Calgary (Scotland)

Calgary is a tiny village on the island of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. The name in Gaelic is Cala ghearraidh, meaning "beach of the meadow" or landing place; until the early 20th century Clyde puffers were beached by the pier to unload supplies. Colonel James Macleod, who'd been born on Skye but emigrated to Ontario, took a summer holiday here; he became Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police in 1876 just as a new fort was being established in Alberta, and had it named "Fort Calgary", the start of the modern Canadian city of 1.3 million.

There's very little accommodation or other amenities at Calgary. There's more at Dervaig five miles east, and straggling along the B8073; those facilities are described here.

Get in

Calgary is 12 miles west of Tobermory along the narrow, winding B8073. West Coast Motors Bus 494 runs from Tobermory via Dervaig to Calgary, 40 min; three M-F and one on Saturday. Tobermory has buses to the main ferry port of Craignure.

Ulva Ferry minibus runs twice F-Su from Calgary down the west coast to Ulva Ferry village, Gruline and Salen, where it connects with the 95 / 495 bus to Craignure. A ferry runs on demand to the island of Ulva.

Get around

You need wheels, at least a bike, it's five miles between Calgary and Dervaig and the bus is infrequent.

See
  • Calgary House near the beach became a private residence in 2018 so you can't visit. It's a castellated Gothic mansion, built 1823, where Colonel James Macleod was a guest. He gave its name to the fort and later city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
  • 🌍 Inivea is a ruined abandoned village, reached by a short but steep trail from the pier north shore of Calgary Bay. The inhabitants were evicted in 1817 as part of the Highland Clearances.
  • 🌍 Old Byre Heritage Centre, Dervaig PA75 6QR, ☏ +44 1688 400229. Apr-Oct: M-F 10:30AM-5PM. Small museum with cafe and gift shop. (updated May 2022)
  • Kilmore Church in Dervaig, completed in 1905, has a notable stained-glass window of Jesus with a pregnant Mary Magdalene. The white tower is sort-of in the style of a Irish Round Tower, with a bit of lighthouse, minaret and moonshot mixed in.
  • 🌍 Kilmore Standing Stones or Cnoc Fada are the largest of several nearby groups, aligned as if for sunrise or moonrise. They're a row of five, with only two still upright. From the sharp bend near the top of the hill on the lane from Dervaig to Tobermory, they're signposted 200 yards away.
Maol Mor group are half a mile beyond those, though the path is indistinct.
Dervaig cemetery has another group of four.
The Quinish are a line of four, with only the "Caliach" — the old woman — still upright. Follow the little lane north from Dervaig to Quinish Estate. There's parking spaces here and the stones are a mile away.
Glengorm stones are some miles north, better accessed by the lane from Tobermory to Glengorm Castle.

Do
  • Calgary Art in Nature is a woodland walk with sculptures. It's at Calgary Farmhouse (see "Calgary self-catering" under "Sleep"). The cafe here is open daily 10AM-5PM.
  • Enjoy the beach.
  • Watch for eagles at 🌍 Loch Torr, the freshwater loch on the lane from Tobermory. There's a wildlife hide: you go in it, the wildlife hides, that's the deal.

Buy

There's a gallery and art / craft shop with the cafe in Calgary Art in Nature.

Eat
  • 🌍 Am Birlinn, Dervaig PA75 6QSQ (a mile west of Dervaig), ☏ +44 1688 400619. W-Su noon-2:30PM & 5-9PM. Seafood restaurant, booking essential. (updated May 2019)
  • And see also Calgary Self-Catering cafe, and Bellachroy Hotel restaurant.

Drink

See Eat section above.

Sleep

Connect

As of May 2022, Calgary and Dervaig have a patchy basic mobile signal from EE, O2 and Three, but nothing from Vodafone. 5G has not reached Mull.

Go next

B8073 will either take you east back to Tobermory, or down the west coast through Ulva Ferry towards Salen.


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