Mull and Iona by ferry from Oban

Route description

From Oban the car ferry to Craignure on Mull takes about 45 minutes; book in summer, as vehicle space sells out. Duart Castle, the seat of the MacLeans, stands on a headland a few minutes from the pier.

The A849 runs north along the Sound of Mull to Tobermory, with its row of brightly painted houses around the harbour. From here a single-track road loops west through Dervaig to Calgary Bay, a white-sand beach with green machair behind it.

Continue round the west coast, where eagles are often seen, and back across the island to the long road down the Ross of Mull to Fionnphort. Leave the car there: only residents may take vehicles to Iona, and the foot ferry crosses in about ten minutes.

Iona Abbey stands close to the landing, on the site where St Columba founded his monastery in 563, and the island’s white beaches are an easy walk away. Most roads on Mull are single-track with passing places, so allow plenty of time and fill up with fuel when you can.