Travel – Mull

This is an excerpt from my book Travels through History : Ten Scottish Islands currently on sale at a discount.

The Western Isles hotel looks out over the town and is a reminder that in World War II, Tobermory was home to the Royal Navy training base HMS Western Isles, under the command of the legendary Vice-Admiral Sir Gilbert Stephenson, the so-called “Terror of Tobermory”. Broadcaster Richard Baker, who trained under him during his reign, wrote his biography. 

Tobermory Distillery has, at various times in its history, also been called Ledaig. To add to the confusion, bottled whiskies have appeared under both names. However, today Ledaig is the peaty version and Tobermory has a lighter, unpeated style. The distillery is close to the harbour and provides tours around the premises. On the island, they distill Tobermory Hebridean Gin from botanicals and a splash of spirit from the whisky stills.

The position of Duart castle was well chosen. It’s on a high crag at the end of a peninsula jutting into the Sound of Mull. It commands the channel between Mull and the mainland, entrances to Lochs Linne and Etive and the neck of the Firth of Lorne as it meets the Sound of Mull. The ferries to and from Oban pass close to it. 

Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean built the Keep and on the vulnerable landward side its stonework is 29 feet (9m) high and 10 feet (3m) thick. The walls facing the sea are less thick, ranging from 5 to 9 feet (1.8m to 2.4m). Sir Fitzroy Maclean completely refurbished the Castle in 1911. Before this date, the Castle was a ruin from the time of the 18th Century.

The castle is not the easiest place to get to if you don’t have a car. I caught the bus to Craignure and then walked towards the castle on its peninsula, but it never seemed to get any closer. I think a public bus might head towards the castle at certain times of day, but I might be wrong.