Situated on a cliff edge on the Mull of Galloway, this used to be the most southerly fog horn in Scotland:
…until Biggles visited for the day and his distinctive warning siren echoed across the waves to Ireland.
We’d been planning a day trip to the Mull of Galloway since our return from the West Highlands last week and had just been waiting for a sunny day. Quite unexpectedly we opened the curtains on Friday morning and saw clear blue skies and sunshine. We bundled the pups in the car and were on the road within half an hour.
We’d only been out of the car for a couple of minutes when Beanie and Biggles noticed a sign instructing them to “walk this way”. At least, they think that’s what it said. They oblidged with their usual noisy enthusiasm and really couldn’t understand why mum got so upset.
The Mull of Galloway has two fog horns. One is big and red and the other is tricoloured and goes by the name of Biggles”
After exploring the lighthouse and foghorn for a while we headed off on our cliff-top walk. We’d actually planned to run the 10k trail but sadly the sunny day came along when we were really all due a day off from running. So we opted for a walk this time instead and I’m actually very glad it worked out that way. The scenery is just stunning and you really don’t get to appreciate the views quite so much when running. The route runs along the edge of the cliff tops of the West side of the Mull for about 4 kilometers before heading across country then following the East shore back to the lighthouse.
I wouldn’t say that I suffer from vertigo, but I do have a healthy fear of danger. So I was a little alarmed when I saw large warning signs on the gate at the start of the route saying “Dangerous Cliffs – Proceed at your own Risk”. Beanie and Biggles clearly read something very different from me and lunged through the gate and bounded along the path before I had too much time to think about it. You don’t have the option to walk further inland as the farmer has erected a fence to stop live stock toppling over the cliff edge. You’re forced to walk on the cliff side of the fence.
At some points the route ahead looks quite daunting – sheer cliffs with waves crashing against them and the little path winding precariously close to the edge. It’s tempting to reach out and put your hand on the fence to steady yourself. But as I discovered to my cost it is actually an electric fence!
It’s not long before the views back toward the lighthouse start to look truly stunning.
To give you an idea of scale, that tiny dot on the top right is Beanie, Biggles and I!
I don’t know if you can make out the little white dots on this picture? That’s sea foam. The wind was so strong that it was blowing blobs of foam all the way up from the sea and carrying it quite a distance inland.
There are a couple of very short sections where the path winds down to a little rocky beach, but it quickly winds back up onto high cliffs.
This is about as far as the path goes before crossing through fields to the East coast. If you look very closely you’ll see the lighthouse way off in the distance. That’s where our walk started, winding all along the coast. It looks as if the lighthouse is on an island but it is actually connected to the mainland.
The trouble with this time of year is that you run out of daylight very quickly. But fortunately we had the lighthouse to guide us safely back to our car.
