Inner Hebrides Travel Photography | Isle of Mull & Iona
Following to my previous post HERE.
After two refreshing nights in Stirling we jumped in the car and headed to Oban.
95 miles north of Glasgow, Oban is an important ferry port on the west coast of Scotland. It’s the busiest port known as the ‘Gateway to the Isles’. Worth a visit itself as well.
We took a ferry to Craignure on Mull and we highly recommend to pre-book a car ticket to avoid disappointment. Specially in the summer months when the numbers of holidaymakers increase drastically. The ferry journey lasted 45 minutes and was thoroughly enjoyable even with the wind and rain.
The strong winds and rain stayed with us almost the whole duration of the road trip but with scenic locations and views it was quite idyllic.
It made the map reading occasionally difficult but I guess it’s part of the fun.
Our next destination was Fionnphort. A fishing village with access to our final stop on Isle of Iona. On the way to Fionnphort we stopped in Carsaig, accessed by single track road that has a red phone booth next to a rather magnificent waterfall. We of course, stopped and took some photos.
We caught the 16:15 passenger ferry to Iona which was the last one on the day. The only way to explore the island is by foot or by bikes as you have to leave you car on Mull.
So after 520 miles (837km), 2 ferry trips, several cups of coffees we landed at Iona. Our final destination.
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides and about 2 kilometres wide and 6 kilometres long. We spent two nights at Moal Farm wooden pod which was an excellent find through airB&B. Just what we needed. We self-catered, however, we did have a lovely home made soup & cheese scone at the Argyll Hotel for lunch and lovely toasties at the Heritage Garden Cafe just before the end of the day. We visited long white sandy beaches on the north and west coasts, saw the Spouting Cave, St Oran’s Chapel, Iona Abbey, hiked to Columbus Bay and Machair.
After hiking 15 kilometres around Iona we felt we had discovered a tranqullic island that was hard not to love.
Two nights on Iona went fast and we packed the bags and took the ferry back to Fionnphort on Mull where the car was waiting. Heavy rain followed us all day and we spent most of it driving around the island. We covered all the main roads, zig zagged and stopped at Calgary beach, Tobermory and Salen where we also spent the night. Caorann B&B was another lovely find through airB&B and we had a very warm welcome by the host Debbie.
We were determined to finish the trip with a fresh seafood dinner and following some recommendations we finally booked a table at Cafe Fish. They get daily deliveries directly from the sea so fresh food is guaranteed. Most noteworthy is the fact that as we were sitting there they brought in fresh lobsters & crabs. I thought it was fantastic. I couldn’t resist a big plate of langoustines and Merili had a delicious moules with cream, garlic and parsley. This place is a total heaven for a lover of fish food and I would most definitely go again.
The last half a day went down by visiting Glencoe and having a hot chocolate & sticky toffee pudding at the award winning Clachaig Inn. This inn has been a source of accommodation and hospitality in the heart of the highlands for over 300 years and is totally worth the visit.
Scrum was a little superstar during the whole journey, making new friends on both islands and on ferries.
Here are some highlights from the journey and images are by me & Merili.
eneka x
Inner Hebrides Travel Photography
Inner Hebrides Travel Photography
Eneka Stewart is a Bukinghamshire-based wedding and lifestyle photographer. Visit blog posts for photos and get in touch for availability.
