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 Ulva Seen from the Slipway at Ulva Ferry |
Visitors to Mull intending to spend some time on the neighbouring smaller island of Ulva during their stay should bear one thing uppermost in mind. The ferry does not run one day each week: and that day is a Saturday. This means, for example, that if you are relying on spending the last morning of your visit taking photographs of Ulva, and that last day is a Saturday, your are likely to end up producing a page very like this one, exclusively using photographs taken of - rather than on - Ulva.
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The island of Ulva lies just off Mull's deeply indented west coast and is bounded by Loch Tuath on its north side and Loch na Keil on its south side. Ulva measures, at its greatest extent, some 5 miles from east to west, and a maximum of 2½ miles from north to south. Immediately to the west of Ulva is the island of Gometra, separated from it by a narrow inlet that can be crossed at high tide by a bridge and at low tide by the tidal beach. Ulva rises to its highest point at Beinn Chreagach at 313m or 1,027ft.
 The Ulva Ferry |
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 Ferry Slipway |
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 Ulva Estate Car Park |
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 Welcome to
Ulva |
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Ulva's name comes from the Old Norse language, suggesting that it was first systematically settled by the Vikings, though a cave on the south side of the island has revealed traces of human occupation dating back 7,000 years. Which particular expression in the Old Norse language gave rise to the name is the subject of debate: was it originally called Wolf Island or Ulfr's Island? Take your pick.
Ulva was traditionally a property of the MacQuarry or Macquarie family, while Gometra formed part of the estates of Iona Abbey. Ulva's most famous son was Major General Lachlan Macquarie, born here in 1762. He went on to become Governor of New South Wales and his mausoleum at Gruline on Mull describes itself as the last resting place of "The Father of Australia." David Livingstone's paternal grandparents also lived on Ulva.
In 1841 Ulva had a population of 570 and Gometra was home to 78 people. By 1851, three quarters of the population of the two islands had been cleared and forced to emigrate by the laird, Francis William Clark. In 2001 the populations stood, respectively, at 16 and 5.
There was a time when Ulva had a reputation for positively deterring casual visitors, but this is now long gone. Today you reach the island by leaving your car at Ulva Ferry on Mull and (except on a Saturday) catching the small passenger ferry for the one minute crossing to Ulva itself: ferry fares are shown in the image below left.
Apart from the obvious attractions of visiting a rugged and remote island most of your friends will never have heard of, Ulva also offers the chance to visit the Boathouse, a tearoom and restaurant specialising in locally-caught seafood.
Also near the ferry landing is Sheila's Cottage, a restored thatched cottage housing Ulva's Heritage Centre. Admission is included in the ferry fare. A little further away from the ferry landing is Ulva House (a private residence), built in the 1950s on the site of an earlier house damaged by fire; plus a "Parliamentary" parish church and manse, built to the standard design produced by Thomas Telford in the 1820s.
 Ulva and Ulva Ferry Seen from the North |
