Check in time was 06:15 so we’d set our alarms for five. The Don Muir guesthouse doesn’t offer breakfast, for which we’d have been too early anyway, but the complimentary cereal was appreciated. We freewheeled down the hill to the port, thankful that the forecast rain hadn’t shown up though it did while we waited to board. We had the vegetarian cooked breakfast on the lightly loaded vessel and disembarked 2 hours 40 minutes later on Coll. We checked in at the community centre and were shown to our room at the adjacent bunkhouse.
Beth, who manages both, moved to the island from Brighton at five years old and the family are still here. She’s also a firefighter for the airfield though they’ve never yet had an incident. We had an early lunch and spoke to another guest, who visits for a week twice yearly from Stirling to service the island’s heat pumps and sometimes for family holidays.
We cycled the six miles to Traigh Hogh, a beautiful sandy beach and then walked to the summit of Ben Hogh, the highest point on the island. Don’t be too impressed, it’s only 104 metres above sea level.