2014 & 2015 Mull Activity Reviews from Back Brae Lodge Guests
2014
“We had two great walks
and we particularly appreciated the maps. We’d like to explore more of Mull on foot and/or bike. ”
“Tobermory was lovely
and had everything we needed. We loved our stay on Mull and saw four otters at Calgary Bay.”
“We loved the lighthouse walk
and in fact did this numerous times in all sorts of weather, also Aros Park which we found lovely. We loved the fact that we could park the car and just leave it. We did go to Calgary Beach which was amazing, and we had a fantastic walk there too. The scenery and drive there is absolutely breathtaking. The little arts and crafts studio and cafe there is fantastic with a great choice of food and lovely friendly staff. We were disappointed that the Tobermory Distillery was closed but what a wonderful job the workmen were doing to complete it. We did a lot of fishing and caught mackerel which were delicious. Fantastic to see a cinema bus visits as well. MacGochan’s Restaurant and bar was superb, we spent many an evening there by their lovely log burner, then strolled back to the Mishnish for a last drink. We didn’t eat out a lot but did go to the bakery for breakfast once and that was lovely, Cupan did a lovely lunch as well. One thing that I found very disappointing and was quite surprised by really, my daughter fancied some chips one evening so we walked along to the fish van, expecting to get some delicious proper chips to find that they were oven chips deep fried - definitely not proper chips! I hope all the people from around the world don’t think they are our proper chips! I think the only other thing I would request to alter if I could would be the opening hours of the cafes, I think they should be open for longer in the evenings. The holiday was relaxing, the views amazing, people lovely.”
“It wasn’t our first time at Tobermory
so we knew the area a bit. While we were there we did some tremendous walks around the North Mull Coast which was beautiful, and Ulva where we had a close encounter with a pair of sea eagles. We enjoyed really excellent trips, one with the Sea Life Centre on wild life cruise, where we saw whales, basking sharks, porpoises and a whole pod of dolphins leaping around. The second was with Turus Mara to Staffa, which was great. It was a tremendous week with a couple of super meals out (Cafe Fish and The Western Isles).”
“We had a really good week.
With the British weather it is so hard to determine what the weather is going to be like from one day to the next! We stayed in Tobermory in November, so knew our way round a little bit already, but wanted to return as some of the restaurants were closed and there were no boat/RSPB trips running at that time. Numerous walks to Loch Frisa, up Speinne Mor and the lighthouse. This time we ate in Cafe Fish three times - the food is AMAZING and the staff are lovely too. We managed to do the RSPB trip, which was great and saw two sea eagles. Well worth doing and it’s only £8 each. We booked a 2-hour boat trip but unfortunately this had to be cancelled because there were insufficient people booked on for it to run. Fish and chip van - yummy!”
“Facilities in Tobermory were great,
we had fish and chips from the quay the first night, catered from the Co-Op and Tobermory Bakery on two nights and treated ourselves to the Western Isles Hotel one evening. Mull overall was a great location, fabulous scenery, very kind and helpful people and the wildlife great - eagles and otters. We were also pleased that you had ordered such good weather for us - we barely saw any rain in 12 days and were at no time beaten off doing anything by the weather. We cycled about 100 miles and walked over 50 during our stay on the island.”
“The weather was excellent.
We took a boat trip to Staffa and Lunga on a Sunday and the conditions were ideal. A wonderful weekend.”
“Finally made to Iona
after two previous attempts, truly wonderful place. Love Mull, so many similarities with my other favourite spot, Connemara.”
“Tobermory is a gem.
We met The Tobermory Cat on night 1 and also 19-year-old Mr McGinty in the street at his pub! We sought out Angus Stewart and bought some copies to bring home as we are moggies lovers! People in town were very friendly, notably at the fish and chip van, the new tea rooms recently opened on Main Street, the candle shop and in the street, particularly those with cute dogs to pat! We tried the lighthouse walk but the track was blocked by a fallen tree. We were a bit unrealistic about distances overall and did find the single track road a bit of a challenge, though we got better after a few trips. We made a day pilgrimage to Iona and loved it! Such a long way - did not research distance enough at home. We went to Governor MacQuarrie’s mausoleum and found it a very moving monument in a delightfully peaceful place. We loved the sea loch on the way to the Ulva ferry and stayed there for some time - we think we saw otters frolicking in the near distance but couldn’t be sure without binoculars.”
“Having got Ben More off my tick list
we will definitely come back for another lovely holiday, out of main season again, which we really appreciated.”
“We loved the fish and chip van
and we had a good meal at the Mishnish.”
2015
“We loved the Mishnish pub
and had two lovely pub meals there, however we made the mistake of ordering off the restaurant menu on our last night only to be extremely disappointed. We had our best sightings of otters to date!”
“We enjoyed the walks to the coastline and Aros Park.
Everyone was really friendly and helpful in the village and we even had a personalised tour of the museum by someone who offered us a lift from the ferry port. The buses were not that frequent to and from the port but the whole trip was an adventure for us finding this beautiful location.”
