Wanderings of a Naturalist 



hills of the mainland between Glenelg and Ardnamurchan 

 were clear. Even the lighthouse on Ardnamurchan, some 

 forty miles south-east, could plainly be seen through the 

 glass. The whole Island of Mull, a good fifty miles distant, 

 lay spread out in clear sunshine, with dark thunder-clouds 

 gathering behind it. Ben Mor, Mull, was mist-capped, as it 

 so often is. Near it I could identify Beinn Fada "the long 

 hill " and the heights that stand about Gruline. 



Then, at the head of Glen Forsa, rose the conical and 

 easily-identified hill, Beinn Talaidh, and a little to the north 

 Beinn Bhearnach, or the "Limpet-shaped hill," standing 

 above Loch Spelve and not a dozen miles from Oban. 

 Dun da Ghaoith, which rises steeply from the deep waters 

 of the Sound of Mull, was distinct, even the cairn on the 

 summit being visible. 



The hills of the Ross of Mull stretched away in an un- 

 even outline, and I thought that, near the entrance to Loch 

 Scridain, I could make out Dun I, the one hill of lona. Be- 

 tween me and Mull lay the long and rugged island of Coll, 

 and beyond the Sound of Gunna the fertile and low-lying 

 island of Tiree, the sun shining on its white sands, and 

 even some of the houses themselves, standing up against the 

 horizon, being visible. 



Nearer at hand lay Barra, with its attendant islands, and 

 a few miles out, and making her way to Castlebay, was the 

 Oban mail-boat, with black smoke trailing from her funnel. 

 Out to sea the breeze seemed to die away, and the surface 

 of the Atlantic was unruffled, so that a whale, rising far 

 out to sea in the field of my glass, was easily seen. 



Flying south, strings of guillemots and razorbills were 

 making their way to their breeding grounds about Mingulay 

 and Barra Head. Almost at my feet lay the Island of Eris- 

 kay, set in the Sound of Barra, its small houses and green 

 and fertile crofts clear in the sunshine. But now to the south 

 mutterings of thunder were heard, and torrential rainstorms 

 formed in various directions, so that the view was obscured. 



92 



