A week in Mull with Isle of Mull Cottages

I’m an island lass at heart. Islands run through my veins, and we were lucky enough to get the opportunity to spend some time exploring Mull recently. Islands provide an anchor to which I always return; they feel familiar and restorative – like home. The ever-present sea offers security and constancy in a fast-paced world. Islands allow me to slow down and breathe.

We spent our week with Isle of Mull Cottages, our trip coinciding with some of the best summer weather so far. Under the blue skies and turquoise waters of Mull, I was keen to explore these Inner Hebridean islands.

Getting to Mull is easy; CalMac runs three routes to the island from the west coast of mainland Scotland. The easiest way is to book the 45-minute Oban to Craignure sailing, which guarantees you passage at your chosen time. Otherwise, you can book the shorter ‘turn up and go’ sailing from Lochaline to Fishnish or Kilchoan to Tobermory.

Mull itself is part of the Inner Hebrides and sits off the west coast of Scotland, with Islay, Jura and Colonsay to the south, Kerrera and Lismore to the east, Coll and Tiree and the uninhabited Treshnish Isles and Staffa to the west.

The island has a population of around 2,700, split between the different regions of the island. We stayed in the south, on the Ross of Mull, an area famed for its spectacular coastline and beautiful sandy beaches.

Our property for the week, Heron View, is located at Gowanbrae in the village of Bunessan and with fantastic sea views across the tidal sea loch, a raised patio with comfortable outdoor seating to bask in the Hebridean sunshine, it was the perfect place to stay. The hours quickly slipped away as we watched the local wildlife and tracked the evening sun as it sunk through the sky after a busy day exploring Mull.

Heron View is ideal for families or couples; with two reception rooms downstairs and a well-stocked kitchen, shower room and utility, there’s plenty of space for everyone. Whether you want to chill out with a book beside the log burner or stretch out on the sofa and watch TV, there’s something for every family member. Upstairs are a double, a twin room, and a second bathroom.

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5 things to do in Mull

This blog will explore some family days out you can enjoy in Mull.

Have a beach day — or three!

It would be remiss to begin a blog about the Ross of Mull and not speak about the beautiful beaches. The Ross of Mull is renowned for its stunning white sandy beaches and excellent swim spots. Why not bring a kayak or a SUP board and explore the fractured coastline, peppered with inlets, hidden beaches and caves.

Uisken Beach with the Paps of Jura on the horizon

Just a short drive from Bunessan, Uisken and Ardalanish has stunning white sandy beaches. We spent a day at Uisken when we arrived, parking beside the beach and taking our wetsuits to explore the water. Uisken is an ideal spot for sea swimming with kids as the bay is relatively shallow and protected by a smattering of small islands within the bay that you can easily swim to and explore. Dipping our toes into the crystal-clear water, we let the magic of Mull wash over us as the adventure began.

Not far from Uisken, Ardalanish is a long, sandy beach backed by stunning machair, awash in vibrant colour throughout the summer months.

We also spent a lazy afternoon exploring Fidden Beach, a mile from Fionnphort. Fidden is another safe beach for children as it is shallow and relatively sheltered by the many granite outcrops that create islands when the tide is high. Despite being close to a busy campsite, the beach feels private due to these pink granite outcrops, which break up the expanse of sand into little secluded coves. As the children island hopped amid the shallows, we lazily wandered the tideline looking for gifts cast ashore by the sea. As an islander, the desire to beachcomb is strong, and Mull’s pristine beaches offer a tantalising myriad of colourful little shells that shimmer like glitter in the sunshine.

The beauty of Uisken and Fidden is that you can park right beside the beach, meaning that it’s not far to get to the sea if you are taking wetsuits, kayaks and SUP boards. Any parent will sigh with relief upon reading this!

Calgary Bay is Mull’s most famous beach. Set within a beautiful open bay in the north of Mull and backed by machair and high hills, Calgary is a tranquil spot to unwind. We visited after a busy morning exploring Tobermory, Mull’s bustling capital. The beach is vast and felt in no way crowded despite the car park being busy with sun-seeking families armed with windbreaks and SUP boards.

Mull’s beaches are predominantly made up of fine shell sand, and we spent hours scouring the strandline for the much sought-after cowrie shell, a favourite find for avid shell collectors and, in many regions, believed to bring luck to the finder. In Mende culture, cowrie shells are viewed as symbols of womanhood, fertility, birth and wealth. Shells create homes for many species and break down to release minerals and nutrients to the complex shoreline ecosystem. Taking a few shells from a beach would have little impact if you were the only person doing it, but as collecting becomes more popular, it becomes more of an issue from an ecological point of view. One solution is quite simple; collect your finds, snap them in situ and then scatter them to the sea for someone else to discover.

