Easy Tiger

18 May

So much to see

Collectors. Like busy victorian lepidopterists, today’s photographers, Instagrammers, vloggers, and influencers (eeewww), seem intent on hurrying about the land to capture the must-have views and tick (Tok) off the place names which already adorn untold social media posts. The selfie. The quick snap. The done-and-dusted. All very strange. Enjoying the journey seems to be a luxury that only the retired can afford. A recent camping and photography visit to Ardnamurchan found me almost swept up in the same dustpan...

Ardnamurchan is a beautiful peninsula (to be fair they all are), with long, winding, narrow roads, and some incredible views. It’s sparsely populated, and apart from the frankly ridiculous tourist draw that is the Glenfinnan Viaduct on the northern route through Moidart, relatively lightly visited, especially mid-week during off-peak season. What marks it out for me are the rich, native Atlantic Oak woodlands around Glenborrodale, the Garbh Eileen Wildlife Hide on Loch Sunart, the pretty villages of Strontian, Salen, and Acharacle, my favourite wee camp site at Kilchoan, Castle Tioram, and of course breathtaking Sanna Bay. There you go, I’ve listed them for you if that’s your bag.

Tailgate tent camping

Following our camper van debacle (see my ‘Instead’ blog post), we went for a hybrid, (hybrid) car camping option; a tailgate tent which had us sleeping inside a dark and relatively comfy car, and living for a couple of days in a large, airy, air tubed, tent that connected via a snorkel arrangement to the back of the car, with the boot (tailgate) raised inside the tent for easy and private transfer between our temporary rooms. Some camp sites won’t allow car camping. Strange, given the proliferation of tent boxes that sit on the car roof. I think this is merely a legislative loop hole that’ll either be closed or abandoned altogether. I hope it’s the latter as car camping is a lot easier on the infrastructure than some of the huge, mobile domestic appliances that squeeze along our country lanes.

Midgy fishing

The timing of our visit kept us in the throes of a hot dry spell that often accompanies May, but also the arrival of the midges. The fine mesh windows on the tent allowed us to enjoy life outdoors, with wine and snacks, watching and listening to the pitch-perfect birdsong from a perfect-pitch camping position, right by the sea, on the confluence of the Sound of Mull and Loch Sunart. An active rise of fish saw me brave the midges in shorts and flip-flops to successfully cast a few lures and impress the more professionally equipped anglers who trudged past our tent having blanked for the evening. I fished, as always, with a single, barbless hook, and carefully landed the 5 pretty, wee, feisty Pollack who held on long enough to be safely released. Plenty more got away. The midges got their fill of A+ blood too.

Slowing down

A real benefit of tailgate tents is the ability to disconnect the ‘snorkel’ and drive away in a normal-sized vehicle. An evening meal in Kilchoan Hotel. A day trip to Sanna Bay. Easy. Ultimately though, there’s always some level of deadline, if only the duration of the campsite booking. I found that, having arrived a Sanna, I uncharacteristically rushed to get the camera gear out, to hurry around the seemingly tropical beaches (just don’t dip your toe in), switching lenses, blowing sand from the camera, trying to capture the essence of this beautiful place. Have a word with yourself man! Easy tiger... Slow down... Breathe this in... And so in the end, I didn’t capture that many shots, but I don’t really mind. I just feel privileged to be able to drop-in on places like this whenever I want. Utterly priceless.