The Isle of Mull. Terry Marsh
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Название: The Isle of Mull
Автор: Terry Marsh
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Книги о Путешествиях
isbn: 9781783625604
isbn:
Communications
Postal services are the same as for mainland Britain, but there is poor, limited and variable mobile phone coverage across much of the island.
There are very few places where you can connect to the internet, and such as there are will be found in Tobermory. Most hotels, however, do now have wireless connections.
English is spoken everywhere; Gaelic hardly at all. Until within the last hundred years, however, Gaelic was the everyday language; today it is heard only among a small number of the older population. Yet, in Salen school, there is a Gaelic unit teaching children from three to 11 years old in Gaelic, and the Mull Gaelic Choir (Còisir Ghàidhlig an Eilein Mhuilich) is renowned throughout Scotland.
Walking along the raised beach, Treshnish (Walk 1.10)
Using This Guide
Walking on Mull ranges from short and easy outings not far from civilisation, to rugged, hard mountain, moorland and coastal walking – as demanding as any in Britain – in isolated locations, where help is far away. Almost all of it demands a high level of fitness and knowledge of the techniques and requirements necessary to travel safely in wild countryside in very changeable weather conditions, including the ability to use map and compass properly.
The walks in this book are widely varied in character and will provide something for everyone, embracing high mountains, lonely lochs, coastal cliffs, glens and forests. Many walks visit places that are less well known, where self-sufficiency is critically important. But every walk is just that, a walk, and does not require rock climbing or scrambling skills beyond the most fundamental; ironically those skills are more likely to be tested along stretches of the rugged coastline than on the high mountains.
All parts of the island are visited, and the chosen walks will provide an excuse for many visits to the island, and allow walkers to evade inclement weather in one part of the island by taking on walks in another.
Each walk description begins with a short introduction, and provides starting and finishing points, as well as a calculation of the distance and height gain, and an indication of the terrain which will be encountered. The walks are grouped largely within the generally recognised regions of Mull, and, within those areas, in a reasonably logical order.
Peak bagging
Ben More (Walk 2.9)
This book has not been written to facilitate peak bagging. But, for the record, Mull has just one Munro (Ben More), one Corbett and seven Grahams. If you collect Marilyns, then you have 27 to contend with on Mull and the adjacent islands, only 11 of which are included in the book. Information about the mountains database as it concerns Mull is found at www.hills-database.co.uk.
Based on a list originally published in 1891 by Sir Hugh Munro, Munros are Scottish hills that are at least 3000ft (914m) in height and considered to be distinct and separate mountains.
Corbetts are the range of Scottish hills beneath Munros. They are between 2500 and 2999ft (762–914m) high with a drop of 500ft (150m) on all sides.
Grahams are Scottish hills between 2000 and 2499ft (609–762m) high with a drop of 500ft (150m) on all sides.
Marilyns are British hills of any height with a drop of at least 150m on all sides.
Distances
Distances are given in kilometres (and miles), and represent the total distance for the described walk, that is from the starting point to the finishing point. Where a walk continues from a previously described walk, the distance given is the total additional distance involved. When a walk is to a single summit, the distance assumes a retreat by the outward route.
Total ascent
The figures given for ascent represent the total height gain for the complete walk, including the return journey, where appropriate. They are given in metres (and feet, nominally rounded up or down).
No attempt is made to grade walks, as this is far too subjective, and depends on abilities that vary from person to person, and, indeed, what they are accustomed to walking. But the combination of distance and total ascent should enable you to calculate roughly how long each walk will take using whatever method – Naismith’s or other – you find works for you. On Mull, however, generous allowance must also be made on most walks for the ruggedness of the terrain and the possibility that any streams that must be crossed may prove awkward, or indeed completely impassable at the most convenient spot, necessitating long detours or even a retreat.
Access in Scotland
Walkers in Scotland have always taken access by custom, tradition or right over most land and water in Scotland. This is now enshrined in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which came into effect in February 2005. The Act tells you where rights of access apply, while the Scottish Outdoor Access Code sets out your responsibilities when exercising your rights. These responsibilities can be summarised as:
take responsibility for your own actions
respect the interests of other people
care for the environment
Blàr Dubh, Ardalanish (Walk 3.5)
Access rights can be exercised over most land and inland water in Scotland by all non-motorised users, including walkers, cyclists, horse riders and canoeists, providing they do so responsibly. Walkers and others must behave in ways which are compatible with land management needs, and land managers also have reciprocal responsibilities to manage their land to facilitate access, taken either by right, custom or tradition. Local authorities and national park authorities have a duty and the powers to uphold access rights. People may be requested not to take access for certain periods of time when, for example, tree-felling is taking place, or for nature conservation reasons. It is responsible to comply with reasonable requests. Access rights also extend to lightweight, informal camping.
Access rights apply in places such as:
hills, mountains and moorland
woods and forests
most urban parks, country parks and other managed open spaces
rivers, lochs, canals and reservoirs
riverbanks, loch shores, beaches and the coastline
land in which crops have not been sown
on the margins of fields where crops are growing or have been sown and along the ‘tramlines’ or other tracks which cross the cropped area
grassland, including grass being grown for hay or silage (except when it is at such a late stage of growth that it is likely to be damaged)
fields where there are horses, cattle and other farm animals
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