Tobermory second page

You can get more or less everything you want in Tobermory. My own favourite shop is 'Tackle and Books'. What an eccentric and yet happy conjunction of small boys eyeing up the spinners on one side and the serious traveller browsing around the excellent collection of Scottish and other books on the other. Then there is the Chocolate Factory for a pricey indulgence, and excellent ice cream! Brown's is a monument to another age - ironmongery and booze, the Coop supermarket is excellent and the Mull Bakery and Deli for rolls and patisseries even more excellent. There is a small chandlery and once there was a butcher (which also sold fish) but they closed in 2009, very sad. The post office used to be the custom house and is full of trippery bric-a-brac as well as stamps and newspapers. Indeed, there is not much you can't get here which requires a visit to Oban.

For afternoon tea, combined with a stunning view across the bay, the late 19th century Western Isles Hotel was the place to go. Not anymore. The conservatory has been made over and the comfortable couches are gone, the staff are ignorant and seem to be totally demoralised. What a shame, with such a position this hotel could be the best in the Highlands and Islands. But it is now in new hands and we shall see during some future visit, the omens sound good (ph 01688 302012).

Cafe fish on the first floor of the flash 1930s ferry terminal building on the new(er) ferry pier is said to be excellent, for seafood not surprisingly (ph 01688 301253). But I have never been able to get a table. Must keep trying.

The Highland Cottage on Breadalbane Street has a huge reputation for food, and bed and breakfast. Very difficult to get a booking for dinner, and I never have but don't let that stop anyone else giving it a go (ph 01688 302030). No children under 10 in the dining room - tough.

Another quite good place to eat is the Tobermory Hotel, on the front. By no means inexpensive, but friendly and good lobsters (ph 01688 302091).

You can't miss the Tobermory Ledaig distillery just up from the pontoons and there are tours, of course. It was founded in 1798, right at the beginning of Tobermory as a town, but the present buildings date from 1822. The rather magnificent bond warehouse across the road, now flats, is late 18th or early 19th century. The small building opposite the distillery on the shore was once a Baptist chapel, it was built in 1862.

You certainly should not miss a stroll around the upper village, particularly along Argyll Terrace with its neat terraced houses and garden plots separated by the road.

Another attraction, for those who like the game, is the 8-hole golf course up on the cliffs above the town, overlooking the entrance to the Sound of Mull – stunning views to take your eye off the ball. You can walk across the course to above the lighthouse, then down a steep path to the shore and back along a path that can be extremely muddy through the woods to Tobermory just above the shore, or just do the lighthouse walk to and from Tobermory along the shore.

Finally, just why does the ensemble look so attractive? Probably because it was originally set out from scratch in 1787 by the 'British Society for Extending the Fisheries and Improving the Sea Coast of the Kingdom'. The original town was built over the next few years and still retains a wonderful sense of character and history. And why Tobermory? Because Tobar Mhoire is Gallic for Mary's well which is somewhere in the upper town near the remains of a medieval chapel.