Fragglehunter Urbex - UK Urbex & Aerial Photography: Isle of Mull Trip

"Where you fancy?" came the text message from Captain Pugwash.
"Anywhere" a short reply in such matters avoids disappointment (please don't say Oldham - me thinks)
"Scotland?" Captain Pugwash was unusually swift in his reply.
"Sounds good, can we land on an Island" I like to push my luck, but if you don't ask....

"Yes!" another rather prompt reply from Pugwash, obviously a closet Balamory fan.

Whats the story in Balamory, wouldn't you like to know?
What's the story in Balamory, where would you like to go?

I'm not sure if the childrens TV program Balamory is watched internationally, it should be.

For those not in the know, Balamory is a childrens program, filmed in and round the town of Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull - you may wish to Google it, or perhaps not ?

The weather itself was not the best for photography to be blunt, very hazy and cloudy, but its not all about photography - but we did get a few crackers on the way.

First off with the Sellafield "golf ball".

Up into Scotland, we have a few shots of Threave Castle, Castle Douglas - only accessible by boat, or in this case by plane.

The flight of just over 2 hours from Manchester took us over the Lake District and out into the Irish Sea flying over the Isle of Arran and Jura.

Upon arrival at Mull we had a spin over Balamory, sorry Tobermory.

Oh dear, Pugwash it seems was a Balamory fan, thru my headphones came Pugwash's cult like chant of the Balamory theme tune, sadly it had the resonance of a strangled cat !!

Time to land and we headed back towards Glenforsa Airfield, a beach side landing strip, known for its tricky approach, its beauty and the fact that its had a great number of famous visitors over the years - If you come from Glenforsa and haven't had your photo taken with Tom Cruise then....

- oh turn the volume down on this one - the engine and background noise is a bit loud.

The owner of the airstrip, David, welcomed us and commented on Pugwash's skillful maneuvers "are you a professional pilot?" which I suspect I will be gently reminded of on a regular basis by Pugwash.

- David had run the airstrip since the 1960s, he had met Genesis, Donald Sutherland and owned the compulsory photograph of Tom Cruise, as is the custom in such parts.

After parking up we made our way to The Glenforsa Hotel, a few metres from the airstrip, as to be expected in a hotel in such close proximity to an airstrip it was festooned with all manor of flying momentos, cue further Tom Cruise photo.

To be honest it may sound like I'm taking the piss, but this place is fabulous with bits of plane and some cracking photographs around the place and the food we had, mere burger and chips, was to die for.

Time for a sharp exit and a few photos from our journey home, the highlights included the spotting of a sub, not something you get to see on a daily basis.

I'm told by someone in the know (allegedly) that this big boy isn't British, so hopefully I won't be up for treason or spying, perhaps Tom Cruise and his new toy ?