Salen Pier

Isle of Mull

My research informs me that St Columba preached from behind the Salen Hotel.  His congregation was said to be small, perhaps this was not the best place to pick.

The pier is on the north side of the Isle of Mull, the south side of the Sound of Mull.  Between 1905 and 1955 the ferry travelling from Oban, on the mainland, to Tobermory, the Isle of Mull’s capital, called in at Salen daily, apart from Sundays, of course. It carried goods, up to two cars and a few passengers.

When a new pier was built in 1964, at Caraignure, east of Salen, and a more modern car ferry service introduced, it rendered the Salen pier redundant.

Having no purpose, its condition deteriorated, but new owners came to the rescue and have been refurbishing it to its original condition since 2017.  It’s now a beautiful place to go for sailors, divers, bird watchers, fishermen, photographers and the rest.  I last visited in November, on a beautiful crisp, bright day – I couldn’t have wished to be anywhere else in the world.