Isle of Mull
United Kingdom · Europe
About
The Isle of Mull, or simply Mull, is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides of the west coast of Scotland. The island consists of three large peninsulas jutting out to the west from the south-eastern, mountainous core of the island, which is home to the highest mountain and only Munro in the Scottish islands outside of Skye, Ben More, which dominates the skyline of the island. Off the west coast of the island lie many smaller islands, including Iona and Staffa, with Ulva being the largest of the outlying islands.
Covering 875.35 square kilometres (337.97 sq mi), Mull is the fourth-largest island in Scotland. With a population of 3,063, it has the eighth largest island population in Scotland. In the summer, these numbers are augmented by an influx of many tourists. Much of the year-round population lives in the colourful main settlement of Tobermory, a planned fishing town which was the filming location of Balamory, a popular children's TV show, the popularity of which caused an increase in tourism to the island.
Tobermory is situated in the north-east of the Aros peninsula, the northernmost of the three major west-facing peninsulas, which it shares with the village of Dervaig and the white sand beach of Calgary. Ardmeanach is the middle of these peninsulas, a sparsely populated and mountainous piece of land which is almost entirely cut off from the rest of the island by Ben More. The third of these peninsulas is the Ross of Mull, on which the villages of Bunessan and Fionnphort are located, the latter being where the ferry to Iona operates.
There are two distilleries on the island: the Tobermory distillery, formerly named Ledaig, produces single malt Scotch whisky, and another, opened in 2019 and located in the vicinity of Tiroran, which produces Whitetail Gin. Mull is host to numerous sports competitions, notably the Highland Games competition, held annually in July, and the Mull Rally. The isle is home to four castles, including the towering castle of Duart and the keep of Moy Castle. On the south coast, a stone circle is located in the settlement of Lochbuie.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.