I'd just finished pitching the tent at Killiechronan on Mull and was taking in the view over the bay, when a familiar voice shouted hello. It was the very nice man who'd just given me a lift there from the Ulva ferry, enabling me to avoid six miles of road walking. He lives on Ulva and had been doing a wee trip to the Spar shop at Salen, another few miles away on Mull, when he thought I might appreciate a few groceries as well. So it was that I had fresh milk, tomatoes and cheese to supplement my rations that evening!
It had been the latest mode of travel in a series of transport connections that got me to and around Mull and its neighbouring island, Ulva as a non car owner. Three trains, a ferry and a bus had transported me to Tobermory, the main settlement on Mull and thereafter I was mostly on foot except for the welcome lift that day.
My backpacking trip had first taken me north out of Tobermory to walk Mull's quiet and rugged north coast. I was amazed how quickly I left the hustle and bustle of town, initially walking a quiet back road then picking up tracks and footpaths through the forests and down to the coast. I was soon looking for my first night's camp spot as it had been a long journey from home by public transport, about seven hours. I found a spot in the woods amongst a scatter of old ruins above the rocky coastline. Waves broke over the skerries in white plumes and the view stretched over the Sound of Mull to the rugged reaches of Ardnamurchan. The air was full with early summer birdsong and bluebells and primroses dotted the woodland floor.
From here an interconnecting series of core paths and forest tracks took me south through a mixed landscape of woods, forestry, farmland and loch. It was quiet with a barely another soul afoot. A long walk along the shores of Loch Frisa rewarded with moody views of Mull's hills and the discovery of a beautiful place to linger, The Fank. Here a stunning rusted sculpture sat amidst the walls of a old sheep fank while meadow grasses and buttercups swayed in a gentle breeze.
But my main goal in coming to Mull on this occasion was to cross to Ulva, a small island that sits off Mull's west coast. Ulva was a successful community buy-out in 2018 and I was keen to visit as I'd never been before. A small, privately-run ferry takes foot passengers back and forward as there are no vehicles on the island. When I arrived at the jetty, the first thing I had to do was summon the ferry which is done by moving a panel on a white noticeboard to uncover a red panel underneath. This is the signal that alerts the ferryman!
Stepping off the ferry onto Ulva, the first thing that struck me was the amount of woodland with the main village of the island being scattered close to the ferry amongst the trees. There are no tarmac roads so dirt paths and tracks connect the farms and houses here and meander through the lush, green woods. Then beyond here large swathes of regenerating woods cloak the backbone of the island. Before setting out on my walk across the island, I lingered a while at its little church. What a beautiful spot it was, hidden away in the trees and the bluebells. A memorial to islanders killed during the war was especially poignant as it must have been heartbreaking to have been ripped away from such a peaceful and idyllic place to fight in a distant war.
I left the church via a path known as the Minister's Walk which ascended through knarly, old woods to join the main track across the island. Here the view opened up and the coconut aroma of the gorse flowers drifted on the warm summer breeze. I walked west until I reached the end of the island but that wasn't the end of my walk as I crossed a causeway onto Gometra, an island offshore from an island that is itself offshore from another island!
It took a little bit of effort to find a camp spot that night as the land was mostly rough and tussocky. I picked my way down to a rocky beach through woods and emerging bracken to find a relatively flat, tent-sized piece of grass that looked out over the sea. It was a place of rich sounds with the song of the woodland birds behind me and the sound of lapping waves and sea birds in front of me.
Next day I wandered slowly back to the Ulva ferry on a slightly different path through the woods that brought me back via farmland framed by Ben More and its adjacent hills on Mull. Once back on the other side of the crossing, I then got my lucky lift to Killiechronan. This was my last night out in the tent on Mull before the lovely woodland walk through to Salen to start in reverse the journey home of bus, ferry and trains.
More photos on Flickr.