I really thought I had already written a post about Coll, from our first visit there eight years ago, but it seems not. But we were lured back there earlier this year, as we knew we would be, sooner or later, so here’s a few random shots from both this visit and the first one.
I love travelling to an island on a ferry. It is comparatively slow travel and you get a real sense of the distance travelled and the mood of the world you pass through. It takes two hours forty minutes to reach Coll from Oban; not a huge amount of time, but time enough to realise you’re no longer on the mainland.
Arinagour is not the largest capital city in the world. Although it is the main settlement on Coll, it only has a population of around 50. Although the entire population of Coll is only between 150 and 220 permanent residents, depending on which source you consult.
About halfway along the coast on the northern side of the island, there is a bay called Bagh an Trailleich. On our first visit, we walked there hoping to see some seals, but were disappointed. This time, there were about fifty seals on this small island in the bay
Our cottage was five minutes or so walk from the ferry, and having left our bags there we walked the short way to the island community centre, where we knew there would be a Saturday market and we intended to buy a few treats (homemade cakes, jam, and the like) for the week. While we were there, we saw a flyer for a gig by Daimh (pronounced ‘dive’) on the Wednesday evening. All we learned from this flyer was that they are a Scottish folk group and we thought that sounded like a good evening. On the Wednesday evening, we learned they are frequently described as a ‘Scottish Super-group’, and quickly discovered why. It was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. If you fancy a taste of what they do, I recommend this: Daimh live at Celtic Connections
There is just one stretch of dual-carriageway on the island, a length of less than fifty metres, and it’s very difficult to understand why it’s there. There are three main roads on the island, all ‘B’ roads, and this stretch is along the one leading to the hamlet of Sorisdale. As you can see, it’s not the busiest road in the UK, but it may be the shortest stretch of dual carriageway.
Someone is bound to know.
Sorisdale is a former crofting and fishing village at the north east end of the island. There are a couple of modern houses there, but also a number of old cottages with turf or thatched roofs, in various states of repair or disrepair.
And because it’s Scotland, here’s yer Highland coo. Yer’ve met him before.
Mick Canning 
Looks like a wonderful place to visit and a great setting to hear Scottish music.
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It definitely was, Robert. A wonderful week.
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That coo is quite a character!
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Very much so.
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The music’s wonderful, and that looping road is, too. Every sort of fanciful explanation probably doesn’t get close to the truth, but I rather like, “Well, we’ve got this bit of leftover road material, and we need to do something with it…”
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That maybe the answer! I can hear them now…’Hey, we could have a bit of dual carriageway! I bet the other islands haven’t got one of them!’
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Hi Mick, this really does sound like a great time in Scotland. We enjoyed our trip in 2019, but we didn’t get to see a Scottish super concert.
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It’s a great place, Robbie. And the concert was superb!
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Looks like a perfect getaway to me!
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It was!
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I have been to Oban in my youth, but I am not good on boats, (seasick) so avoided the islands.
Many thanks for following my blog, Mick.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Sounds quite pleasant. Some sea air, some old-time character, and a good concert to boot. Hopefully, the Scottish rain only had an amber hue, with a nice nose to it.
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It was great, Dave. And some of that Scottish rain came in the form of a very acceptable porter.
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I would love to go there, Mick. Just to step out of time for a little while. I have the music playing in the background as I type this comment. Beautiful.
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It is a lovely place, Diana, and the music is superb. Thank you.
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I shared it with my husband last night. We hope to travel to the UK in a couple of years, and these are the types of places that pull us there.
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It’ll certainly be worth the time.
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That sounds like a lovely weekend. Enjoyed listening to the music. Thank you for sharing,Mick.
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