There have been at least 2 new tour groups operating on Mull this season, one is Inspire Wild and the other is Enjoy Mull. Inspire Wild is run by Ewan Miles and Cain Scrimgeour. Ewan used to work for Sealife Surveys, and we met him on a RNLI fundraising trip they were doing round Tobermory Bay a couple of summers ago – in that short trip he was knowledgable and interesting about what we were looking at! They have a lovely website which details their tours – slightly different from other tour companies, as in addition to the regular tours, they offer an evening tour and they do a trip on Ardnamurchan too. Inspire Wild were instrumental in arranging the Mull Hen Harrier Day in August, and we were happy to donate a 3 night winter stay at Haunn as one of the Raffle prizes.
I have seen lovely photographs that they have taken on the evening tours this summer, and as the light is often so good at the end of the day, if you are a keen photographer this could be the tour for you! Lots of wildlife around in the evenings too, and he knows his subject. What I am very pleased to see, though, is that they are planning to do some Night Tours this winter, starting in November. Ewan has taken some amazing night photographs on the Isle of Coll as well as Mull.
We have had a few nights when I have been able to catch the Northern Lights on camera. With the naked eye sensing the brightness of the skies but not visually being able to see the colour. I will certainly be booking onto one of the Inspire Wild night tours to improve my skills in Astrophotography!
We are very lucky here that Treshnish is already in a good place for night photography, as there is very little light pollution, and we quite often benefit from clearer skies than other parts of the island. On my home from a meeting last week, I noticed the glow in the northern sky. I knew there was a chance of the Northern lights so had come prepared with camera, tripod and torch! I stopped at Croig to have a look through the camera, and sure enough there was a wonderful green streak behind the clouds, and nice soft light from the house illuminating the fishermen’s shed. When I got home the sky was noticeably clearer of cloud so I was able to take a few more photographs before it faded. The Milky Way was bright too.
I haven’t met the Enjoy Mull team yet, but they have recently moved to the island, and I have had a look at their website too! It told me that Jacqui has been involved with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust for a long time, and is a Director, and Mike tends gardens all over the island when he is not out guiding. They do some tours where you can walk as well as tour the island looking for wildlife, and a lovely sounding family trip, looking for creatures in rock pools and the like! I would enjoy that one. There are lots of wildlife tour operators on the island to choose from as well of course.
