Best Thing to Mull Over in Scotland Is Nothing

The bus ride from the ferry landing to Tobermory, the minuscule capital of Mull, takes 45 minutes. Most likely the bus will stop somewhere to give a flock of black-faced sheep the right of way.

On this wild and beautiful island in western Scotland, the roads go up, the mists come down and sheep and deer outnumber people. Before you come into Tobermory you lose count of the waterfalls cutting through heather-strewn hills like so many shimmering silver ribbons. A crescent bay makes Tobermory one of Scotland’s great sailing centers, attracting yachtsmen from as far away as France and Scandinavia.

Yet for all the international boats anchored nearby, Tobermory’s Main Street retains the feel of a cozy town.

Short, umbrella-shaped trees line the waterfront; behind are small, solid buildings in jelly-bean colors. Beyond rise green hills and white cottages, each with its own trim garden.

At the bottom of the bay lie the remains of a Spanish galleon, one of the 132 ships of the defeated Spanish Armada that limped into Tobermory in 1588. Legend says it still conceals a fortune in golden ducats, but no one has found it. The present Duke of Argyll, whose family holds the salvage rights, has gone down in a diving suit to inspect the wreck.

What else is there to do in such an out-of-time place? That depends entirely on you. Many a morning I awoke, sat up in bed, looked out my hotel window at the boats “sleeping” on the bay, and watched the sun slowly slant its way through the mist before deciding what I’d do that day. Perhaps just roam around and absorb the atmosphere.

Footpaths thread the island, and a poster in the window of the tiny tourist office on Main Street offers this word of warning to anyone about to follow one:

“On Mull the fresh air comes to you unpolluted by smoke, fumes, dust or any other noxious substance. And it can be strong, intoxicating stuff! So watch out for any signs of uncontrollable whooping or leaping--some Mulleachs may frown on that kind of behavior.”

Diving is said to be Mull’s fastest growing sport for the good reason that its waters are among the clearest in Europe. You can rent a tank and the rest of the equipment you need from Tackle and Books, a small, cheerfully jumbled store on Main Street that’s as unique as its name.

Tobermory also offers good fishing and sea angling. Tackle and Books schedules angling trips, with tackle provided, that also offer the very real possibility of sighting a dolphin or whale. (A tourist recently pulled in a giant skate weighing a record 227 pounds that was tagged and returned the sea.)

You can also rent a rowboat, or climb aboard a 38-foot fishing launch for nine hours of trout and salmon fishing, tackle and bait provided.

I did neither, choosing instead to buy a book--a pictorial history of Mull that was sandwiched between a paperback of Kipling’s “The Light That Failed” and “Karma Cards, a New Age Guide to Your Future Through Astrology.”

The proprietors of the Hotel Tobermory on Main Street (practically everything is on Main Street, including the post office, the local tourist office, a branch of the Bank of Scotland and the one-room Mull Museum) also have a 44-foot yacht, Sea Topaz, and for about $75 U.S. you can arrange to spend night afloat in luxury.

Sailing time is 5:30 p.m. from Tobermory harbor and within an hour you’re stepping ashore at Loch Drombuie. Your ticket includes dinner in the ship’s saloon, or a barbecue on deck, as well as an English breakfast next morning before returning to Tobermory.

The Sea Topaz also makes a daily four-hour sail around the Sound of Mull. A $25 ticket includes lunch on board.

There’s a nifty nine-hole golf course belonging to the Western Isles Hotel that’s open to non-residents for about $8 a round.

You can go pony trekking at the Tobermory Trekking Center (Mull ponies are famous for their strength and endurance) for about $9 an hour, or rent a bicycle for about $7.50 a day, $35 a week.

In the village of Calgary some 10 miles away, there’s a gorgeous sandy beach within a horseshoe formed by three lush hills. In summer a bus leaves Tobermory for Calgary, twice daily, Mondays through Fridays.

There are also wildlife expeditions via Land Rover that set out from Tobermory at 10 a.m. and return at 5:30 p.m.

