
After finishing off the last of our breakfast cereal, followed by oatcakes as bread substitute, we were almost out of food again, so had to revisit the Salen Spar. On the way, we called in at the Macquarie Mausoleum, situated off the road on the Gruline Estate.
Lachlan Macquarie was born in 1761 on the Isle of Ulva. He later became one of the most recognisable characters of colonial Australia and was described as “The Father of Australia” due to his work as Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821.
We then visited Salen pier, the island’s ferry terminal until 1965 when the closer settlement of Craignure took precedence. It’s now privately owned, we spoke to the owner who told us the two buildings on the pier could be rented, details here. We also saw the remains of the even older pier, only the upright timber remaining, used as perches by birds.
We ate yesterday’s sandwiches then called in at the Coffee Pot cafe to warm up, only to discover it’s takeaway only. The cafe opposite, where we’d called on Sunday, wasn’t open so we visited some boat wrecks just north of the village. The boats are owned by a local character who brought them here as a salvage project that never quite happened. The boat nearest the slipway was built by Paterson Macduff in Banff as Pavonia WK53 in 1955.
Next, we stocked up at the shop, aiming to buy sufficient to last us until we leave on Saturday. Our final call was the cafe to buy cake to take back to our cottage, after which we walked along the river that runs behind the cottage and then along the Loch.