I’m sure you saw the epic road trip that Nelson and I took from London to Scotland a few weeks ago – well, the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland was our second island stop and by far, my favourite of all of the Scottish isles.
When I was planning my island hopping route, Mull seemed like the best option, purely based on logistically moving our way up north. I hadn’t expected to see so much beauty and, with a bit of foresight, I would have scheduled a lot more time on this fantastic island.
Taking our ferry from Oban on the mainland, we arrived into Craignure ferry terminal, we took one of the few roads on the island south to Fionnphort Bay, arriving to scenes straight out a movie set in paradise. Would you ever expect to see such turquoise clear waters in Scotland?! I certainly didn’t! (Nb. I will admit, it was freezing)
From Fionnphort, you can take short ferry journeys to the smaller islands of Iona & Staffa and see the puffin colonies in the area. Alas, luck was not on our side when we visited as the weather, although clear, was far too windy, meaning the tours had to be called off for safety reasons. You can see how windy it was from the pic above, it was even blowing Nelson away!
We then took the westerly coastal route around the island and this is something I recommend highly! I have never seen scenery like this before. Being in control of the car, going up and down and round and round the windy cliff edge roads was as equally terrifying as it was exhilarating. Every so often a car may come in the other direction or an errant sheep will stop you in your path but really, it just feels like it’s you, the road and those breath-taking views.
After some exploring on the island we found ourselves in the gorgeous little port village of Tobermory. The multi-coloured buildings that line the port instantly give the place a magical and quaint feeling. The shops are all independent, stocking locally produced blankets, pillows and my very favourite, Mull shortbread biscuits.
While in Tobermory, make sure you check out the Whisky Distillery, est. in 1798, the Tobermory Single Malt Distillery is the only one on the island and one of the oldest in Scotland.
Once you’ve finished your tour of the distillery, pop next door to the Macgochans pub for some seriously delicious and locally sourced seafood. Yum.
We had some time to kill before our next ferry arrived so we set off to walk off lunch and for Nelson wanted to stretch his legs. We ask a local if there was somewhere nice for a good old fashioned dog walk and they helpfully pointed us in the direction of Aros Park, just five minutes round the corner.
Expecting a pretty standard green open space, we were pleasantly surprised with what we found; walking paths stretch for miles as do the lush surrounding and lake running through the centre.
Natural waterfalls line the hills and, like everything on the Isle of Mull, everywhere you look, there is beauty.
There are many places that I want to revisit from my travels but the Isle of Mull is smack bang at the top of my list.