Craignure
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-> Argyll
-> Isle of Mull
-> Craignure
CRAIGNURE is little more than a scattering of cottages, though there is a small shop, a bar, some toilets and a CalMac and tourist office - the only one on the island open all year round - situated opposite the pier (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon-Thurs 8.30am-7pm, Fri 8.30am-5.15pm, Sat 9am-6.30pm, Sun 10am-5.30pm; April to mid-June Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.15pm, Sat 9am-6.30pm, Sun 10.30am-5.30pm; mid-Sept to mid-Oct Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.15pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10.30am-5.30pm; mid-Oct to mid-April Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10.30am-noon & 3.30-5pm; tel 01680/812377). The Craignure Inn (tel 01680/812305, www.craignure-inn.co.uk; £50-60), just a minute's stroll up the road towards Fionnphort, is a snug pub to hole up in. There's also a well-equipped campsite (tel 01680/812496, www.sheilingholidays.co.uk; April-Oct) on the south side of Craignure Bay, behind the new village hall.
Two castles lie immediately southeast of Craignure. Torosay Castle (Easter to mid-Oct daily 10.30am-5.30pm; £4.50, gardens only £3.50), a full-blown Scottish Baronial creation, is linked to Craignure by the narrow-gauge Mull Rail (Easter to mid-Oct; tel 01680/812494, www.holidaymull.org.uk/rail; £3.50 return). The magnificent gardens (all year daily 10.30am-5.30pm) with their avenue of eighteenth-century Venetian statues, Japanese section, and views over to neighbouring Duart. The house itself, in the mid-nineteenth-century style, is stuffed with junk relating to the present owners, the little-known Guthries.
Lacking the gardens, but perched on a picturesque spit of rock a couple of miles east of Torosay, Duart Castle (May to mid-Oct daily 10.30am-6pm; www.duartcastle.com; £3.80) is clearly visible from the Oban-Craignure ferry. Headquarters of the once-powerful MacLean clan from the thirteenth century, it was burnt down by the Campbells and confiscated after the 1745 rebellion. Finally in 1911, the 26th clan chief, Fitzroy MacLean (1835-1936) managed to buy it back and restore it. You can peek at the dungeons, climb up to the ramparts, study the family photos, and learn about the world scout movement - the 27th clan chief became Chief Scout in 1959. After your visit, you can enjoy home-made cakes and tea at the castle's excellent tearoom.
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