled to the brim with a choice of fillings.
The Lord of the Glens then set sail for the Isle of Eigg. Along the way we spotted many Manx shearwaters, a harbor porpoise, and later, some common dolphins. On Eigg we all enjoyed a good leg stretch through the woods and out onto bracken-covered open fields. Two common buzzards hovered slowly over the area, searching for unsuspecting prey.
We then set sail for our final destination for the day, Knoydart. This is a small coastal community that can only be accessed by sea or a very long walk over the hills. The crossing was lively, as we were sailing through open waters. The isle of Skye and the spectacular Cuillin Ridge could be easily seen off on out portside.
Dinner was a very special affair today as two of our shipmates celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, complete with champagne, a huge cake, a new proposal accompanied by a spectacular engagement ring!
After dinner we enjoyed a talk given by Jackie Robertson, where we learned a lot more about this very particular community. This was followed by an evening walk ashore and then a stop at a little wooden shack to share a dram of malt whisky. The reason for partaking of an evening beverage in a shaky wooden shack was because the soon-to-be inaugurated pub, The Old Forge, has not yet completed its refurbishment. The conversation was animated—after all we had enjoyed another wonderful day in bonnie Scotland.
