Edinburgh and then over to Mull advice please

[bluesky]

We're spending a weekend in Edinburgh at the end of July and then driving over to Mull for a few nights, then onto Glasgow to see family and then home.

Should we book our ferry over to Mull? Or are they quite frequent? It will be main school holidays. Or I did think shall we leave the car on the mainland and go across as foot passengers as I don't suppose we will need the car on the island?

really bigteuch? it's absolutely gorgeous! DP fell asleep lying on the beach listening to the waves.

we said in the argyll hotel when we were in iona and the food was just incredible

stayed not 'said'

Wow! you lucky thing. Have just found some lovely photos of it on www.iloveiona.com.seascales.html

Am SO jealous! We love this area and have spent lots of happy holidays. Agree with everyone who says you need a car - so many great places to visit that would be tricky on public transport.Calgary Bay as mentioned before is fantastic - white sand, lovely. Tobermory, obviously, especially if your DC are still of a Balamory age. Must recommend the fish and chip stall on Tobermory Pier. The best ones I've ever had. About getting there, we bought an Island Hopscotch ticket and sailed Lochaline to Fishnish going, then returned Craignure to Oban.Have just looked on Calmac website and that's now £37.50 for your car and £6.20 for each driver or passenger for both journeys. Ferries are always so expensive, think if you're up on the West Coast you just have to accept them as a necessary expense. Have a fantastic time!

don't be too jealous - t'is freezing and pissing down. Brrrrrrr!

We did Mull & Iona, Skye and Glencoe last year.

Deffo book the Oban ferry in holidays. We did an island hopper which was brill.

For Glencoe - Clachaig Inn, bang in the middle of Glencoe. It's a hikers pub with a bar stocking over 100 varieties of whisky and ... oh yes it does family rooms too! And a pub meal etc. Midge heaven, mind you.

I can dig up names of family -roomed B&Bs we stayed in on Mull if you like

thanks primula will look at Clachaig. We've got our family room booked in Mull, its just this final one night around Glencoe I need.

mull is on uktv docs -sky channel 532 just now

forgot about the clachaig! great food. some of harry potter 2 was filmed just up the hill from it.

littleteuch - still very no matter the weather (though it is dry here)

am going t watch this thread as we are planning a similar trip at whitsun

'littleteuch - still very no matter the weather (though it is dry here) '

you wouldn't be if you had to live through the last winter around here.

expat - we'd love to live on the west coast or one of the islands. scottish weather is shite no matter where you are!

no, no it isn't, my2wee.

there's a BIG difference between the weather in the East and the weather in the West.

i never would have believed it myself.

till i found out the hard way!

our landlords here thought about moving to one of the islands.

BUT, the fella felt the cost of living was too increased, even from here, because petrol is so much dearer and it isn't cheap to come into the mainland - Skye excepted - so food costs are steeper.

they are retired, so don't need to work.

they've decided to sell this house when they get back from Africa and move to the Eastern Highlands.

soooo, if you're around in about a year and a half, this house will be on the market .

According to official records taken at Benmore Botanical Gardens and published in the Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard, there were only two days in January when rain wasn't recorded.

January was the fifth wettest month in total since record keeping began in 1931.

can't afford west coast prices! too many rich people buying as holiday homes - that's another thread though . but yes agree with the food and petrol costs.

i'm on a hill in the middle of scotland just now and get the worst of both east and west weather - the wind from the east and the wind and rain from the west

yeah, see, even with the advantage of not having to work, a very nice pension AND being able to afford a home out there, they still decided it was too dear for them.

in retrospect, it was a very wise decision because the price of petrol continues to rise, as does food.

but then, my landlord is one very clever weegie .

there's a fantastic wee beach near oban (at tralee bay)- that because of the hills (i think) it can be pee'ing down every where else but not there.

was that not the case for the rest of scotland as well?

not been to oban in yonks. but it's on the list for the fortnight break in april.

got to keep the bairns occupied during the holidays.

may as well put on the wellies and have a gander about.

we're looking for somewhere near there in june. went to Toward the year before and the weather was great.

bluesky - i 2nd the vote for the fish van at the pier at tobermory. best scampi ever! also the mishnish is a great pub if you get a chance

we're looking to go to Ireland.

there was talk of putting a ferry service in from higher up the West Coast to Ireland.

that would be cool!

instead of campbelltown? have they dropped that idea? that would be good if it was further up.

just looking through the paper. it may have been Campelltown - another place we need to visit.

hmmm - not much to see in campbelltown but machrihanish beach is great (apart from the horizontal hail last time we were there). i seem to be having a theme for great beaches today - red point up near ullapool is good too.

we were just going for the ride.

we go for rides around here - Cowal penninsula.

it's a chief form of entertainment and a fun one.

DH calls it the elimination game, because we travel to such places and decide, 'I'd never live here' or 'This place rocks'.

Lucky lucky people

If you are taking a car to Mull in the summer hols you probably need to book. You can get a ferry to Craignure (aong the main road from Tobermory) or a shorter one from Lochaline on the mainland to somewhere a few miles nearer Tob.

we do that too - but hadn't given it a name! DP loves finding the most tiniest single track road he possibly can !