Thursday, 30 April 2026
We had stayed in an Airbnb in Oban and were up at 5:45am to catch the ferry. It was my 7th trip to the Isle of Coll, and the day was as perfect as perfect can be. We had rented Controversial Cottage near the ferry terminal, but we had more luggage than could be carried on the bikes, so it was two trips. The brand-new cottage was opposite the long-established B&B, Tigh na Mara, where we had stayed on two occasions. It had been run by Robert and Ruth Sturgeon. Aileen knew them from her visits as a child, and they made our 10-day stay with three youngish children a holiday to remember. We took bikes and cycled to almost every one of the 21 beaches. Ruth sent us out to forage for wild mushrooms, and Robert took us out in his boat in the evenings to collect lobsters from his creels.
At noon, we set off on the bikes to ride to the north east tip of the island at Sorisdale. On our last visit, just 4 years ago, Aileen and I had sat on the nearby headland and watched an otter, just metres away, as it ran past on its way to the sea. We continued to the nearby beach, Traigh Tuath, two bays of glorious white sand below the dunes with spectacular views to Canna, Rum and Eigg. We had some lunch and dozed on the warm sand for an hour. Gregor played with the drone that he had bought to record sections of his Big Run.
We returned to the bikes for the return ride and stopped at a beach by the Fishing Gate beach, which has rapid tidal flows, rock pools and some large dunes that can be climbed. It has always been one of our favourite beaches. Gregor had lost his camera lens back at Cornaig, and the local farmer said he would look out for it on his quad bike. Lo and behold, he had found it and brought it to us. He was as friendly as friendly can be, and we spent over half an hour enjoying his tales of life on Tiree. We learnt how Controversial Cottage got its name, Kate Winslett had bought a house on the island and that Lewis Capaldi was a visitor who would give impromptu casual sessions in the bar. He seemed impressed that we had a long association with the island and knew many of the characters.
A meal in the hotel was our reward for a day on the bikes and a fine way to close the day. The next day was dry but overcast, so we whiled away the morning and had lunch in the Urchin Cafe. Gregor had a run, and we had a walk in the evening. It was the day before the Tiree races, so no cycling was attempted. Coll had been a success; it had not been on the original plan, but because we couldn't get the bikes on the boat from Oban on Saturday, we had decided to go to Coll, as there would be room for the bikes from Coll after the Coll traffic disembarked. It seemed a bit bizarre, and this was confirmed by the CalMac staff on board, who told us there would always be room for bikes. Thursday on Coll had been one of those very special 'given' days that reprised many previous happy days on Coll.
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