Travelling Scotland: The Isle of Mull

I wasn't sure what to expect from Mull. I knew there was the beautiful town of Tobermory in the north (which a British children's TV fictionalised as Ballermory) and the Island of Iona (the symbolic centre of Scottish Christianity) to the south west but I wasn't expecting the magnificent beauty of the coastal roads and mountains.

     
We got the Oban - Criagnure ferry crossing and decided to drive clockwise around the top circuit of the island to get to our accommodation just south of Tobermory, Arle Lodge an excellent b&b (continental) which offers the opportunity of self-catering and a large communal space for all guests. 

Calgary Beach is a beautiful white sand beach towards in the north of Mull

Tobermory

The View from Arle Lodge

  

 Glengorm Castle

We enjoyed a stroll around the grounds of Glengorm Castle which is NW of Tobermory. 

The Standing Stones are thought to be 4000 years old

The Route to Fionnphort

We decided to take the west coastal route to Fionnphort which again, was quite stunning. 

Iona

We stayed overnight in Fionnphort for our trip to Iona which lies approximately 1 km away. A regular ferry shuttles between Fionnphort and Iona all day. Iona is a small island which is easy to walk around. The highlight for many visitors is visiting the Abbey which "is the most elaborate and best-preserved ecclesiastical building surviving from the Middle Ages in the Western Isles of Scotland" (Wikipedia). In front of the abbey is the 9th Century St. Martins Cross which is one of the best preserved Celtic crosses in the whole of the UK.

Remains of the Nunnery

Our final journey on Mull before we headed for Fort William on the mainland took us to the Fishnish ferry terminal via Duart Castle (which was used in the film Entrapment). This is another very popular tourist destination on Mull, we didn't go in though, we prefer to look at them from afar.