Six of the Best

Sue Anderson

Views, Six of the Best from the high tops of the island - some are driven past regularly without a thought to stop and walk, sometimes only a few hundred yards from the road. Whether you are here on a crisp sunny day in winter with the biting nip of frost in the still air or on a hazy hot and lingering summer's day, Coll can give you some spectacular views on which to feast your eyes.

In the East End, on the road to Sorisdale is Druim nan Carn (47m) just north of the pretty sandy bay at Eileraig. From the road on the left, just before the gate, is an old track, almost hidden in places, to the shore and a ruined croft. The scramble through the heather is well worth it up to the high top - taking in the Small Isles, Canna, Rhum, Eigg and Muck, and, nearer, Coll's Eilean Mor and the little white lighthouse where seals bask in the sun in the summer. And the Cairns of Coll behind the Big Island. These nearer islands can be seen better from the loveliest white sandy beach in the East End - North Beach just north of here, on the way around to Sorisdale. The jade green crystal clear sea here is very inviting.

Another lovely panorama taking in a lot of Cornaig and Gallanach and Torastan is from the hill A Chroic (43m) near the shore southwest of the Fishing Gate and Red Rocks, also in the East End. From the March gate (please always close this) you walk to the shore crossing the burn heading to the other side of the beach. An easy climb takes you over a rise and a further scramble to the top of the hill. Out at sea on a clear day you can see the mountains of South Uist, Barra Head and the other Outer Hebridean Islands. To the North and East, beyond Cornaigbeg and Cornaigmore, is Beart an Fhir and another long hike to a favourite trout fishing loch - Loch Fada. This track takes you over carpets of orchids and through a lovely honeysuckle grove. The fragrance lingers as you trudge through the heather, bracken and bog to reach the pretty lily filled loch.

Another inspiring view in the west end is from the top of the hill near the Garden House known as Hangman's Hill. The remains of three men are said to have been found here during excavations near the turn of the century. A signal was made from old Breachacha Castle for the hangings to take place. Bushes of yellow gorse thrive on the exposed hillside giving little shelter to the sheep and make a colourful foreground to the sandy Breachacha Bay. The hill is just over the stile in front of the Garden House itself. To the north of here from the hill is the valley known as Broadhills with Ben Hogh in the distance. Many different and colourful breeds of sheep and cattle can be seen around here on the Breachacha farm estate. The island's only airstrip is just below Arileod here.

The best walk, and perhaps the most arduous, takes you to Caolas, a very remote and the most beautiful part of the west end. From Calgary Point (18m) above Caolas Ban on the north side of the raised beach is a lovely view of Gunna Sound, the fertile isle of Gunna and Tiree. Caolas can be reached by crossing the mile long sandy Crossapol beach to the graveyard and past two houses following the shore. Keep to the shore past Port Ban and another small sandy beach over the rocky outcrops where gulls and terns nest in the Spring. Inland flocks of wild geese can be seen grazing the machair. The peninsula looking over Caolas Ban is one long white expanse of raised beach and Calgary Point's view of Gunna Sound is sometimes very dramatic when the tide is roaring through the narrow expanse of water. Coll's cattle were once grazed here and they were swam across the Sound here. To complete a circular tour and find another high top, continue walking up the north coast of the peninsula along a shingly shore towards Port Mine. Eventually, you will reach Feall Bay. Ben Feall (66m) was once the site of one of Coll's most populous settlements. Here birds of prey soar and make their home on the rough crags and vertical rockfaces along with cormorants, shags, fulmars and cheeky rock pipits.

Ben Hogh is the island's highest hill - this is the buzzard's home but the sea eagle from Rhum has also been seen around here hunting rabbits. Hogh can be reached from the road at Totamore (near Ballyhough) by following the stone dyke parallel to the old track on the left before the gate. Over the dyke follow the new straight fence up the slippery steep hillside to the summit. There is a trig point here (l04m) and also a huge boulder perched on three stones, said to have been left behind after the Ice Age by the Morraine. The panorama takes a full 360 circle of the island but perhaps the best view is over onto Hogh Bay, beyond the bents and sand dunes where the raging white surf crashes down over the white sandy beach. The majestic mountains of Mull tower over the clouds in the east.

All Six of the Best can he reached with the aid of the ever faithful OS map, a pair of stout walking shoes and a bit of consideration for livestock and nesting birds in the Spring. I hope these views give you as much pleasure as they have given me