MV Lord of the Isles

Both the Lord of the Isles and sister ferry the Isle of Mull were berthed in Oban today. It's been blowing a gale all day, storms interspersed with amazing periods of sunshine, so maybe the ferries haven't been running at all.

Lord of the Isles might sound a rather romantic title today, but historically The Lord had tremendous power ruling over the Gaels. Maybe that?s how the verse arose about Caledonian MacBrayne.....

The Earth belongs unto the Lord
And all that it contains
Except the Kyles and Western Isles
And they are all MacBrayne's


No, not mine own, a traditional ditty.

The Lord of the Isles normally runs from Oban to Coll, Tiree, Barra and South Uist. It can carry over 500 passengers and over 50 cars, and travels at 16 knots - so ok, I looked it up and it doesn't mean very much to me either. Ferries are magical and each time I see one leaving I want to be on it, no matter where it's going. The magic is what matters.

The buildings you can see in the distance are on the Corran Esplanade, leading out of Oban towards Ganavan.