Inhabited west coast Scottish islands - Coll

The island of Coll is, in many ways (but not all), Tiree’s twin. It lies just a short distance to the north and east of Tiree and along the same compass bearing. In other words, if you draw a line, south west to northeast, from the middle of Tiree’s west coast to the north eastern tip of Coll, then that line will pretty much dissect both islands lengthwise. Coll is also roughly the same shape and size as Tiree with a similar acreage. Having said that, Coll is more of a torpedo shape, pointed at both ends (if, that is, you consider the small, uninhabited island of Gunna a part of Coll). Coll also boasts numerous sandy beaches. I read that it has even more sandy beaches than Tiree but if that is the case then it does not have as many huge sweeps of sand but more in the way of shorter beaches separated by rocky headlands. Due to the road which runs up the south east facing coast being some height above sea level I was not able to see if that coast hosted beaches or if it was purely rocky. Given the number of beaches mentioned then I assume there were frequent beaches along that coast - I just couldn’t see them from the road.
Also like Tiree, Coll enjoys low rainfall and a high number of hours of sunshine. Like Tiree it is also pretty windy - with the same plus of not being plagued by swarms of midges over the summer months (or at any time). The west coast of Coll, like Tiree, has lots of sand dunes and machairs. Coll, like Tiree, also lacks red deer (as far as I can tell) but also like Tiree boasts a strong population of corncrakes.
So, what are the differences between Tiree and Coll?
Firstly, Coll is not as low lying as Tiree and the central part of the island is pretty rugged and lumpy - although the summits are not that high. The irony here is that while Tiree is flatter all over, two of it’s three hills are higher than Coll’s highest (Ben Hogh, at only 103 meters). This rugged interior means that Coll is not farmed to anything like the same degree as Tiree - which no doubt accounts for it’s population being between 150 and 200 (depending upon which source you read) compared to Tiree’s population of around 650 (no doubt the recent census will determine the current population of both more accurately).
Getting to Coll is very similar to getting to Tiree - just with fewer options. The main way is by the CalMac car ferry from Oban. It is also possible to fly from Oban airport - but, unlike Tiree, there don’t appear to be any direct flights from Glasgow. What is there to do on Coll once you get there? There are the many beaches to explore (30 of them according to one article I read) and lots of coastal walks - and even walks in Coll’s empty interior. There are some ancient monuments to go looking for - but, to be honest, there do not appear to be an abundance of those on Coll. Unlike Tiree, Coll does have a castle - two in fact, both of which are located very close to each other at Breachacha. The ‘old’ castle is thought to have been built in the 14th century while the ‘new’ one was built in circa 1750. There are the usual sea sports which might be available, like kayaking and surfing (but I’m not too sure about that). There are the usual marine animals to try and spot including basking sharks, minke whale, dolphins, orcas and seals. Birds that might be seen include; corncrake, lapwing, snipe, hen harriers, razor bills, puffins and Manx sheerwaters. There is in fact a RSPB reserve on the north west facing coast between Ballyhough and Totronald where one can, no doubt, get more information and tours. There are the usual herds of cattle and sheep and horses - and I even spotted a field near Totronald with several alpaca trotting about. There are also otters about - on the land, in the lochs and rivers and in the sea (although not, I’d guess, very far from the shore). There are also some pretty rare plants and flowers to go on the hunt for, especially on the machairs - and scuttling, or flying, about in that can be found the rare oil beetle and a couple of rare bumblebees. In addition to all that, Coll was the UK’s first designated dark sky park - and there are plenty spots to just stand and stare in wonder at the night sky (zero light pollution). If you can take a telescope with you then all the better. So, all in all, enough to keep anyone interested for at least a week (and if not you should be heading for somewhere like Lanzarote instead of the Hebrides).
Coll’s main sources of income appear to be the same as Tiree: crofting, tourism and fishing. There are not a huge selection of facilities available but what there is can only be found in the main village of Arinagour, which is on the south east facing coast and close to where the CalMac car ferry arrives. There you will find a village store, a gift shop, two churches, a café, a petrol station and the hotel, which as well as accommodation also provides a restaurant and bar.
To end, and as always, a collection of some of the photographs I took while visiting Coll. Firstly, however, I should explain that I only visited the southern part of the island. The reason for that has to do with the CalMac ferry service and my attempt to avoid having to pay accommodation charges by not staying overnight. On some days the ferry first goes to Coll, then on to Tiree and then back to Coll before returning to Oban. On other days the ferry seems (as I write this and when I visited) to go directly to Tiree and then to Coll and then back to Oban. However on one day per week (then and now) it’s the Barra  boat that, on a Wednesday, stops off at Coll, then Tiree and then out to Barra before returning via Tiree and then Coll and then back to Oban. This provides for about eight hours on Coll - and it was those eight hours between the ferry arriving and returning that I decided to make use of. I probably had sufficient time to include a trip to the northern point - but since I was cycling I decided that trying to cover the whole island might be pushing things a bit. I therefore decided to only do the southern half as that way I hoped I could do a circle and cover the maximum amount of island without any danger of missing the ferry back to Oban. There are three B class roads on Coll (all the rest being unclassified). The road from the CalMac pier is the B8070, which goes through the village of Arinagour and then meets the B8071 at a fork. Take the left hand fork to stay on the B8070 down the south east facing coast to the southern end of the island. Taking the right hand fork at Arinagour, onto the B8071, takes you north west across the island to the north west facing coast at Aranabost - where a T junction provides, once again, a choice of north or south. From this junction the B8072 (right hand turn) heads north while a left turn keeps you on the B8071,  which now heads south west to Ballyhough (where the RSPB reserve starts). From this point there was a track through the RSPB reserve which links up with the minor roads at Totronald  and eventually the B8070. I didn’t know how passable this ‘track’ was, or even if access was allowed, but I figured trying this route was worth an attempt. As it turned out this ‘track’ was very easy to travel down. With a gate at each end (probably to stop cars driving through the reserve) it was a single width ‘road’ with a hard packed sandy surface. A car could easily have driven down it if not for the gates at both ends. This allowed me to complete my circuit of the southern end of the island - with a view to returning someday to see the northern end (which I would love to do - maybe with a good telescope?).

