The Choreography of Travel

Today was another big travel day: Iona to Edinburgh.

All up it took 9 hours and 5 minutes. I didn’t take any photos worth sharing but I did film a few videos.

Again we used 4 forms of transport:

  • Car – Adoran House to ferry at Baile Mòr
  • Ferry - to Fionnphort (Mull)
  • Bus - to Craignure (see videos)
  • Ferry - to Oban (Scottish mainland)
  • Train - to Glasgow
  • Train - to Edinburgh
  • Taxi - to Katharine’s flat in Murrayfield

Kayaks on the Sound of Iona

Filmed at 9:48 am

As we were loading the car with our luggage this intrepid band of paddlers hove into view. Friendly too: a couple waved when they saw me.

Disembarking the Ferry

We had to wait for our turn to embark.

Some enthusiasts arrive by bike to spend the day cycling around the island.

And it’s nice to see people bringing their dogs for a day on Iona.

Driving Choreography

All in a day’s work for a Mull bus driver.

I admire the bus drivers on Mull. They have to negotiate one-lane roads with only periodic ‘passing places’ to allow vehicles to get past each other. There are also a few narrow stone bridges to deal with. None of the buses I saw had obvious scratch marks.

For added difficulty levels there are also cyclists and sheep. We passed quite a few cyclists and from what I saw the sheep have a better idea of what to do.

Threading the needle.

The driver has to go wide to position the bus to get over the bridge in one piece.

It’s even more fun when a car is also coming the other way.

Nicely done!

An oncoming car, a narrow stone bridge and a bus to wriggle past.

When I saw the oncoming bus waiting (ominously) at the top of the hill on the skyline I thought of the movie Duel by Stephen Spielberg.

Driving through Central Mull

Stunning scenery.

A bit like Iceland but with green grass.

The bus seemed to be going pretty fast. I trusted that the driver knew what he was doing.

Stay tuned for more adventures on our European Odyssey!