23. Black Beach

Fortunately the clocks had gone forward the night before so I can enjoy an extra hour’s daylight after leaving Calgary Bay. I decide to head further round the coast on the single-track road to find Black Beach (Traigh na Cille), a small secluded beach named after the colour of the sand ground from basalt. I park by a gate and follow a track through a field, giving some Highland coos a wide berth. Soon I emerge onto the beautiful beach, immaculate in the setting sun. In the corner is a hippy playing a didgeridoo among the rocks. He gives me a wave without breaking his concentration. He has s small boy with him, playing at the shoreline. I know nothing about didgeridoo playing but I’d say he was pretty good. Each to his own, I say. The gentle waves make a surprisingly loud noise as they break against the dark shore, adding (with the didgeridoo) to a rather mystical scene as the sun goes down over Ulva in the distance. I leave my hippy friend to himself and return along the same winding coast road, back past Calgary Bay and on for a brief look around Tobermory, before reaching my hotel near Craignure just before dark.