 

The photo above is of the CalMac pier and ferry. Not a very exciting picture but it allows me to; A show where my Coll tour started and B provide some background to the pier. This pier was opened in 1967. During the time I was going out to South Uist every year (1952 to about 1966) the ferry for most of that time was the MV Claymore which did not have a pier to use as this one did not yet exist and the water further into the Loch Eatharna was not deep enough. Passengers for Coll, and their luggage, had to be lowered down via a crane, to a very large rowing boat which was often wallowing about in the swell. Those leaving Coll had to do the same in reverse. This was done from a huge door in the hull which was normally only used when the tide was very high and the gangplank's normal location would have been dangerously steep. I'm pretty sure those going to, or coming from, Coll were mighty relieved to see the new pier opened!

 

 

The photo above is of a whale bone arch close to the CalMac pier. Other similar examples of whale bone arches can be found dotted around the coast - and no doubt in other countries, too. Still, they are rare enough, I thought, to include the picture of this one here.

 

 

The photo above was taken from between the pier and the village of Arinagour. It is looking south east towards the mouth of Loch Eatharna and Mull.

 

 

The above photo is of one of the smaller piers actually located at Arinagour. The water at the village is not deep enough for the CalMac ferry but this is (most likely) where vehicles and livestock were landed from smaller vessels prior to 1967.

 

 

The photo above is of the main street of the village of Arinagour. Nothing more to be said about that.

The photo above is of the machair between Arnabost and Cliad. This piece of machair hosts the 9 hole Coll golf course.

The shot above is of Cliad beach and bay. To get to it, just follow the track through the machair in the photo above.

 

The above photo was taken at Grishipoll looking towards the south of the island.

The photo above is of an Alpaca in a field near Clabhach (which is still on the road from Arnabost to Ballyhough).

The photo above is of Clabhach beach.

The photo above was at Totamore of what looks to be two renovated ‘white’ houses - although they are different looking from others I have seen. They do have a chimney - but only on one side instead of both sides - and the thatch is grey rather than the golden straw colour normally seen (and not the black felt of some of the Tiree renovations, either). I would imagine, but I don’t know for sure, that they are used as holiday accommodation. It's even possible that both of those houses are completely new and just built to look like the older ones?

The photo above was taken at Totamore towards Loch Ballyhough.

 

The above photo is of Hogh beach and bay. 

 

The photo above was taken on the sand track between Ballyhough and Totronald (but I can’t figure out which way I was facing as there are no shadows to help me).

 

The above photo was taken at Totronald of one of two standing stones which are situated very close together.

 

The above photo is of a croft at Totronald.

The photo above is of Fall bay and beach.

 

The photo above is of Crossapol bay looking south towards Tiree. This photo, and the previous one, were taken from the top of a large sand dune and marked the turning point of my tour as I turned back east and north after this. There were paths which led further south but I’d decided that I could see the remainder of the island from the top of the sand dune - and I’d also tripped and fallen, twisting my knee quite painfully. I decided I’d better head back for the pier before my knee became swollen and too painful to cycle (which it did).

The above three photos are all of Breachacha Castle (old and new). The top one shows both castles and how close together they are. The middle one is the ‘new’ castle and the bottom one is the ‘old’ castle.

 

The above photo was taken back on the B8070 heading back to Arinagour. I think it was taken somewhere around Acha.

The photo above was also taken on the way back to Arinagour. There are two lochs close to the road, Ronard and na Cloiche, but I’m not certain which one the above photo is of (they are both very close together, anyway).

The photo above was taken on the B8070 as it nears Arinagour from the south. From here it was back to the CalMac pier to await my ferry back to Oban.