A celebration

Last weekend Tom and I ran the bar to celebrate the Isle of Ulva first anniversary of Community ownership. So we took Donalds little ferry to the island at 4 o’clock and set up in one of the two marquees in the grounds of Ulva House with the hog roast and cake stall. There was lots of traditional music. The other marquee hosted the Mull Gaelic Choir, Tobermory High School Pipe band and a brilliant ceilidh that went on until midnight. Then we caught the little ferry back because we had to be at the hotel for breakfasts! Most visitors camped overnight. About 100 people attended and everybody had a fantastic time.

A little bit of Ulva history…..

Ulva covers an area about 7.5 miles by 2.5 miles wide. It has associations to numerous well-known individuals including David Livingstone, Samuel Johnson and Walter Scott, who drew inspiration from Ulva for his 1815 poem, The Lord of the Isles.

At the beginning of the 19^th century Ulva had sixteen villages and a population of 800. But following the highland clearances and potato feminine this had fallen to below 50 by the end of the century and in 2017 there were only 6 residents.

Jamie Howard put the island on the market in 2017 for £4.25m. In March 2018 the Scottish Land Fund pledged £4.4 million towards a community buyout of the island. The North West Mull Community Woodland Company took ownership of the island on the 21st June 2018. The Community owners now intend to bring economic development and families to settle on the island.

For visitors

If you are visiting Ulva for the day it is 8 miles from the Bellachroy. You can take one of the 6 signposted walking trails and work up an appetite for the splendid Boathouse café. This cafe is in a spectacular setting (views of Ben Moore) which sells probably the best seafood platter in the world!  A great day out for our guests.