The Boathouse Ulva is reached by a tiny on-demand ferry from Mull before settling in on a working jetty. Reimagined by BBC star Banjo Beale, this Hebridean spot pairs rustic, design-led interiors with ultra-fresh seafood landed daily. Come for creel-caught crab, langoustines, and oysters, homemade bread, and generous sharing platters, all served until they sell out. With no bookings and ever-changing menus, it’s a spontaneous, sea-to-plate experience shaped by island life.

The Glass Barn is a café, shop, and working farm all rolled into one. Sit under trailing grapevines with sunlight streaming through the glass roof (or rain pattering down), and tuck into soups, toasties, and cakes made with homegrown or local produce. Be sure to peek at the cheese dairy next door, where Isle of Mull’s famous cheddar is crafted.

Deep, clear, and swimming with all sorts of marine life, from porpoises and dolphins to seals and flame shells, Loch Sunart draws a select crowd of kayakers, divers, and picnickers to its forest fringed shores. This long, twisting sea loch sits on Scotland’s rugged west coast, tucked between the Ardnamurchan and Morvern peninsulas, just a splash across the water from the Isle of Mull.

Set rather spectacularly on a rocky promontory beside the Sound of Mull, Duart Castle has been the Maclean clan’s ancestral stronghold since the 13th century. And yes, it still belongs to the clan today. Restored from ruins in 1911 by Sir Fitzroy Maclean, this atmospheric fortress offers immersive clan history inside its curtain walls, from the Great Hall and dungeons to tearooms where you can reflect on centuries of swashbuckling stories.