Lochbuie

Lochbuie (Locha Buidhe, yellow loch) is a tiny settlement on Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It's in a small fertile patch amid boggy rocky uplands, miles from anywhere. The population might be a couple of dozen, outnumbered 1000 to 1 by the midges.

Get in

"We came without any difficulty, at evening, to Lochbuy, where we found a true Highland Laird, rough and haughty, and tenacious of his dignity; who, hearing my name, inquired whether I was of the Johnstons of Glencroe, or of Ardnamurchan." - Samuel Johnson and Boswell visited in 1773.

You need a car, or to be a keen cyclist: Lochbuie is 20 miles from Craignure down a long lonely lane with no public transport.

Get around

The village sights are all within a short walk.

See

• 1 Moy Castle, Lochbuie PA62 6AA. Remains of a 15th-century tower, abandoned in 1752. The structure is unsafe so you can't go inside. It was the location for the 1945 Powell-Pressburger film I know where I'm going. (updated May 2022)
• 2 Lochbuie Stone Circle is a well preserved prehistoric stone circle. It's within the grounds of Lochbuie House but you can walk to it via a boggy path. The house was built in the 18th century and once hosted Johnson and Boswell; it's private.
• St Kilda's is the small chapel, built 1876; Episcopal (Anglican) services are occasionally still held here.
• 3 Eilean Mòr is the tidal island that shelters the village. It's just rough grazing but has views.
• 4 Maclaine Mausoleum is reached by a two-mile hike south of the village. It's medieval but re-built in 1864.

Do

• The best beach is Laggan Sands, east of the tidal island. Walk south along them to visit the MacLaine clan mausoleum.

Buy

Standing stone at Lochbuie

• The Old Post Office has food essentials.

Eat

• 1 Old Post Office, ☏ +44 1680 814153, flora@dobhrancroft.co.uk. Daily 9AM-5PM. Small cafe. They also deliver ready-cooked meals, see online menu, but they need a week's notice. (updated May 2019)

Drink

Bring your own.

Sleep

• Camping is only permitted above the beach just beyond the Old Post Office; no caravans.
• Lochbuie Self-Catering cottages (by road junction near Moy Castle). Kathleen Cottage and Mabel Cottage are run by Lochbuie House. (updated May 2019)

Connect

You might just about get a signal on Vodafone outdoors, but not on O2, EE or Three, as of May 2020.

Go next

The only road leads back to the junction with A849 at Inverlussa. Turn east for Craignure and Tobermory, or west to Fionnphort for the short crossing to Iona.