ISLE of MULL: Fantastic family activities for autistic kids on this Scottish island adventure
- sunshinelayla
- Dec 12, 2025
- 11 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Discover our family's favourite autism friendly activities from our 5 day stay on the Isle of Mull, including beautiful beaches and stunning waterfalls.
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TOBERMORY: Make your child's Balamory dreams come true on this memorable family day trip to the Isle of Mull
Quick links
Overview / Accommodation / Eas For Falls / Tobermory / Calgary Bay / Loch Na Keal / Tiroran Community Forest
Overview
I've always loved Scotland, and spent over a month travelling around it as a backpacker during my late teens. Despite many return trips to Edinburgh and Glasgow (for work mostly) I had never returned to the stunning scenery of the western isles or highlands and it remained very much on my to do list. When my mum said how much she'd love to visit Scotland for her 75th birthday I realised I finally had the reason I'd been waiting for - and our next trip was born.
With so many incredible places in Scotland it was hard to choose where to go, but after lots of research we settled on the Isle of Mull. I'll admit it's main town of Tobermory was a big incentive, our boys have always loved the CBeebies show Balamory, and the chance to walk along the streets where it is filmed was too good an opportunity to pass up!
Our stay on Mull was part of a longer return journey from London that actually meant we spent 9 nights in Scotland - 5 nights on Mull, 2 nights in Glasgow and 1 night each in Oban and Aberfoyle!
Accommodation
Initially we planned to stay in Tobermory, however we struggled to find an accommodation option that we could afford that would meet our requirements (ground floor bedroom, 2 bathrooms, parking etc...). After widening our search area we finally found the perfect option, a house called Tigh Na Caora - which loosely means House of the Sheep! - situated on a remote hillside near Ulva Ferry. The booking was for Friday to Friday, but due to flight costs, ferry times and the fact it was October half term and getting dark quite early, we couldn't physically get ourselves onto Mull and over to the cottage until Sunday lunchtime. Given this was the best option we'd found, we booked it anyway and made the absolute most of our 5 night stay from the Sunday to the Friday.
Our Favourite Family Activities for Autistic kids on Mull
Mull is Scotland's 4th largest island, nearly 340 square miles in size and boasting around 300 miles of coastline. The scenery itself is simply stunning, and in late October the autumn colours of the turning landscape were really coming into their own with some spectacular seasonal displays of foliage and heathers.
There are plenty of options for outdoor pursuits and nature activities to keep kids happy, even in Autumn.
Our family's favourite most autism friendly activities:
Eas For Waterfall
Eas Fors Waterfall is one of the most spectacular waterfalls on Mull, a couple of miles drive north of Ulva Ferry. It is often visited as part of a walk to the nearby peak of Beinn na Drise, however for us the waterfall itself was the destination. The boys absolutely loved this outing, which we did on our first day - it certainly set a high bar for the rest of the trip!
Eas For contains three 'falls'. The upper falls (which we spent the most time at) are a short walk from some carpark spaces situated off the B8073. If mobility is limited then it is possible to get a good view of the upper falls from the bridge without getting muddy or venturing onto uneven ground.
The water from these falls then flows under an old stone bridge and down over more rocks into a pool (this marks the middle falls). There is a path that runs alongside this section for a little while, and although it is possible to picnic near the middle falls, I would be very cautious about doing this with children (autistic or not) as the water flows strong and fast.
The lower falls are not visible from above and it is extremely dangerous to attempt to see them by following the river too far; the point at which the water plunges 100 feet down to the sea below is unfenced and the ground crumbly. If you are keen to see the final fall then you should do so from beach level - this area of land can be accessed by walking along the coast from Ulva Ferry.
From a sensory perspective Eas For Waterfall ticked ALL the boxes for our family:
the roar of the cascading water was like a soothing white noise
there was soft moss to touch
sticks to throw and watch race by and disappear
rocks to clamber over and sit on to watch the waterfall
a gentle misty spray of cool water permeating the air
and a damp earthy smell which was really pleasant.
We spent far longer than we had expected to - the boys were so happy both exploring and sitting watching the water we let them spend as long as they wanted there.
