Duart Point, Isle of Mull, Scotland

Anglicisation often gives odd results, perhaps because of an English version of a placename taking on a mind of its own, and it'd be interesting to see how the Scots Gaelic Dubh Ard got turned into Duart. What is beyond question is the raison d'être for the castle's construction: controlling the important shipping route that is the Sound of Mull and the ability to see far and wide would have had defensive advantages.

Those wide views generated questions of their own after my visit. Its being my first ever trip to the area didn't make identification of those mountains in the distance any easier. Though I toyed with the idea that I was looking up Loch Linnhe, I have convinced myself that the highest of these is Ben Cruachan so that puts our gaze up along Loch Etive. What drew me towards this conclusion was the lighthouse on Eilean Musdile at the southern tip of Lismore and the smaller light on Lady's Rock, both very necessary if you are to avoid setting a course that runs your vessel aground. Well, they certainly seemed to sort my identification conundrum.