You will be blissfully unaware of the fleshpots of Tobermory if you anchor in Aros Bay in the southeast corner of Tobermory Bay, although it can difficult to get an anchor to hold. Nowadays two visitor moorings have appeared. The old stone pier was gradually collapsing but it has now been restored by The Tobermory Harbour Association, as has the old boathouse with showers, toilets, lockers, a pontoon and a café (but nothing open in July 2026). But what a pity the new railings look more like scaffolding poles than the well-designed railings around Tobermory itself. An 'outdoor hub', whatever that means, is also yet to open, although a big dinghy park has appeared.
Walk on a little and you will find yourself enclosed by the beauty of well-signed Aros Park with its walks, woods, birdsong, waterfalls, lochan with water lilies, and unexpected remains of pumps and mills once belonging to Aros House which was built in 1825 and demolished in 1962. The old walled garden, now overgrown, is a reminder of the grandeur of an almost forgotten era (notwithstanding all those costume dramas on TV, Downton Abbey and the like). Perhaps it is just as well to forget the exploitation of the servants in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and just enjoy the peace and beauty of the woods. What is really impressive after a lot of rain are the Lower Falls, and even more impressive the Upper Falls, along with the rushing rapids between them hurtling down to the sea. Not something the occasional cruise ship passengers are likely to be shown. There is also a lovely path through the woods to Tobermory. And there are otters around.
And what a surprise! Who would have thought to find an active and successful theatre here? A miracle of artistic survival, run on a shoestring and threatened with closure on more than one occasion. The theatre was founded in 1966 by Barrie and Marianne Hesketh, a couple of actors who had settled on Mull. They bought Druimard House in Dervaig and started to produce plays in the barn, with just the two of them as cast. And so the legendary Mull Little Theatre was born. It continues to this day as the Mull Theatre, from 2008 in a purpose-built home near Tobermory on the Salen road, although without the Heskeths since 1985. For a while it was celebrated as the smallest professional theatre in the world. Its success is due to the dedicated people who run it, a lot of media coverage over the years, a supportive local population, subsidies, and course well-produced plays which not only tour to almost every theatre, city, town, village and island in Scotland but also have landed up in London. You can catch the tours in the most unlikely places such as Muck, Arisaig and Craignish, but don't blink. These are generally one-night stands and the company are packed up and off in the morning for a performance that evening somewhere else. Book now (ph 01688 302211)! It is a 40-minute walk from Tobermory along the coastal path and through Aros Park, but much quicker from the Aros Bay anchorage itself, skirting the lochan on your left and taking the path up towards the main road at Druimfin. Definitely do not walk along the main road from Tobermory.
