From regular features like the farmer’s markets taking place island-wide, to annual highlights like the Mull Rally, Mull Music Festival and traditional Highland Games, discover our guide to the year’s events. We give you a snapshot of each, as well as the time, venue and location so you can get involved. Whether you time your visit to attend an event or want to find out what’s on during your stay, we hope you find this guide to island events helpful, detailed in date order.
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Events on the Island
Spring
Mull Music Festival | Tobermory & Dervaig
April each year sees North Mull bustling with visitors who come along to experience some of the best folk, rock and ceilidh music to be found on the west coast of Scotland. Hop from venue to venue, betweens pubs, restaurants and hotels, and get your toes tapping to old favourites as well as fantastic new music too. This year's festival has been postponed, so keep your eyes peeled for the next date.
Summer
Weekly Producer's Market | Tobermory
Come down to the harbour beside the pontoons for Tobermory's weekly open-air producer's market, every Monday from 11am until 2pm. Stock up on local produce, preserves and baked goods, as well as artworks, artisanal gifts and even fresh flowers.
Isle of Mull Sportive | Tobermory
Cycle through 87 miles of spectacular scenery, cresting hills, passing lochs and whistling past wildlife when you participate in the Isle of Mull Sportive.
Tobermory Highland Games | Tobermory
Whether you take a ringside seat or participate yourself, the annual Tobermory Highland Games promise a taste of Scottish culture unlike any other. Watch competitors take part in traditional sports like the caber toss, enjoy the Highland dancing and soak up the sound of local pipers providing a typically Scottish soundtrack. There'll be food, drink and fun aplenty - this is not an event to be missed.
Mull Half Marathon | Craignure
Challenge yourselves to complete the Mull Half Marathon! Stretch your legs as you take in the stunning east coast scenery following the route that runs from Craignure up to the finishing line in Salen. For the fastest runners there are prizes to be won. Make your next stop an island coffee shop or inn to put your feet up and enjoy a well-earned treat.
Bunessan Show | Bunessan
Staying on the Ross of Mull this summer? Turn out for the Bunessan Show and you won't be disappointed. With livestock classes and armfuls of freshly grown fruit and vegetables all in the judging ring, there's plenty to see and do. A great day out for every generation in a part of the island with strong crofting roots.
Salen Show | Aros
Held at the Aros Showground with fantastic sea views, the Salen Show is a staple on the calendar for islanders and visitors alike. Come along to the show field to see Highland cows, sheep and other livestock being judged, watch the horse and dog show and browse the floral and food exhibits too. There'll be a host of lovely stalls to browse and plenty of delicious food and drink to enjoy.
Tobermory Flower Show | Tobermory
Hosted by the Tobermory Horticultural Society, the annual flower show brings together Mull's green-fingered residents and visitors for a celebration of seasonal flowers and produce every August. You'll find an array of cut flowers, home-grown fruit and vegetables and creatively crafted arrangements on display before the prize giving takes place.
Autumn
Mendelssohn on Mull | Tobermory
The annual Mendelssohn on Mull festival usually takes place in September. Established in 1988, the festival pays homage to the great composer and musician Felix Mendelssohn, who composed the famed 'Hebrides Overture' on a visit to the island in 1829. During the festival, the melodies of classical music - often including some of Mendelssohn's own works within the programme, but not limited to these alone - fill halls and meeting places as young musicians gather and perform concerts and recitals. Come along to one of the many events running throughout the week on Mull and Iona too.
Mull Rally | Isle of Mull
Enjoy an action-packed, adrenaline-filled weekend on Mull as the island comes to life with roaring engines and some of the most dramatic rally car racing around. The event draws a huge number of competitors and spectators alike, with racing going well into the night and with it, the opportunity to capture some incredibly atmospheric photographs. See the winner crowned and enjoy the festivities to follow - it is a weekend you will not forget.
West Over Sea Book Festival | Tobermory
The Tobermory Book Festival returns again this year from the 25th - 26th October. Bringing guests an exciting bounty of literary events, join guest speakers to hear about their works, dine with authors and attend insightful lectures. From novels with roots that run deep into the islands, to recipes that spring from the land and sea and prose that cuts a path from coast to coast, or carves back through the centuries, navigating Scotland's native places, people and creatures - there's something for everyone this book festival weekend.
Winter
Tobermory Christmas Lights | Tobermory
Come and see the Christmas lights illuminating Tobermory's enchanting harbourfront when they're switched on at 7pm by the clock tower this year. An evening of merriment comes guaranteed, with festive food and drink, gift shops open until late and a host of goodies to peruse from the producer's market (5-8pm).
Bunessan Christmas Lights | Bunessan
Gather together in the heart of the village to see Bunessan's Christmas Lights turned on this year. There'll be plenty of festivity to enjoy with stalls to browse, local pipers playing, carol singers, a postbox for letters to Santa and to round it all off, a fireworks display!
Hogmanay | Isle of Mull
See in the New Year with a distinctly Scottish flavour by escaping to Mull this Hogmanay. The revelry here will last well into the wee hours as islanders and visitors alike come together to celebrate. Many of the inns and restaurants will have special menus for the occasion, washed down with a dram or two of the island's finest malt. Gather around the harbour in Tobermory to see spectacular fireworks at midnight.