TOP TIP: If visiting outside of summer make sure your kids wear shoes with a good grip and full rain resistant clothing - or bring a change of dry clothes for when all the fun has been had!
Tobermory
Tobermory is Mull's main town and is situated on the north coast. It is most famous for its picturesque coloured houses, its chocolate and for being the real-life setting of the fictional CBeebies programme Balamory. Tobermory was one of the main reasons we decided to visit Mull, as the boys are huge fans of the programme and we couldn't miss the chance of taking them to see the coloured houses for themselves!
A visit to this harbour village should definitely be on every family's itinerary.
For more information on our brilliant visit to Tobermory read our separate blog post TOBERMORY: Make your child's Balamory dreams come true on this memorable family day trip
Calgary Bay
Before arriving on Mull we had looked at images of the island's beaches and were particularly excited by the photos of Calgary. This wide sweeping bay is surrounded by shimmering white shell sand and low wooded hills.
Thwaters are known for their clear turquoise colour and on a sunny summer's day people say the beach is as beautiful as the tropics (although perhaps not as warm!).
We visited on cold, rainy October afternoon and the squally wind, grey skies and crashing sound of the waves added a wild beauty to the picturesque scene. It was an elemental and untamed landscape, and I loved it from the moment I saw it spread out in all its glory.
As soon as our van pulled into a space (the car park is very small, but we obviously found a space being the only ones there!) the boys were out and running down the wood slatted slope to the beach. J and I caught them with just enough time to remove their shoes, socks and trousers before they plunged into the ferociously cold water to splash in the shallows. For safety reasons I also had to follow them in, and what a sight the three of us made playing and squealing wrapped in winter coats from the waist up and me with my trousers rolled up above the knee.
In the busy season there is often a cafe open at the beach, and there is another cafe nearby at the start of the Calgary Art in Nature Woodland Walk. This trail is full of kid friendly sculptures to spot, and we had fully intended to see the woodland after the beach.
However by the time I'd finally persuaded the boys back out of the water and got them to stop throwing seaweed at me (!) they were just too cold for it to be a sensible option. Their sensory issues mean that although their bodies experience the cold physiologically their brains don't experience the sensation as particularly unpleasant - in fact our youngest finds the cold very exciting. It is a fine line between letting them enjoy themselves and respecting their own experience and making sure they don't suffer any negative effects from the exposure. Having pushed the limits on this occasion it was straight back to the car and time for dry clothes, blankets and warming snacks.
Whatever the weather I would definitely recommend Calgary - we loved our visit and on a sunnier day would have stayed much longer and explored all it has to offer.
Loch na Keal
Loch Na Keal is one of the forty national scenic areas in Scotland, a designation that indicates an area of exceptional scenery. It is a huge area, and at one point the loch travels 12 miles inland almost dissecting Mull in two.
You can either travel along its northern shore on the B8073 in the broad direction of the Eas For Waterfall (see above), or you can do what we did and explore along its southern shore by driving along the B8035.
Like all our drives on Mull, this trip offered some truly breath-taking scenery; to our right was the loch waters and the islands of Eorsa and Ulva and to our left was the Ardmeanach peninsula with the looming form of Ben More (Great Mountain). At 3169ft Ben More is the tallest peak on the island and one of the few munros (mountains) in the Scottish Isles.
The road follows along the edge of the loch and there are plenty of places to pull in along the shores. We found the perfect place to pull in just before the Scarisdale River in the shadow of Beinn a'Ghraig a ridged hill on the edge of the Ben More peaks.
The boys were delighted to get out and find sheep grazing on the land between us and the loch. After observing them curiously for a time they then busied themselves having fun in the way only children can, throwing rocks into a large puddle, running around and enjoying a wonderful adventure as pirates scrambling over the rocks that surrounded a small inlet nearby.
Loch Na Keal is directly connected to the Atlantic ocean, which makes it a sea loch. Its water levels rise and fall with the ocean tides, a fact J inadvertently discovered when having taken his trainers off to follow (and retrieve) our youngest son from the inlet's water he turned around to find the seawater had crept up the shoreline with surprising speed and his shoes were now floating off to sea like little boats!
