Of Trains, Ferries and Busses: Oban & the Isle of Mull (Scotland Part 3)

Having explored the two largest cities in Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh, I was looking forward to seeing some of the countryside. My plan was to take a train to the coastal town of Oban, explore an island or two, then spend the night in Oban. This plan worked so perfectly, I would highly recommend it if you have just a day or two in your itinerary for this part of Scotland.

Here's the quick recap of my trip, which started on the last Friday of October 2017. Pictures and details to follow!

Day 1:

8 am  - Glasgow to Oban on the West Highland Railway. Arrive 11:30am
12pm - Take ferry from Oban to Craignure, Isle of Mull. Arrive 12:45pm
12:50 pm - Take bus from Craignure to Tobermory.
1:30pm - 3:45- Explore Tobermory and nearby country walks
3:45pm - Take bus back to Craignure
5pm - Take return ferry from Craignure to Oban

Be sure to check the ferry and bus schedule for these routes before your trip.

Day 2: Explore Oban and Dunollie Castle

West Highland Railway Line: Glasgow to Oban

My travel companion recommended taking the train from Glasgow to Oban, as it passes through stunning scenery; and wow!--- was she ever right. This train forms part of the West Highland Railway Line, "considered by many to be the most scenic rail journey in the world." The Scotrail website gives this summary:

"The West Highland Line leaves Glasgow behind and delves deep into the wild west coast.Take the West Highland Line to Mallaig to travel the Glenfinnan Viaduct – used in the Harry Potter films for the Hogwarts Express.

There’s a lot more to it than that, though. This is a side of Scotland you can only see from the train – a Great Scenic Rail Journey that carries you north along the west coast, through the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. The line splits at Crianlarich, carrying you either past Loch Awe to Oban, or high up to Rannoch Moor, through remote wilderness and on to Fort William and Mallaig."

Traveling by train along the banks of Loch Lomond, Scotland's largest inland body of water. 

If you go to Scotland, you absolutely must take this train---on a sunny, weekday morning in October, preferably. :-) You pass scenery spectacular, beyond words....

...past beautiful views across lochs and lush, green pastures...

....through stunning valleys over-looked by fir and heather-covered mountains. The texture of these mountains is varied and lumpy, giving them never-ending interest.

...past charming mountain stations and grazing sheep...

...and more mountains covered in fir trees and heather...

This picture doesn't do justice to the scenery since it was taken from a moving train and the light isn't ideal, but you can get a little sense of the texture of the mountains here--and why I call them lumpy. :-) I just loved them!!

Much of the area this train travels through is called the Trossachs. The VisitScotland site gives this description of the area:

It's okay to ask - 'Trossachs' is a unique word, for a unique place. It refers to the romantic area of sparkling lochs, crumpled hills, sleepy forests and welcoming villages east of Loch Lomond and west of Stirling. You might hear it called 'The Highlands in miniature' and that's a good description.

Sir Walter Scott later visited the area's wild little glens and was so enthralled that he wrote his epic poem The Lady of the Lake (1810) about a girl who lived here. This work was a phenomenon - it became the first international bestseller. The Trossachs became a haven for those seeking romantic beauty with Wordsworth, Coleridge and many famous artists also visiting the area.
"Crumpled hills" is another good description of them!

The West Highland Railway branches off towards Fort William where you pass more amazing scenery; my destination, however, was Oban, a Victorian coastal resort.

After leaving Glasgow around 8am, I arrived in Oban 3.5 hours later. (Budget Tip: I had bought the train ticket several weeks before going to Scotland and it was only 14£ each way, which was a great way to save money. In contrast, the train ticket to Edinburgh only an hour away, which I bought on the train, was 17£ ).

Oban

Oban is considered the gateway to the Inner Hebrides, as ferries from here take you to the Isle of Mull and beyond. The timing of this trip worked perfectly. I arrived in Oban at 11:30 am and was able to take a 12 pm ferry to the Isle of Mull. The train station is just a minute or two walk from the  ferry terminal and easy to find. Obviously it is important to check the time tables on the day you travel.

Oban is a lovely town, and I will definitely share the fun food & exploration we had here. For now, I'm going to retrace the journey I made on this day in particular. The timing of the train/ferry/bus couldn't have worked out more perfectly, and it turned out to be the perfect itinerary for this trip. I highly recommend it for a an overnight trip to Oban & Mull!

So....I hopped on the ferry headed to Craignure, Isle of Mull. Unfortunately, I did not remember until we had sailed out of the harbor that I get seasick! Oops..... more to come on that part of the story. :-)

Although the clouds had rolled in by the time I'd reached Oban, there were still stunning 360-degree views across the water to the islands and mountains beyond.

As we approach the Isle of  Mull, Duarte Castle stands picturesquely on a peninsula jutting out into the water.  Water. Mountains. Castle. You can't get a more iconic Scottish landscape than this:

Duarte Castle

Unfortunately, Duarte Castle was closed for the season by the time I arrived. The grounds are still accessible to visit even if the castle isn't open and I might have explored here if I had had the time.

The Isle of Mull

The ferry from Oban takes you to the village of Craignure, which appears to be just a small collection of houses. My goal for the time I had on the Isle of Mull was to take a walk out into the countryside. I had also seen pictures of the village of Tobermory and really wanted to get there as well. In the end, I chose Tobermory over Duarte Castle--but I don't think you could go wrong with either!

View of the village of Craignure from the ferry.

 As it happened, when I disembarked from the ferry at Craignure, the bus to Tobermory was parked right there! For a few pounds, it would drive me along a road that snakes and curves along the coast to Tobermory. Again, the views on this part of the trip were amazing. Plus, the bus has the advantage of being a double-decker bus, so if you want really great views, sit on the top! (If you want to avoid motion sickness, sit on the bottom, lol).

The colors of these hills at this time of year were yellow-greens and russet browns. This picture really captures them. Although they lacked the brilliant fall foliage we see in the U.S. at this time of year, they were still very autumnal.

 It was almost impossible to stop taking photos---just one stunning view after another.

Needless to say, after a 3.5 hour train ride, a 45 min ferry trip and an hour on a bus, I was feeling quite queasy. And I still had the return bus and ferry trip later in the day. However, this was the BEST day of my entire trip to Scotland! The sea & motion sickness were 1000% worth it!!! I can't recommend it enough.

This is going to have to be part 1 of the Isle of Mull.  I really like long blog posts, but this one is too long already. The next post will include the gorgeous village of Tobermory, a delightful walk through the country where one stumbles upon a charming farm cheese shop, a sunset cruise and fish & chips. :-)

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