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on Mull.

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Isle of Mull

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From the magazine20 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 01Issue 01Autumn / Winter 2020

Winter is one of the best times to see otters on the Isle of Mull, because the icy sea means they have to hunt for much of the day.

Otters are shy and mostly nocturnal, and despite a successful comeback they are still an uncommon sight on mainland rivers. Along Mull's coast in winter, though, the cold water means they must hunt for large parts of the day just to keep up their energy, which gives visitors a good chance of seeing them. They may look cute and cuddly, but they bring big prey ashore: crabs, fish, octopus and even lobster. They eat the best bits quickly and leave the scraps for the gulls and hooded crows. Ferries to Mull sail from Oban, Lochaline and Kilchoan, and the most direct, from Oban, takes around 45 minutes.

Read the full story in Issue 01
Did you know18 hours ago

White-tailed eagles, the UK's largest birds of prey, died out in Scotland in 1918 and returned from 1975, starting on the Isle of Rum.

Their huge size and broad, almost rectangular wings have earned them the nickname of the flying barn door. The first birds were released on Rum in a project led by the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage, and more releases followed over the years. Today they live along the west coast of Scotland and on the islands, where they catch fish and also take rabbits, hares and birds such as gulls and ducks. On Mull and Skye, boat trips from Tobermory and Portree go out to look for them.

Read about it
Place of the day17 hours ago

Tobermory distillery.

One of Scotland's oldest working distilleries, founded in 1798 at the end of Tobermory's Main Street, with tours and a shop.

Read about it
From the magazine15 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 12Issue 12Spring / Summer 2026

Gordon Buchanan, the wildlife film-maker who grew up on the Isle of Mull, says that home, for him, means mountains on the horizon and the sea in the foreground.

On Mull he felt more at home outdoors than in, going out on boats, climbing trees and climbing cliffs. 'I never feel completely at home if there isn’t a mountain or the ocean in sight'. As a boy he would walk down the main street in Tobermory to see which boats had come in, then go beachcombing, look in rockpools and scour the shoreline for whatever had washed up. The sea, he says, connects you to the rest of the world. Today he lives in the West End of Glasgow, the city where he has raised his children, and he loves walking into town.

Read the full story in Issue 12
From the magazine13 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 12Issue 12Spring / Summer 2026

The wildlife film-maker Gordon Buchanan has filmed all over the world, but his best ever bottlenose dolphin encounter was just round the corner from Tobermory, on Mull.

Gordon grew up on Mull, and he has never taken Scottish scenery or wildlife for granted. 'I’m very lucky that I get to see different parts of the world, but I’m no more excited about going to film somewhere like Kenya than I am about filming somewhere like Shetland'. He has swum with basking sharks in Scottish waters, and had amazing days out in the Cairngorms and phenomenal adventures in the mountains above Glencoe. Back on Mull recently, even places he has known all his life felt as if he was seeing them for the first time. His most memorable adventures of all, he says, have been in Scotland.

Read the full story in Issue 12
From the magazine12 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 01Issue 01Autumn / Winter 2020

The white-tailed eagles of the Isle of Mull found fame in 2005, through a pair called Skye and Frisa and their eaglets, Itchy and Scratchy.

White-tailed eagles, also called sea eagles, are among the largest eagles in the world, with a record wingspan of 2.9 metres. After they were reintroduced on the Isle of Rum, they set up home on Mull in the 1980s, and the island has become one of the best-known places to see them. They stay all year round and breed in summer, but winter is a different time to watch them. Young birds may gather in small groups to scavenge whatever the tide has washed up along the shore, while adult pairs can be spotted roosting together in trees, or building nests before spring.

Read the full story in Issue 01
Newly discovered10 hours agoIsle of MullHebridean Whale CentreAttractionIsle of MullCroft 3RestaurantIsle of MullAm BirlinnRestaurantIsle of MullThe GalleonRestaurantIsle of MullFossil TreeAttractionIsle of MullIsland sauna shackActivity

Some good places to go, newly added to the site.

The newest places on our pages on Mull.

Browse everywhere to go
Did you know7 hours ago

From Ulva Ferry on the Isle of Mull, Turus Mara lands visitors for two hours on Lunga, among the puffins of the Treshnish Isles.

Lunga is the largest of the Treshnish Isles, and its colony of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars and shags is one of the most accessible in Scotland. The boat leaves daily at 11.40am from April to the end of July, and calls at Staffa for an hour. It costs £85 for adults and £42.50 for under-16s. The family firm has sailed these waters since 1973, and runs trips from Oban too.

See Turus Mara · Argyll and Bute
From the magazine6 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 12Issue 12Spring / Summer 2026

The wildlife film-maker Gordon Buchanan was a 17-year-old schoolboy on the Isle of Mull, washing pots in a restaurant, when he was offered a job filming in Sierra Leone.

He had moved to Mull from Dumbarton at seven and felt more at home outside than in, though he never went looking for wildlife as such. The restaurant was run by Anne, the wife of the wildlife film-maker Nick Gordon, and Gordon never expected Nick to offer a job to a Tobermory High School pupil. 'The job found me more than anything,' he says. He got his first passport, left school and spent a year and a half living on an uninhabited island in the rainforest, so homesick that he missed the rain. Some of his best encounters with any animal since, he says, have been back home in Scotland.

Read the full story in Issue 12
From the magazine4 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 04Issue 04Spring / Summer 2022

Humpback whales are making a return to the seas off western Scotland, and anyone who spots one can log it on the free Whale Track app.

The app belongs to the Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust, a charity on the Isle of Mull that has worked to protect the whales, dolphins and porpoises of western Scotland for more than two decades. Over 28 species of whale and dolphin are found around the Scottish coast, from the small harbour porpoise to the enormous fin whale, and minke whales are the ones most often spotted, mainly in summer. Every sighting sent in helps the trust follow the movements of coastal species and learn about rare visitors such as humpbacks and orca. If you head out on a boat to look, the trust advises choosing an operator trained under the WiSe scheme, which teaches responsible wildlife watching.

Read the full story in Issue 04
Lunch2 hours agoIsle of MullCafé Fish8.4 milesIsle of MullThe Galleon8.4 milesArgyll and ButeThe Boathouse8.6 miles

Lunch near Salen Bay Hire.

The three good places closest to it: Café Fish, The Galleon and The Boathouse.

See Salen Bay Hire
Did you know1 hour ago

From Fionnphort on the Isle of Mull and from Iona, Staffa Tours sails out to Staffa, the island of Fingal's Cave.

The Staffa trip takes three hours and costs £45. The Staffa and Treshnish Isles Wildlife Tour takes six hours, costs £85 and adds the seabird islands, with puffins, dolphins, whales, basking sharks and sea eagles to look for. The company sails from Oban, Tobermory and Ardnamurchan as well. Its site says that from 16 September, while maintenance work goes on, the boats do not land on Staffa, so check before booking late in the season.

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