Isle of Mull

Colored houses of Tobermory

We describe in this page our one day trip through Mull. Our tour on Mull was a circle along its coast. Mull is the second largest isle of the inner Hebrides after Skye. One day is not enough to really explore the isle of Mull. Mull offers various landscapes, numerous small isles to explore around its coasts, there is enough to explore for at least a week. Wilder than Skye, Mull's highest peak is the impressive Ben More (3169 ft).

Colored houses of Tobermory

We went to Mull from the small harbour of Tobermory. We took the ferry from Kilchoan on Ardnamurchan peninsula. This small ferry has room for only five or six cars. Half an hour before departure, some cars queue along the ferry terminal and some more cars come to put the children on board, probably to go to school on the other side. The ferry is really small and we have to drive in on reverse in order to get off on forward at Tobermory. The trip across is short and the fine weather allow us to admire the coast of Mull. Tobermory is quite hidden in its small bay and cannot be seen from the ferry. We have to get off the ferry to see the row of vividly painted houses which are on all the guides on Mull. Tobermory is the administrative center of Mull but this morning, the place is really quiet.

We left westward toward Calgary bay.

View towards Dervaig and loch Chumhainn

The road goes through the country until wediscover a view overlooking Dervaig and loch Chumhainn. Dervaig has two peculiarities. There is a very small theater, one of the world smallest professional theater open from april to september. The church of Dervaig, Kilmore church has a round bell tower (so that the devil cannot hide in a corner). This type of tower is frequent in Ireland but rarely seen in Scotland.

Standing stones near Dervaig

A few meters away from this point of view we reach a meadow where lie two standing stones, a trace left by the first residents of the isle. A soft light touch the meadow and the lichen-covered stones, the atmosphere is really quiet and appeasing.

Calgary bay

The first planned stop of the day is Calgary, a beautiful sand beach which will probably stay one of our favorites. A few houses, some machair (a very grass lawn just along the beach) where some ewes feed on quietly, it constitue one of the seascapes of Scotland. A few other people stroll along the beach. We taste the water and take a bath in the water. It is very difficult to go away from this gorgeous bay.

Calgary bay

We go on trying to be the nearest the coast as possible. The landscape is outstanding, we drive on the tiny single track road that drives beneath the cliffs of Gribun. the cliffs are quite impressive and crossing oncoming vehicles can be quite challenging.

Fionnphort, isle of Iona on the background

Fionnphort, ferry for Iona

Fionnphort, isle of Iona on the background

After the quiet beach of Calgary bay and the wild coast we have gone through, Fionnphort is our coming back to civilisation. Indeed Fionnphort is the gate to Iona. Most of the tourist come to Fionnphort to go visit Iona and its abbey. It is at Iona in 563 A.D. that Saint Columba came to Scotland and founded the monastery from which began the christanisation of Scotland. This attraction drains a lot of people, on the large car park outside the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal there are a lot of buses. Iona was on our agenda but we spent more time than scheduled on Calgary bay. Moreover we are not particularly enthusiastic about being surrounded by so many people. We prefer just looking at Iona from Fionnphort. Fortunately a lot of people means a lot of shops. We grab some food for lunch and look at the postcards outside the shops. We also go through the gaelic part of the bookshop before going to Craignure.

Duart Castle and a panoramic view towards mainland

Lighthouse of Lismore, seen from Mull

Duart Castle and a panoramic view towards mainland, Morven and the isle of Lismore

The road to Craignure is less impressive than the other part of our journey. Just before the ferry terminal of Craignure we have some time to go to Duart castle. The small road to the castle have some large views of the great Glen, Morven, Lismore and mainland. Duart castle is the castle of clan MacLean. Our tour of the isle ends very near, at Craignure. Craignure is made of a few houses, some shops and the ferry terminal. We are heading to Oban.
Follow this link to see all the photos.

Some links:
Argyll's official website: www.visitscottishheartlands.com
Duart castle: www.duartcastle.com