Visit Mull Aquarium

Tobermory is home to Europe’s first catch-and-release aquarium, which sits on the waterfront and offers hours of entertainment for visitors, both young and old.

Brought in by local fishermen, the animals in the aquarium are released back into the wild after four weeks. Not only does this mean that the animals are re-released back into the wild rather than kept in captivity, but it also means that every visit is different!

The aquarium offers a fun and interactive touch pool session where staff speak about all the creatures in the tank, allowing visitors to hold them and learn more about the species that live in the waters around Mull.

Tobermory itself is a bustling town with a colourful heart. Strung out along the waterfront, the brightly painted cottages that line the street were famously used as the setting for the children’s TV series Balamory. Tobermory is a vibrant, picture-perfect town, built as a fishing port in the late 18th century, and today still supports a handful of small fishing boats that supply the local restaurants. The port is also popular with small expedition cruises and visiting yachts giving it a lively and cosmopolitan feel. It’s worth popping into the gift shops that line the street to pick up a Mull souvenir from one of the island’s talented makers.
For those with a taste for Scotland’s uisge beatha, or water of life, Tobermory is also home to Tobermory Distillery. If you’d like a distillery tour, booking this in advance is best; otherwise, pop into the shop, where they will talk you through the whiskies and maybe give you a wee dram.

Drive the scenic west coast road from Salen

Mull’s roads are generally all single track, other than a few stretches between Tobermory and Craignure, but the best road in Mull to enjoy the spectacular scenery and the chance of some incredible wildlife is the scenic west coast road that runs between Salen and Pennyghael – or vice versa. We drove this road several times, but the most memorable drive was at sunset when the June sun hung low in the sky, casting golden veils of light across the surrounding hills. This route is thronged with wildlife, from the sheep who lazily graze the verges and the eagles who soar high above to the chance of an otter and the statue-like heron who fish in the shallows. This drive is hands down one of the best we’ve ever done in Scotland.

Visit Ardalanish Weavers

A few miles from Bunessan, Ardalanish is a 1,500-acre farm on the Ross of Mull. The real highlight of a visit here, other than the animals and home products for sale in the shop, is the Weaving Shed, where you can watch as their skilled weavers work on producing traditional woven cloths on the noisy, clattering Dobcross power looms. These machines have served the British textile industry for over a hundred years and, although slower than modern looms, enable the weaver to maintain the highest possible quality cloth. Woven cloth has been produced in Scotland for millennia, predating knitting – in fact, scraps of woven cloth have even been discovered in 2,000-year-old Iron Age sites in Scotland – and it’s fascinating to see an age-old craft in action.

Eat!

The food scene in Mull is fantastic, and as well as tucking into local farm produce from the local shop and eating at the cottage after a long day exploring, we also enjoyed some excellent food while eating out. Here are our pick of the best:

Visit the award-winning Creel Seafood Bar in Fionnphort for supper with views across the Sound of Iona, or start your day with their signature scallop and black pudding breakfast roll.
Indulge in a Land and Sea Board from the Glass Barn, just outside Tobermory. Home of Isle of Mull Cheese, the Glass Barn is an incredible place to enjoy some of Mull’s amazing local produce, including their own cheese and pork, as well as fish from the Tobermory Fish Company and Island Bakery oatcakes.
Enjoy the freshest available seafood at Cafe Fish, a beautiful restaurant on the pier at Tobermory overlooking the bustling harbour.
Hop across the Sound of Iona and visit Ailidh – a girl with an oven and a love of Neapolitan pizza, local seafood and sweet treats. Pizzas can be pre-ordered online and enjoyed on the beach looking across to Mull.
Mooch over to The Lazy Cow Cafe and Farmshop in Creich for delicious, generously portioned meals in their modern, glass-fronted restaurant overlooking the stunning Ross of Mull countryside.

These are just five suggestions for things to do in Mull that all the family will enjoy but remember to allow time to slow down and enjoy your stunning accommodation. We spent our evenings lounging outside Heron View, soaking up the last of the Mull sunshine and watching the local heron fish and a family of ducks lazily fleeting back and forth across the water. The Visitors Book told us that many guests watched otters from the house, although our young family were too noisy to allow an otter-spotting experience, kids, huh. We lazily walked along the road from the cottage identifying wildflowers and cosied up in the evening, enjoying the beautiful surroundings of our homely house.

Mull was incredible, and we left feeling refreshed and sun-kissed with a burning desire to return and explore the rest of the island.

You can read more about our trip, here