Travelling by public transport to Mull – the ninth time! Part 1.
It is always lovely to hear from guests about their time here, so I am sharing this blog from regular Dutch guests, in three parts with some of photographs. Thank you so much N and F.
We never thought we would be the kind of tourists who always go back to the same place. However Treshnish has stolen our hearts. And it keeps drawing us back; we try to go twice a year.
Different ways of getting to Mull
We are always travelling by public transport to Mull. One of us has a driving licence, but the one with the licence doesn’t want to drive on holiday. For us, that has become part of the holiday. The holiday starts the moment we board the ferry at Isle of Vlieland (in the Netherlands, where we live). Over the years, we have tried different ways of travelling: flying from Amsterdam to Glasgow and then continuing by train or taking the Eurostar from Amsterdam to London and then the Caledonian Sleeper to Crianlarich. But we like the following itinerary best: a night ferry from IJmuiden to Newcastle. The comfortable beds mean we arrive well rested – followed by three trains to Oban the next day, enjoying the beautiful surroundings, especially in the Scottish Highlands. We spend the night in one of the many guesthouses – so far, only very good experiences – and then go to Treshnish the next day.
Travelling by public transport does require a flexible attitude; in recent years we have experienced several train delays and boats that did not sail due to the weather.
This time was no exception. The train between Glasgow and Oban stopped at Arrochar and Tarbet. The conductor announced that a maintenance train had derailed further down the line, fortunately without any personal injuries. We were given the choice of waiting there for replacement bus transport or taking the train back to Glasgow. The latter was not an option for us, so together with about 20 other stranded travellers, we stood in the middle of nowhere waiting for the bus. Because the roads in that area had just been resurfaced, it took three hours for a bus to arrive.
Ferries
The next day, our scheduled ferry to the island of Mull was cancelled due to technical problems. Fortunately, the next ferry did leave and we arrived in Treshnish around noon.
As annoying as it is, our experience is that things always get sorted out, compensation is paid quickly and there is always a friendly, helpful face to be seen. The sense of solidarity with other stranded travellers also led to some nice encounters this time.
Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here.
