Maiden Island, Oban,
Argyll & Bute, Scotland

My first photo of Maiden Island was taken of a Sunday morning in June 2005 before I headed out to Loch Awe for a hike up Glen Strae, over Lairig Dhoireann, down into Glen Kinglass and along the shore of Loch Etive to Taynuilt. That was started far too late in the day for what it was, and I am ashamed to say that I arrived at Taynuilt Hotel seeking a taxi booking only ten minutes before the closing time for the bar. That near miss is a lesson that I am not about to excise from my memory. Before that foolish if rewarding escapade, I was out along the coast road to Dunollie Castle and Ganavan Bay.

When I captured the scene you see here now, my plans were much saner though I had enjoyed an out and back hike by the shore of Loch Etive, again using Taynuilt for return as well as access, the day before. Sense kept everything in check on a showery day and a glorious Sunday morning was my lot for a crossing to Mull. The ferry was the vantage point for what you see here and those hills that you see do reside on the mainland though perhaps where I had thought them to me at first. Now, I am inclined to reckon that low-lying Lismore is taking on the appearance of a coastal plain with some of the hills of Morvern beyond. If I discover otherwise, then I will be more than happy to correct this impression.