Basalt columns, Ulva (Walk 4.1)
Like much of Britain, Mull has not always been in its present position, and geological time has seen it affected by enormous changes. Mull’s oldest rocks were formed in the southern hemisphere, and, in common with the rest of the British Isles, Mull has gradually drifted northwards. A study of its rocks, even by the non-specialist, shows that they have preserved details of the climatic zones that they passed through on their northward journey. One particularly fine example of this will be found if you stand on the shoreline opposite Inch Kenneth at Gribun. Here, you will be standing on sandstones deposited in a desert region at the same sort of latitude as the Persian Gulf.
Even the untrained eye can see that most of Mull is made of lava; the tell-tale flows ripple across the landscape virtually everywhere. The lava poured from volcanoes at a time when the north Atlantic was forming, and Mull was torn apart from its then neighbour Greenland as the vast super-continent which once joined North America and Europe divided. The molten lava that erupted 50–60 million years ago, at intervals of thousands of years, forms Mull’s stepped tablelands. Into these, intrusions of other rocks, all formed by fire, later took place, creating the mountains of Mull’s central igneous complex, of which the Geological Survey of Scotland in 1924, said: ‘Mull includes the most complicated igneous centre as yet accorded detailed examination anywhere in the world.’ Volcanic explosions and intense earthquakes shook Mull throughout its formative years, and one of the old fault lines, the Great Glen Fault, which touches upon the southern part of Mull, is still occasionally active.
As with the rest of Britain, Mull’s final shape was carved by glaciers that melted only 10,000 years ago, leaving behind deep U-shaped valleys between the mountains and long glaciated lochs. Of these, Glen Clachaig is a supreme example. It is a wild and fascinating landscape, made all the more intriguing by even a superficial understanding of what you are looking at. That glaciers were a part of Mull’s geological profile is evidenced by the presence of isolated boulders, or erratics, that litter the landscape. Elsewhere, as at the head of Loch Scridain and Loch na Keal, you find the rocks have been heavily scored by the passage of ice-borne rocks. Once the glaciers were gone, the landscape that remained was little different from what you see today; in a sense it remains quite primeval, boasting a geological antiquity that is quite tangible and endlessly absorbing.
Glen Clachaig (Walk 2.6)
Plants and Wildlife
For such a small island, Mull is amazingly diverse in its plant life, with more than 4000 different plant species. There are no less than 800 flowering plants and conifers, almost 250 different seaweeds, 56 ferns, 556 mosses and liverworts, almost 700 lichens and just under 1800 fungi…enough to keep even amateur botanists enthralled on every walk in this book, and for years to come.
Heather in bloom in Tireragan reserve (Walk 3.6)
First impressions are often misleading, for at times there is a prevailing sense of great swathes of bracken and heather. But that is only part of the story, and each season brings its own varieties, from the wild daffodils, bluebells, primroses and violets of spring to the winter deep greens; from the swaying foxgloves, orchids and harebells of summer to the gold of autumn. Wherever plants can grow, they do: Grass of Parnassus, tormentil, asphodel, scabious and cotton grass brighten the moorland bogs, while even the mountain peaks yield gentians and alpines.
There is much commercial forest on Mull, mainly featuring Sitka spruce, Japanese larch and lodgepole pine, but there is also an abundance of deciduous trees like birch, oak, rowan and wild cherry.
Nor is it all about the plants; the wildlife of these islands is every bit as varied. Red deer are seen almost anywhere and everywhere, with fallow deer populating the woodlands around Loch na Keal and Loch Ba. There are even wild goats, which keep very much to themselves among the coastal cliffs. Mull and Ulva have adders and slow worms, although neither are present on Iona.
Black highland bull
Around the coast, you frequently see common seals and grey seals; dolphins, too, and whales are also often spotted, especially minke whales, harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins; on rare occasions you may be fortunate enough to spot killer whales (orca) and basking sharks. But perhaps more than any other form of wildlife, it is the otter that attracts most attention. Far from uncommon, they can be spotted around the waterline along the rocky shores or playing in the water a little further out; they even frequent the harbour at Tobermory. Patience usually brings its own rewards, although a number of businesses have developed to take visitors to favoured locations.
Golden eagles, sea eagles and buzzards are the island’s most stunning birds of prey, but there are hen harrier, too, kestrel, merlin, short-eared owl, peregrine falcon and osprey. On the lochs, great northern divers often appear in winter, along with Slavonian grebe, barnacle and white-fronted geese, while the breeding season sees numbers of guillemot, puffin and gannet on and around the offshore islands.
When to Go
Mull is an island you can visit at any time of the year, and the walking is just as agreeable in winter as in summer, as long as you are appropriately skilled and experienced in venturing into the high mountains in winter.
For many, visitors and residents alike, Scotland’s least appealing feature is the wee beastie known as the midge, which have been known to drive grown men to tears. These are out-and-about from June to September. So if you are susceptible to insect bites, it is wise to avoid these times, or take suitable precautions. They are at their worst in still, warm conditions. So any kind of breeze is to be welcomed!
How to Get There
Oban is the main approach to Mull from the Scottish mainland and where the trains from Glasgow terminate.
By car and bus
The most popular route from Glasgow to Oban is 160km (100 miles) by Loch Lomond to Crianlarich, and then via Tyndrum, where the road to Oban (A85) branches left to Connel and then Oban. The route up the A82 beside Loch Lomond, however, is popular and busy, and some stretches await ‘improvement’, which many hope will never come.
There is an alternative approach for those with time to make a leisurely route, and this involves continuing along the M8 from Glasgow to Gourock and taking the half-hourly ferry (taking 20 minutes) across the Firth of Clyde to Dunoon. Then take the road around Loch Fyne to Inveraray and then north to Stronmilchan, there turning west to Oban. This route is 170km (105 miles).
For up-to-date driving information in the Highlands, call 0900 3401 363 (Highland Roadline), or 0900 3444 900 (The AA Roadline). For road-based journey planning, have a look at the AA or RAC Route Planners online.
Calmac ferry
Bus services to Oban are operated by Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd. (Buchanan Bus Station, Killermont Street, Glasgow G2 3NW; tel: 0871 266 3333; email: [email protected]; website: www.citylink.co.uk), or ring Traveline Scotland (24-hour), tel: 0871 200 2233.
Travelling by car from the north, there are two ways to Mull, either via Oban, or by taking the Corran ferry (south of Fort William) over Loch Linnhe and across Morvern to Lochaline, from where ferries cross to Fishnish. Of use only to those already exploring the Ardnamurchan peninsula, or those simply exploring, there is a ferry from Kilchoan to Tobermory.
By rail
Virgin