Isle of Mull options

Hi, William,

The Oban to Craignure ferry operates very frequently, so unless you have a specific sailing in mind, you could wait until you arrive in Scotland to make your reservation. If you do have a specific sailing in mind, you can go on the CalMac website and make your reservations at any time before you leave for your holiday.

There are many hikes and walks on Mull, ranging in difficulty from easy to strenuous. The best thing to do is go to the WalkHighlands website www.walkhighlands.co.uk Click on the map of Mull, then click on the area of Mull in which you are interested. There are good low level walks/hikes on Iona and Ulva. Both are reached by ferry.

There is only one "town" on Mull - Tobermory. The seafront is particularly attractive, with the houses and shop fronts painted in different pastel shades. Walk up the hill in to the residential district to get a sweeping view of the harbor.

The rest of the main populated areas on Mull are villages. Craignure, where you'll be landing; Salen; Pennyghael; Bunessan; and Fionnphort, from where the ferry leaves for Iona. The real beauty of Mull is that it isn't crowded, except for tour buses going from Craignure to Fionnphort. If you have time, I'd recommend taking the west coast roads, especially the B8073 from Tobermory to Gruline. It's slow going, but worth it. Plus you can visit Ulva from Oskamull.

Hope that gives you enough information.

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: If you're looking for a castle to visit, Duart is a good one. It's just south of Craignure. You'll see it from the ferry as you sail in to Craignure.

p.p.s.: Ferry fares are 27.50 UKL round trip for your car, and 7.40 UKL round trip for each adult. Sorry, my ancient computer keyboard doesn't have pound signs. :(

p.p.p.s.: Depending on where you're going after Mull, you may want to consider one of the alternate ferry routes back to the mainland.

As with all of your posts, extremely helpful !!
Thanks for the info, we shall put it to good use.
Cheers !
BT

I agree that Duart is the best castle. The castle is old and the site is quite old. When you are at the castle looking out on the Sound of Mull and up Loch Linhe, you really get a sense of what is was like when travel was by galley/ long boat. Nigel Tranter has written a novel that includes this castle, but I can't remember the title. Tranter writes interesting historical novels about Scotland. It's unique, but I have enjoyed them.

I like the idea of venturing out and exploring the west coast roads along the B8073 from Tobermory to Gruiline. Can you give me a idea of how long that route might take to complete?

Hi, William,

I'd give the B8073 about 90 minutes. You can do it in less, but you're probably going to want to stop at Calgary Beach, and perhaps other spots along the way. For the most part, it's a single track road with passing places.

There is an eagle watch below Beinn Nan Carn, along the shore of Loch na Keal. The twitchers (bird watchers) are very friendly, and will most likely be willing to let you have a look through their telescopes.

There is a video on YouTube, showing the B8073 from Tobermory to Gruline. Unfortunately, the video is done in a time lapse format, so the whole loop is done in less than five minutes. You could have a quick look, just to get an idea about the width of the road.

If you're interested in ancient churches, there is a monastery at Kilninian, which is half way between Calgary and Oskamull. The church was built in the mid eighteenth century, on the site of a much older church. There are grave slabs in the church vestry which date from the early fourteenth century.

Have a wonderful visit to Mull!

Slainte!

Mike (Auchterless)