Loch Lomond and Mull

May 2026

Late May saw us making the long trip up to Inverary, the gateway to the Highlands. Car sharing with multiple drivers meant we were able to drive it in a day. We stayed at the very well appointed and comfortable Inverary Hostel and on arrival that evening had our meal in the lively George Hotel. This was followed up on the next two nights with delicious self-catering by Ali, ably assisted by too many chefs in the kitchen.

Richard arranged our walks with all of us taking on a Ben Lomond circular on our first day, returning via the slightly trickier Ptarmigan Ridge. Day 2 took us up Ben Narnain with some also doing Ben Ime and The Cobbler. We made the most of the weather with delicious dips in mountain pools to cool off. The views were as stunning as ever and no bogs! Not too many midges either. Day 3 we walked from near Dalmally doing Beiinn a Chochuil and Beinn Eunaich again finishing with a dip at the end. Some opted to do a lower route around Inverary.

We left our Inverary hostel and drove 1 hour to Oban to catch the ferry to Mull where we climbed Ben Buie en route to our accommodation in the Creich Hall Community Bunkhouse for a further 3 nights. The following day some of the group had a difficult ascent of Ben More due to high wind conditions whilst others opted for an easier day. We spent our last day on the lovely island of Iona with a walk to the high point and around the islands' coastline with its beautiful beaches.

As our longer return journey was from Mull, we broke the journey with an overnight stop at the comfortable and interesting Hillside Farm Bunk Barn at Bousted Hill a few miles from Carlisle. We did a short evening walk to the banks of the mighty Solway Firth and finished with dinner in the pub. The lovely bunkhouse owner made us sausage and bacon baps to see us on our way the following morning. Now, where shall we go next year?

Chris