A row of red, yellow, blue, and pink façades reflects in the waters of a harbour ringed by wooded hills: Tobermory boasts one of the most photographed waterfronts in Scotland, and arriving by tender offers the best view of it. Built in the late 18th century as a model fishing village, Mull's main town now welcomes most of the cruise ships that call at the island, the smaller ones docking right at the harbour, the larger ones anchoring in the bay.

A Colourful Waterfront

The main street follows the curve of the harbour and packs shops, galleries, cafés, and pubs into the famous coloured houses. The artisan sweet shop, the chocolatier, the seafood stalls, and the wool shop are perfect for a leisurely browse, while an unassuming museum tells of the Clearances, the 19th-century evictions that emptied the island, and of the Spanish Armada galleon said to have sunk in the bay in 1588, carrying, according to a tenacious legend, gold never recovered. The bright yellow pub on the corner of the pier, a local institution, serves mussels and regional beers in a dark wood-panelled setting where musicians set up later in the day. At the far end of the pier, the local distillery, founded in 1798, offers tours and tastings of its single malts, the unpeated Tobermory and the smoky Ledaig.

The Lighthouse Walk

To walk off a dram or simply get some fresh air, a trail sets out from the north end of the harbour and follows the wooded cliff to the Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, built in 1857 by the Stevenson family, a walk of about 45 minutes round trip. The path, perched above the Sound of Mull, offers views toward the Ardnamurchan peninsula and sometimes gives a glimpse of porpoises or dolphins in the current. In season, boat trips depart from the harbour to see minke whales, porpoises, seals, and, with a bit of luck, the white-tailed eagles that nest along these shores, among the best places in the UK to spot them.

Duart, the MacLean Stronghold

Organized excursions often head to the other end of the sound, near Craignure, where Duart Castle has stood guard on its rocky spur since the 13th century. Seat of Clan MacLean for more than 700 years, left in ruins after the Jacobite wars and later bought back and restored by the clan chief in 1911, it can be toured from dungeons to ramparts, with the sound as its horizon, and its tearoom makes it easy to stretch out the visit. The drive between the town and Craignure takes about 45 minutes and crosses a sample of the island's landscapes: sea lochs, peat bogs, and mountains dominated by Ben More, the only munro on a Scottish island outside Skye.

The Pull of Somewhere Else

Mull also serves as a springboard to some illustrious neighbours. Depending on how long the stop lasts, some excursions head to Iona and its abbey founded by St Columba, or sail out to Staffa and its Fingal's Cave, with its basalt columns, the very sight that inspired an overture from Mendelssohn after his 1829 visit. These extensions take time and a cooperative sea, but they turn the day into a true condensed tour of the Hebrides.

One Last Look at the Bay

As the tender crosses the harbour once more, the colourful façades stand out one last time against the green of the hills, and it's easy to see why so many painters and photographers linger here. Tobermory has an easy charm, that much is certain; Mull, behind it, holds the depth: castles, eagles, mountains, and tales of sunken galleons. One stop is barely enough, and that's exactly the kind of frustration that brings people back.