Isle of Mull

Where to base yourself on Mull depends largely on how much of the island you intend to cover. Tobermory is the natural choice for a first visit, putting the harbourfront restaurants, the distillery and the passenger ferry to Kilchoan all within walking distance, and it makes a comfortable base for day trips north to Calgary Bay or south towards Salen and Craignure. Craignure itself suits visitors without a car-based itinerary, sitting a few minutes from the Oban ferry with Duart Castle and the miniature railway close by, useful for early starts or late arrivals. Further south and west, the Ross of Mull and Fionnphort put Iona and the Staffa boat trips on the doorstep, at the cost of a longer single-track drive back to the rest of the island.

Accommodation on Mull runs from country-house hotels and self-catering castle apartments to working inns and boutique guest houses, but genuinely large hotels are rare and rooms book up quickly in summer, particularly around the Tobermory Highland Games and the ferry-dependent Iona crossing in July and August. Anyone travelling without a car should check how far their chosen base is from the nearest bus route or ferry terminal, since Mull's public transport, while reliable, runs to a limited timetable. Booking well ahead, especially for July and August weekends, is strongly advised across every price bracket.

Mull rewards slow travel more than a checklist, but these are the island's defining experiences:

• Duart Castle is the ancestral seat of Clan Maclean, a 13th-century stronghold perched on a headland with views across the Sound of Mull to Ben Nevis.
• Tobermory itself is worth a half-day, from its harbourfront shops and galleries to the small Mull Museum and the Tobermory Distillery, which has been producing single malt since 1798.
• A boat trip to Staffa takes in Fingal's Cave and its cathedral-like basalt columns, plus a summer puffin colony on the neighbouring cliffs.
• Iona, reached by a short passenger ferry from Fionnphort, holds Iona Abbey and the burial ground of early Scottish kings, and its white-sand bays rival anywhere in the Caribbean for colour.
• Mull Eagle Watch runs guided hides and walks to see white-tailed eagles, Britain's largest bird of prey, reintroduced to the island in the 1980s.
• Calgary Bay, on the north-west coast, is a sweeping white-sand beach backed by machair and woodland, with an open-air sculpture trail in the trees above it.
• Ben More offers a serious but rewarding hillwalk for the fit, climbing directly from sea level to 966 metres with views over Iona, Coll and Tiree from the summit.
• The Isle of Mull Railway at Craignure, a narrow-gauge miniature line, is a gentle family outing running alongside Duart Bay towards Torosay.

Mull's food scene punches well above its size, built on the seafood landed at its own piers. Tobermory's harbour is dotted with seafood shacks and smokehouses selling langoustines, scallops and smoked salmon caught within sight of the tables where they are served, and the Tobermory Fish Farm supplies much of the island's fresh salmon and trout. Tobermory Distillery, one of Scotland's oldest, produces both a peated Ledaig malt and an unpeated Tobermory single malt, and offers tours and tastings on the harbourfront. Inland, Isle of Mull Cheese, made at Sgriob-ruadh Farm just outside Tobermory using unpasteurised milk from the farm's own herd, is sold across the island and well beyond it. Pubs and inns such as the Mishnish and the Bellachroy serve hearty, locally sourced menus alongside real ales and an extensive range of island and mainland malts, while smaller cafes at Calgary and Fionnphort turn out home baking and light lunches through the summer season.

Mull's camping is defined by its coastline: machair-backed beaches, sheltered sea lochs and, almost everywhere, views to a neighbouring island or the mainland hills. The terrain is a mix of rocky shore, rolling crofted farmland and, towards Ben More, genuine mountain ground, and most established sites sit on the flatter coastal fringe around Craignure, Salen and the Ross of Mull rather than inland. Scotland's right to roam extends to wild camping in most unenclosed areas, and Mull sees a good deal of it, but campers should keep well away from farmland in use, follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and be prepared for genuinely changeable Atlantic weather even in high summer, since a still, sunny morning can turn to driving rain within the hour.

The camping season on Mull runs roughly from Easter to the end of September, with June offering the best balance of long daylight and manageable midges, which become troublesome inland and in the evenings from July onward. Wind, rather than rain, is usually the bigger factor in choosing a pitch, and sheltered, tree-lined sites fill first when westerlies pick up. Facilities are generally simple rather than resort-style, reflecting the island's crofting character, so it's worth checking opening dates and hook-up availability directly with each site before travelling, particularly outside the core summer months.