Lismore
From the Gaelic lios mor, meaning “great garden,” the lush green island
of Lismore is approximately 9.5-miles long by a mile wide, and offers a number
of interesting sites best explored by foot or on bicycle. Two ferries provide access to the island, a
short passenger and bicycle-only ferry from Port Appin (which isn’t far from
the “The Red Fox” cache by AngusR), and a somewhat larger ferry with space for
a few vehicles that runs from the main CalMac ferry terminal in Oban. There aren’t a whole lot of creature
comforts such as shops or eateries on Lismore, so come prepared, or if you travel
to the cache from Achnacroish (where the ferry arrives from Oban) stop in at
the local post office which has some goodies and foodstuffs available. The cache is situated very near one of the
interesting landmarks on Lismore, the ruins of the twelfth-century MacDougall
stronghold Castle Coeffin. Be on the
lookout for the Viking maiden that is said to haunt the castle! If you have time, be sure to check out other
points of interest on the island, including the 2000+ years old Tirefour Broch
(not too far from the cache) and the ruins of Achanduin Castle (pretty far away
on the southwest end of Lismore). There
are also a couple small centers where you can learn a little of the local
history- IF they’re OPEN!!!
Moose?!?!
Moose on Lismore?!?! You’ll undoubtedly
see quite a few sheep, an assortment of cows, a number of horses, an abundance
of black snails (which enjoy guarding caches!), and maybe even a few friendly
border collies such as the one we met, but MOOSE on Lismore?!?! You bet there are . . . at least in the
cache! The cache has a moose theme in
honor our favorite type of wild critters, which we’ve seen in the USA and
Canada, but which don’t inhabit Scotland (we did almost literally run into a
red deer stag on Arran, but that’s another story!). Among the moose-related goodies in the cache as of time of its
placement were:
A very gently used moose kitchen rag
A VERY nice limited edition moose medallion
A Moose Crossing fridge magnet
A Ty/McDonald’s baby beanie moose
A moose’s head magnet (not to be confused with a Moosehead beer magnet!)
A White Mountains moose map
And last but not least, MacDougall the Moose travel bug
The Cache
The cache is hidden somewhere fairly close to Castle Coeffin. There are a pretty fair number of possible
hiding spots, so you could be in for a lengthy search if you choose to do
without the hints. You will NOT need to
descend to the rocky shoreline, which can be slippery and dangerous! The hints have been numbered so that you can
use them one at a time in order as needed.
Have fun, we hope you have a less dreary day than we did!