Introduction
Today, we focused on two Isle of Mull sites, namely Tobermory and Calgary Bay. The former is the very colourful principal town whilst Calgary Bay is a pleasant expanse of white sand.
Tobermory
The name translates as ‘Mary’s Well’. Population is 1000 persons with the town well known owing to it’s pastel coloured properties lining the harbour. Tobermory is also famous as the setting for the children’s TV series, ‘Balamory’.
As will be evident from the images herein, we also witnessed a Heron and sailing schooner.
Tobermory is extremely popular with tourists and as a consequence is well endowed with a wide range of shops. Visitor numbers are well down owing to Covid with no overseas visitors evident.
The harbour is always busy with fishing boats, yachts and the ferry to and from Kilchoan. In recent years, the island has become very popular for weddings in a romantic atmosphere.
There is reputed to be the wreck of a Spanish galleon somewhere in the mud at the bottom of the bay. The ship was part of the defeated Armada of 1588. It was fleeing the English fleet when she anchored in Tobermory to take on provisions. Following a dispute over payment the ship caught fire which caused the gunpowder to explode.
Calgary Bay
This site is located on the north-east tip of the island. The site essentially comprises an extensive sandy bay comprised of distinctive white sand. Surprisingly, the surrounding area is not built up although parking can be challenging.
Calgary in Canada is named after this location by a RCMP officer who was asked to name a new site in Alberta. He had fond memories of a holiday there (on Mull) in his youth.
This bay featured in a sad episode of Scotland’s history known as the clearances ( c. 1780-1860). Large numbers of Mull residents were evicted from their villages to make way for sheep farming. Many of the dispossessed emigrated to Canada leaving from the pier at Calgary Bay.
It is worthy of note that the surrounding landscape has volcanic origins. Evidence of folds of lava from around 60m years ago are plainly evident.
More information
The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland provides a wide range of information on Scottish islands for the tourist. ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. Also available via Kindle.