“Our highlights were Calgary Bay,
Cafe Fish, Tobermory Bakery and our 9-month-old son enjoying the touch pad at the aquarium! ”
“Lots of walks, boat trip to Iona, sampled a few pubs.
Mishnish is cosy. Had a massage at the beauty salon - excellent. Enjoyed an Indian takeaway.”
“Because we had very busy days, we ate in every night but one
and I have to say that Cafe Fish was the only aspect of the holiday that didn’t live up to expectations, the fish was great, but we didn’t feel particularly comfortable sitting in front of the door and the music was so loud it was difficult to have a conversation, but each to their own! The Pier fish and chips were great and we had a drink in the Mishnish bar where the staff were friendly and the meals looked good value. We bought local meat from the Ardnacross farm shop on the Craignure Road (not really a shop, small building with labelled freezers, put your money in the honesty box) which was lovely, and seafood from the shop near The Hebridean restaurant. We also bought cheese from the Isle of Mull Cheese Company and wished we’d had time to do the tour. We did Staffa and Lunga with Turus Mara, Fingal’s Cave was spectacular and the puffins, guillemots and shag nests were amazing, felt like David Attenborough! We had a day out with Isle of Mull Wildlife, which was good, and went to Iona under our own steam - a lovely trip rounded off by lovely lunch at the seafood kiosk at Fionnphort jetty. Pony trekking on the beach at Killiechronan was fabulous, neither of us had been on a horse before but the lady there was brilliant. The aquarium is lovely, ideal if you have children, interesting exhibits and friendly knowledgeable staff. We did the Aros Park walk and the Ardmore shore one, where we were lucky enough to see a slow worm, a lifetime first and a great thrill.”
“So much to see and do, we didn’t get to everything.
Great meal at Cafe Fish, three times at the Chip Van, both Chinese restaurants and Hebridean Lodge very good. Hired electric bikes, did Discover Mull Tour, Distillery tour, went to Glengorm Castle, Aros Park is a lovely walk, plus lots more. If you want to do nothing you have all you want in Tobermory, or if like us you like to get out and about as well it’s perfect.”
“We had a great week, we did lots
- electric bikes, Mull tour, distillery, Cafe Fish, bakery, Hebridean Lodge, MacGochan’s, Chocolate Shop, fish van…”
“It was great to be able to walk to the local shops
within a few minutes and we found the Bakery and Co-Op had everything we required. There are some great places to eat including the Fish & Chip Van, MacGochan’s and Hebridean Lodge on the outskirts of the town. We also had a great meal at Glengorm Coffee Shop. We took a day boat trip to Treshnish Isles and Staffa where we saw hundreds of Puffins and some other sea birds as well as Fingal’s Cave. A fabulous day out. We also went to Iona where the sun came out and we saw Corncrakes. Other favourites were Calgary Bay and most parts of the coastline. ”
“Day trip to Treshnish Islands
and Staffa with Staffa Tours. Day Trip to Iona. Glengorm Castle, and walk up to lighthouse across the golf course.”
“I had forgotten how beautiful and quiet the island is
and how friendly the folk were to us. Walked for miles using your recommended walks. We believe we saw eagles but unfortunately the RSPB hide was closed due to logging so can’t be sure. We had two glorious days in Oban too before we crossed. We picked the perfect week.”
“We went for a walk at Glengorm Castle, out to Dun Ara.
That was great in the great weather we had but even better was the coffee shop at Glengorm. We liked the Isle of Mull Cheese place too, though it’s a bit strange not having the cafe open at weekends but really nice the way they leave the shop part open with an honesty box.”
“We had a wonderful time.
The only slight downside was the weather. I say slight because although I love stormy weather, our daughter wouldn’t have been too comfy being dragged about cycling with us in her bike trailer, so we didn’t manage to get any cycling done. There was still plenty for us to explore by car and on foot. We especially liked Carsaig Bay with the seals welcoming us and the eagles above. Lochbuie and its old Post Office were in spectacular surroundings. The scenic route back to Tobermory from Fionnphort was amazing. Tobermory was very nice and our favourite thing there was the new aquarium. We wanted to go to Iona, but the day we made it to Fionnphort, the ferries were on amber alert and with the weather set to worsen, we decided not to chance it. That leaves us with another one of many reasons to visit Mull again and again.”
“We had a take away from the Indian which was very nice.
We had a meal in the Mishnish sat by the lovely log fire - food was nice. We went to Iona - a gorgeous peaceful island. We walked from Tobermory to the lighthouse and also to Aros Park. I had a massage at the beauty salon in Tobermory - again a lovely experience. My husband went on the distillery tour and enjoyed that. Everyone was so friendly on the Isle of Mull. We also did the walk from Glenmore Castle to Dun I and saw the bathing pool.”
“We were lucky with amazing weather
and loved visiting the stunning scenery and wildlife Mull has to offer. Would especially recommend the seafood at Cafe Fish on the harbour, and Langamull beach and Calgary bay.”
“It was great to have so much information about the local area.
We were able to use a couple of the walk suggestions despite the snow, hail and rain! A lot of places in Tobermory weren’t open because of the time of year, but we had a really nice lunch in front of the fire at An Tobar.”