5 short walks on Mull
There are lots of short walks on Mull but in the next few blog posts I am going to share 5 short walks on Mull, local to Treshnish.
1. Inivea
Exploring the ruined township of Inivea above Calgary Beach is a worthwhile short walk. For more information about the history of the township please look at the Mull Historical Society webpage.
Follow the old tracks
Calgary Beach is only a few minutes drive from the farm, along a beautiful single track road. Park in the ‘top car park’ by Robin’s Boat and follow the track through the gate towards the old pier.
Just before you reach the pier head up the hill to the right, as if going back towards Calgary – there is an old track, hardly used now. You pass some sheep handling pens (called a fank) and go through the gate beyond it. Keep following the track and it will lead you into the settlement of Inivea.
Dwellings and enclosures
There are about 20 ruined buildings at Inivea, dating from the 18th and early 19th century. Remains of byres, enclosures and runrig field systems are also visible. Some of the houses are well preserved and you can see they have built with the gable end facing the worst of the weather.
It is easy to stand in this place, on a beautiful sunny day, looking at the wonderful views and to romanticise the way of life 200 years ago, but it would have undoubtably been very hard – subsistence farming, keeping a few animals, growing potatoes, oats and barley.
First records of habitation on the site date back to the 1600s, when the land belonged to the MacLeans of Duart. It became part of the lands of Frachadil Farm in the late 1700s. According to local history the village was cleared by Captain Allan McAskill, the then owner of Mornish Estate in 1817.
The actor David Tennant (Dr Who!) took part in the TV series “Who do you think you are?” in 2006 and discovered that his great-grandfather, Donald McLeod, was born on Mull in 1819 and had lived at Inivea.
If you wanted a short walk on Treshnish without getting in the car, this one on Ben Duill is one of my favourites.
