The Firth of Lorn Viewed from Oban Bay

The ferry trolls the Firth of Lorn from Oban across the greenish-cast and rippled-glass waters to the eyrie of Mull. Sandwiched between the open top deck and the taciturn sky, a crowd of people and dogs gaze at emeralds of land cresting the waves slashed apart by our bow. Kerrera and other nameless blips drift by on winds stiff with salt. The boat rocks beneath me, jarring loose northern glimpses of the Morvern peninsula and even the basalt and gabbro precipices of the Black Cuillin of Skye. The last vestiges of Oban’s woodsmoke slip off our stern, and the Firth of Lorn wraps us in a noisy embrace. I shoulder down a narrow metal stair and watch as an ivy-bearded castle disappears into the woods of Dunollie.

These brilliant islands in the gray water are like so many ideas sparking to life in gray matter, eaten away by time or too much thought. Shipwrecked and bobbing, spluttering water and thrashing in the night, such a sight would be life given back. For a time, at least; the end will come there, too. I look at the families and couples and solo travelers on the deck with me and wonder how many of us are trapped on islands in our minds, praying for the Waterhorse or the Selkie to have mercy and carry us across the waters. Their absence in the waves is answer enough: swim.

Article Comments

  1. Holiday Scotland November 19, 2011 at 2:22 am

    Great picture Keith, the ripples on the water really stand out.

  2. wandering educators November 19, 2011 at 7:53 am

    love that last sentence. and, the ripples on the water as well. maybe my favorite post here?!

  3. Travel Scotland December 5, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    It’s a journey I’ve made many times, and the magic never fades, whether it’s the rocky outpost of Duart Castle as you approach Craignure on Mull, or the beacon of McCaig’s folly above Oban which signals the return and the promise of a steak pie in one of the local bars. One hidden gem is Lismore (literally, the Big Garden – due to an unusual outcrop of limestone making it particularily fertile); where it is said the best spoken Gaelic is to be found. I spent a couple of nights there while on tour with a group keen to travel Scotland and head off the beaten path.

    David

    1. Keith Savage December 5, 2011 at 3:11 pm

      I would love to hear spoken Gaelic! I do need to spend more time around Oban on some trip, so maybe I can jaunt over to Lismore as well.

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