A picnic lunch is provided and your guide, Mull’s leading ornithologist, has his pockets stuffed with bird books, maps, etc., and his head crammed with fascinating facts about eagles otters and seals. Rain or shine, the Land Rover takes off as scheduled.

“Don’t be put of by a poor weather forecast,” reads a brochure. “Eagles . . . rather enjoy a wild day.”

Nights on Mull are neighborly and tame. The sophisticated boat people row in from their yachts and join the locals in the waterfront pubs.

The favorite is at the century-old Hotel Mishnish, whose owner, Bobby Macleod, is a sprightly septuagenarian and first-rate accordionist. He plays Broadway hits and Scottish folk tunes--tunes with the tug of the oars and the roar of the breakers in them, tunes that set his regular patrons to dancing the Highland Scottishe.

There happens to be a weekly dance in Aros Hall Community Center on Main Street. The dances might look familiar; they are the forerunners of many American folk dances.

Should you transport a car from the mainland (the ferry can accommodate 50 cars), or rent a car, with driver, on Tobermory (as I did), you might consider motoring eight miles north to the tiny village of Dervaig. Some consider it Mull’s most picturesque.

In Dervaig is the Mull Little Theatre, whose 38 seats make it, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, “the world’s smallest professional theatre.”

But if you’re yearning for peace and quiet, there’s no place I know that provides it better than Mull. Especially on a Sunday when only the stationer’s store opens on Main Street, and then only for one hour while customers queue up to buy the Sunday papers.

I settled at the base of the clock tower and read my paper, and after that I walked up into the hills, watched over by a mongrel who stood motionless on a stone wall.

I passed campers enjoying a late breakfast by a waterfall, and observed an elderly lady pruning her roses in a small, walled garden overlooking the harbor now far below. I squatted on the grass and watched gulls wheeling and twisting in the air, while listening to the bleating of sheep I couldn’t see.

I walked the steep streets lined with white cottages. Each of them had at least one gull perched on its roof alongside the only visible sign of today: a TV antenna.

Finally, I walked up the highest hill and wandered the graveled paths of the town’s cemetery, and I wasn’t surprised to discover after reading the weathered tombstones that for more than a century now the people of this kindly, peaceful island have lived well into their 90s.

It was the most relaxing Sunday I have ever known.

Mulling Over Your Scotland Holiday

How to get there: Take British Rail from Glasgow’s Queen St. station to the town of Oban; a ferry (docked around the corner from the train station) takes you across to Craignure on Mull. Afterward it’s on to Tobermory by bus. A five-hour trip with spectacular Highland scenery.

Where to stay: The Tobermory, Harbour House and Mishnish are small, charming hotels on Main Street. The Western Isles Hotel, larger and grandeur, situated on a cliff overlooking the bay, boasts a nine-hole golf course and a Sun Lounge with a harbor view.

And there’s a Scottish Youth Hostel on Main Street, as well as B&B; accommodations in cottages up in the hills above town.

Where to eat: Tobermory isn’t exactly rife with restaurants, but every hotel has excellent food and serves non-residents. Gannet’s and The Captain’s Table are small restaurants on Main Street open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Special events: Mull Musical Festival (held the last weekend in April) features piping, accordion and singing competitions in every hotel and bar. Mull Highland Games (third Thursday in July) include piping, Highland dancing, tossing the caber and Cumberland wrestling. Competitors from all over Scotland are led by a pipe band from Tobermory’s pier up the hill to the golf course, site of the games.

Day-trips: No tour buses leave from Tobermory; all buses leave from Craignure, Mull’s ferry landing. The Mull Circular Tour’s first step is Duart Catle. Tobermory’s the next-to-last stop, so you can leave the coach at that point. Another tour includes visits to Calgary Bay and the village of Dervaig. Again, Tobermory is the next-to-last stop.

A bus ride from Craignure, followed by a 10-minute ride on a toy-sized motor launch, will take you to the tiny island of Iona, better known as the Sacred Isle in recognition of the fact that St. Columba came there in AD 563. Today it’s the most famous center of Celtic Christianity. Its abbey, ruins of a nunnery, austere little chapel and ancient cemetery have drawn pilgrims from around the world.

--B.G.

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