Getting Here
Isle of Gometra, Ulva Ferry, Isle of Mull, PA73 6NA.
There is an interactive map and copies of maps on our maps page. Please do not rely on satnav on Gometra—it is inaccurate.
Getting to Gometra is worth it - please don’t be deterred by the difficulty of the journey.
However it is also arduous and/or expensive, and we will happily send photographs, information or samples to save you a trip if this helps. Sadly we can’t subsidise the costs of a trip. Please confirm all times with websites & numbers given, and and if you need our input please confirm your visit with us in good time by text to 07525751171. We are a small island community, usually of 2 to 4 households, committed to a low impact lifestyle. We do not have electricity or (with one exception) telephones in our homes, or access to a doctor, teacher, shops, Royal Mail post-offices, landline broadband, etc.. We usually have cold and often have hot running water, and even when these fail as they sometimes do in the summer months, we have always had water in our burns which can be boiled. Please bring a sleeping bag, waterproofs and a torch if you wish to stay overnight in Teacher's Bothy and Jane Ann's Bothy which can both be booked through AirBnb, but please book ahead because they get full. Disabled visitors may have additional difficulties accessing the island and should not hesitate to text or email for information. Thank you! Gometra.
Important: No Ulva Ferry on Saturdays, none on Sundays except July and August, and none after five.
ScotRail train from Glasgow Queen Street (not Glasgow Central) to Oban five times a day.
In Oban you can stay at Youth Hostel or Backpacker’s Hostel - but advance booking is essential in summer because Oban gets completely full.
CalMac ferry from Oban to Craignure on the Isle of Mull several times a day, less in winter, booking essential for motors and cycles, no booking needed for foot passengers. Or Calmac ferry from Lochaline to Fishnish on Mull several times a day, currently no booking needed.
West Coast Motors bus 495, from Craignure to Salen. Remember to get off at Salen (bus is marked Tobermory on the front). Runs several times a day, often fills up quickly and leaves shortly after ferry docks so don't dawdle getting off the ferry.
Then Ulva Ferry Community Transport 07775531301 info@ufct.org.uk (in summer runs twice a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but only if requested before 4pm preceding day). Please double check their website for both summer and winter timetables). UFCT can also sometimes carry people outside their scheduled times. Please email them directly for information.
Or a 10 mile walk/hitch from Salen to Ulva Ferry on the Isle of Mull.
Or drive straight to Ulva Ferry in your own motor.
Or book a taxi (well in advance because limited supply of taxis).
Then Ulva Ferry foot passenger and bicycle ferry (no cars) to the Isle of Ulva (usually Monday-Friday 9am-5pm April to October, Sunday-Friday 9am-5pm July and August. Usually closed in winter.)
Then a 7 or 8 mile walk-in from Ulva to Gometra. This takes most people between 2 1/4 hours (brisk) and 4 hours (dawdle) but will take longer walking slowly or with a heavy pack. The track (sign-posted 'Am Bru' or 'Gometra' leads up past the Boat House Tea Room, turns 2nd left (where the track crosses some smooth rocks)and then 2nd right (at a Dutch Barn), climbs up beside the Ulva Reservoir, then is the main beaten track all the way along the North side of Ulva to the causeway and silver bridge to Gometra. It is an unfrequented hill track in poor condition and should not be attempted by inexperienced walkers or after dark. You will need OS Explorer Sheet 374 Isle of Mull North & Tobermory and appropriate compass, equipment, footwear and foul weather gear. Vodafone and foreign mobiles usually work near Ulva's East end and Gometra's Southern and Western extremities. EE usually works on the south points and west side of Gometra. It is essential to let someone know your route and ETA and to arrange that you will contact them to say you have arrived safely. It is not possible to cross the causeway at rough spring tides or when the bridge is lifted or blows away (both extremely infrequent during summer so you do not have to worry about this except in winter).
Jane Ann's Bothy (NM 37006 40447) is the highest of the three cottages you see beside the track about 1 mile after you have reached Gometra. Teacher's Bothy is the most right hand (Eastern) of the four cottages you see in a row about 2 miles after you have reached Gometra (NM 35785 40701).
EE coverage map.Vodafone coverage map. Unfortunately other networks don't seem to work (O2 has been reported as working from the summit of Gometra), but foreign mobiles may use Vodafone and EE masts.
We ask visitors to make their own arrangements for parking at Ulva Ferry, but we have not heard of any problems.
The North Harbour pier and its track is in poor condition and we are not allowed to recommend their use. We require indemnity by employers and individuals requesting permission to use it. Independent contractors can sometimes transport luggage and equipment to the island on request for a fee.
Sadly we cannot assume liability for individuals and employers with respect to the journey to Gometra or your activities whilst here. If you wish us to do so you must not make the journey. Please contact us instead so we can figure out an alternative solution. You or your employer must carry out your own risk assessment if you come. This is because it is a naturally dangerous environment exacerbated by the lack of access to a doctor, and there are strict and proper health and safety requirements for us to abide by.
Contacting us on Gometra:-
Email to rocsandford@mac.com : best method : weather permitting we attempt to receive email by satellite downlink or mobile connection usually once a day.
Text to 07525751171 : weather permitting, we usually receive these within 24 hours from a point on the SW corner of Gometra which has intermittent and weather-dependent mobile reception for Vodafone handsets, though due to borderline reception on the island and peculiarities of Vodafone's text storage system, it can be a matter of days before texts get through, if at all.
Voicemail is difficult to retrieve from Gometra and shared landline in farm office is intermittent and poor quality, so we no longer use voicemail.
Post : Weather permitting, there is usually a weekly incoming postal service. Please allow another week before an outgoing journey can take a reply. This means turn-around time for post is usually around 14-21 days between posting a letter and receiving a reply, plus any normal delay in processing our end.
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All text and Images © Roc Sandford, Gometra, 2015 unless otherwise stated. Please let us know of any corrections or suggestions. To contact us click here.