We enjoyed ourselves so much by the loch that we ended up having a 'van picnic' opening the side of car so we could sit sheltered from the wind while still enjoying the incredible views which also included the island of Eorsa.
Later in the day on our return journey to Ulva we had the incredible joy of seeing sea otters playing in the rocks as well as glimpsing one of Mull's golden eagles - it really was a magical day.
Tiroran Community Forest
If you decide to visit Loch Na Keal then make sure to also go to the Tiroran Community Forest. Conceived as a community project back in 2015 it is now a wonderful site filled with nature activities and atmospheric woodland.
Situated down a long track off the B8035 - its entrance is clearly signposted - . the first thing you come to on leaving the carpark and crossing the river is a 10ft tall wooden sculpture called the Giant's Chair. The boys loved climbing the short slope and up into its seat - it was a really fun way to start the Forest Nature trail. From here the trail leads gently uphill to a glen filled with fairy doors and a woodland playground (complete with eco-friendly composting public toilet that was challenging for the boys to say the least!).
After spending the good part of an hour playing happily in the woods our youngest had had enough and started heading determinedly back down the path towards the car. He has always done this - even when he was a toddler - it is his way of saying he's finished, and we've learnt over the years that no amount of persuasion will change his mind - the outing was over!
Unfortunately this meant we didn't get to see the ruined settlement of Knockroy - now populated by stunning willow figures, the eagle viewing hide or the Giant Heads, which according to the map by the entrance were hiding up a narrow path in some old sycamore trees.
Still, it had been a great way of getting the boys outside on a damp drizzly afternoon, and we would recommend it to any family who enjoy spending time in the woods as much as we do.
This trip also has the added benefit of passing by the lovely Allt Chreaga Dubha Waterfall - which you can see directly from the B8035. For the best views though it is worth pulling over by the roadside near the sign and enjoying a short mile walk along its length.
Other family activities on Mull:
We only had 4 days on Mull, and with the decidedly damp autumnal weather and the darkness falling much earlier in the day than down south we were never going to see and do as much as we would have liked. Below are just a few of the extra activities you can enjoy as a family on Mull.
Ulva day trip
There is a limited sailing schedule for the community owned ferry in the off season from Ulva ferry, so disappointingly we were unable to go across,. However I am confident in the summer this would make a great day trip.
Scenic Boat trips (from Ulva Ferry) - these small boats take visitors to sites around the Loch Na Keal area, including the famous hexagonal rock columns at Staffa and out onto Loch Na Keal (eagles, porpoises).
The last boat trip of the season (for wildlife spotting) took place during the English October half term. After going down to talk the the skipper and view the boat we decided the excursion was probably too long and the boat didn't offer the safety railings we'd have liked. However, every family is different so it is definitely worth considering. The boat trips are very popular and worth booking in advance during peak season if you are keen.
Iona day trip - I did this day trip on my own nearly 30 years ago, and I dont believe much has changed there since. Use of vehicles on the small island is still restricted, but the beaches are lovely and if you're lucky like I was you can see seals and porpoises relaxing in the sun. The light quality and energy on Iona is truly something special, and it remains one of my favourite places I've visited in Scotland.
The ferry across to Iona leaves from Fionnphort, which is around an hours drive from Craignure ferry port in a car and c. 90 minutes by public transport.
Hill walking
The Isle of Mull is a rambler's paradise with plenty of hills and miles of rugged trails. There was a walk that started from the back of the house that we rented, and J and I enjoyed the ease of taking the boys up into the hills. Seeing a flock of wild deer and their majestic stag grazing on a mist covered mountain top was a real highlight of the trip.
Final Thoughts
The boys, J and I absolutely loved our family trip to Mull. There was so much to do outside and the boys really enjoyed the chance to get out into the forest, onto the beach and walk alongside waterfalls. The autumn landscape was breath-taking in its remote grandeur, and we often felt like we were at the edge of the world.
If you are looking for a true adventure than you cant go wrong with a trip to Scotland's Hebridean islands - it really does have everything.
As always, happy travels x
