After spending many years on my ‘to visit’ list, we finally made it to the Isle of Mull for a week at the start of June. Mull is renowned for its wildlife and beautiful coastline, and after fantastic trips to Skye and Orkney last year we were keen to explore more of Scotland’s islands.
We didn’t have the best weather while we were there (but being honest, we were definitely overdue a wet week in Scotland, after having incredible weather for the majority of our recent trips). Despite the rain (and hail) we still managed to get out and explore – maybe we didn’t get to do some of the big walks we’d hoped for like Ben More, but we still managed to do a walk everyday and definitely got a flavour for the island. Plus, it’s a good excuse to go back! Just make sure than if you go, you pack your waterproofs…
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Speinne Mor
At the start of the week, we were forecast just one dry day without gale force winds. While we both wanted to climb Ben More, it’s an all day expedition which would’ve meant we wouldn’t have time to do anything else, so we decided to sacrifice Munro bagging for a few shorter walks incase we couldn’t do them later in the week. The first of these walks was a hike up to the top of Speinne Mor, the highest point on the north of Mull.
We followed a 9km linear route from our Pocket Mountains guide to Mull. The route starts from a small roadside parking area (more like a small lay-by) on the road from Tobermory to Dervaig, and immediately picks up a grassy trail heading through a gate before starting to head uphill.
The grassy trail rapidly becomes very indistinct and boggy – when we intermittently reached the occasional rocky section, I was intensely relieved and then very disappointed when they invariably ended after no more than a few hundred metres. Trudging uphill on a rough boggy path is never fun, but there were at least some nice views back down over Loch Frisa to keep us going once we’d climbed the first leg.
I have to say I wasn’t a massive fan of this walk: I don’t mind a bit of bog, but when it’s more than 70% of the route I start getting a bit fed up. Sam on the other hand loved it and said it was his favourite walk of the week – he doesn’t mind ‘a bit of bog’, and in fairness the views down over Tobermory and the sound of Mull from the summit were very good. The return route is back the way you came, and at least you’re going downhill…
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. There were no stiles or other obstacles on this route, nor were there any sheep, so Coal was able to be off lead for the whole route (Merry stays on-lead unless we can guarantee no birds). The bog does at least mean that there are puddles here and there your dog can take a drink from if they’re thirsty too!
Calgary Beach
One of the places at the very top of my Mull list was Calgary Beach. With white sands and no photos on Google of cows on the beach (a rarity on Mull), it was somewhere I knew we’d make sure to visit before the week was up. With plenty of daylight left after we got back to the car from Speinne Mor, we carried on down the road to Dervaig and soon arrived at the car park for Calgary Beach.
There’s parking for plenty of cars in a beach side car park, and arriving just after lunchtime we nabbed the last space available. Parking is charged for with a donation box, £3 for cars or £10 for camper vans. The car park is right by the beach and with it being so full I thought it would be super busy, but actually there was still loads of space – there is a nearby sculpture trail so this perhaps accounts for the lack of people.
Rather than doing the trail we just walked up and down the beach a few times. As well as the stunning white sand, the sea is a fantastic shade of turquoise – it looks more like the Maldives than Scotland. When we’d finished we couldn’t resist stopping off at the booth in the car park and treating ourselves to an ice cream (when raspberry ripple is an option, it’s compulsory to stop and order it). This booth also sold snacks and hot drinks, but ice cream cannot be ignored!
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. Both of our dogs had a wonderful time playing in the sea here. They had plenty of space (other than a dog who made a beeline for us, which even with all the space in the world you sometimes can’t avoid). If it had been a bit warmer I might have been tempted to have a paddle too, but at 8 degrees I stayed firmly on shore! Dogs are welcome at Calgary Beach all year round.
Aros Park Falls
On our first evening in any new cottage, I spend a bit of time leafing through the visitor book and welcome pack to see what other people recommend seeing and doing in the area. One of the things the owner had included was a forestry leaflet detailing a number of woodland walks around Mull. I hadn’t realised Mull had so many trees, Skye and Orkney being rather less wooded, but there were some really great looking walks to choose from.
Aros Park is a forestry woodland near Tobermory, and as we were driving past it on our way home we decided to stop off and have a quick look at the falls. We parked in the falls car park, picking up a path which took us straight to the upper falls before continuing down to the lower falls, but there are a number of car parks to choose from as well as a few different way marked walking trails.
The path we followed was mostly clear and obvious, although uneven in places and we realised once we reached the lower falls that we’d been walking down hill the whole way – and now needed to retrace our steps back up! It wasn’t anything awful though, we were just a bit tired after a busy day. Regardless, we were both glad we’d stopped off as Aros Park is lovely: very green with two impressive waterfalls, as well as a good view back towards Tobermory from the bottom of the hill. If we’d had more time we’d have either walked along the coast to Tobermory or up to the lochan trail, however it had been a very long day and it was nearly tea time, so we reluctantly headed back to the car.
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. Another walk with no livestock or stiles, and as an added bonus the river is accessible in places for dogs to have a paddle. Just keep an eye out in some places for drops, and also be mindful of letting dogs run around corners out of sight – the paths here can be narrow and twisty, and you don’t want your dog taking out an unsuspecting stranger as they barrel around a corner.
Scallastle River Trail
The next day dawned bright and blustery, with intermittent heavy showers and a rather chilly wind. Geared up with our winter hats on, we set off to do another route from our Pocket Mountains guide at nearby Scallastle Woods. At just shy of 5km we were confident that we could get around the walk in the dry window forecast, and even if we did get caught in the rain, at least we wouldn’t be out in it for too long.
There is free parking at the start of the walk, just off the A849 by the Scallastle sign. When I got out of the car to put my boots on I was immediately mobbed by midges (Sam sensibly had put his on at the cottage and therefore got to stay safely in the car while I faffed around). They were so awful I almost suggested abandoning the walk, but happily they disappeared as soon as we set off walking – the trees around the car park had sheltered them from the wind, but most of the tracks on this walk are quite open and a good breeze can blow through. Phew!
The start and end of this walk are predominantly through trees, but there is a lovely loop at the halfway point where the trees thin and you get some very nice views of the river and back towards the coast. The path does get rockier and more uneven here, as well as climbing steeply in a few places, but it’s nothing too prolonged and should be manageable for most people. And we managed to get all the way around before it started raining – but only just!
Dog friendly rating – 5/5. This is another great dog walk where there were no stiles or livestock, and we were able to have Coal off-lead all the way. It was also very quiet – we didn’t see a single other person.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our time on Mull so far – make sure to come back next week for part two, including all the details on where we stayed. You can subscribe below so that you never miss a post:
