Scotland : Mull

There are three main ferries that connect Mull with the Scottish mainland. There’s a ferry to Tobermory, the principal town of the island, from Kilchoan that takes both passengers and vehicles. Kilchoan is a village on the Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Britain. 

Lochaline is the main village in the Morvern area of Highland, Scotland. The village is at the mouth of Loch Aline, on the northern shore of the Sound of Mull. A ferry operates over to Fishnish on Mull, again taking vehicles and passengers.

Most people arriving on Mull on a ferry come from Oban to the Craignure ferry terminal. From here, buses operate to both Tobermory and Fionnphort, the ferry terminal, to get to the Isle of Iona. I made the mistake of arriving on the late morning ferry from Oban with my luggage. The bus was packed with people on a day trip from Oban who, like me, were heading to Tobermory. I think some buses from Craignure to Tobermory call at the Fishnish ferry too.

Having unsquashed myself from the back seat of the bus, I headed to the bright pink Tobermory Hotel on the main street of this charming seaside fishing port. The colours of the properties on this street are arrestingly beautiful and worth staring at for a few minutes. I am sure you’ll be pleased to hear that during my time in Tobermory, I found no reference to The Wombles.

The Mull Museum is a wonderful showcase of the history of the island. It’s on the main street and is free, so please make a donation to keep this place open. The number of prehistoric sites including crannogs, standing stones, and burial cairns on the island particularly fascinated me and when I come back one day, I’ll have to visit some of them. Mull’s most fascinating story though is the is-there-isn’t-there tale of the Spanish Galleon somewhere in the harbour which may or may not have treasure on board. The galleon got a bit lost on its way back to Spain after being part of the Spanish Armada in 1588. 

The ship appears to have had different names at different times. What isn’t disputed is that it called into Tobermory for provisions setting in motion a chain of events that led to an explosion on board. Before the explosion Lachlan Mor Maclean, chief of the Clan Maclean, offered aid to the Spanish captain in exchange for support against his rivals, the MacDonalds, but the hundred Spanish soldiers made little difference when the MacLeans attacked a local MacDonald castle. 

People made many salvage attempts over the following decades and centuries. People recovered some brass cannons, but no treasure, at least no gold. Divers kept trying to find something valuable and in 1678 things became heated when the latest investigators of the wreck had a battle with the clan MacLean on land.