Port nan Gael Campsite

With loch and mountain views, it’s fair to say that Port nan Gael Campsite on the Isle of Mull is a scenic place to pitch up for the night. It welcomes tents, campervans, motorhomes and touring caravans to its special spot in the south west of this island in the Inner Hebrides. Located halfway along the road that connects Craignure, where ferries from the mainland dock, with Fionnphort, where those for Iona depart, it’s an excellent place to stopover for a night. But once you’ve seen the sunset and the stars, you might wish you were staying longer. This place is excellent for both – and, if you're lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights.

The campsite faces west, which is good for those sunset views, and there are no streetlights here so, at night, it’s truly dark. And while you feel pretty “out there”, your needs are well catered for on site. Hipcampers with wheels can choose from a handful of grassy pitches with electric hook up and folk with tents have freedom to pitch where they please in a separate field. The site is also home to 30 hardstanding pitches and glamping pods. All pitches have access to wifi, hot showers, flushing loos and an outdoor pot wash. And there’s a pub on site which serves food too. In addition to all this convenience, there's one that tops the lot: a digital automated check in – which works with your car registration number and CCTV so you can check in whenever you want. It's handy as ferries from the mainland sometimes arrive late at night.

You can launch kayaks and paddleboards straight into the loch from here, you can swim, fly fish or watch wildlife. The island is known as a good place to see white-tailed sea eagles and you can often spot them from the campsite along with otters in the loch and deer on the shores. A trip to car-free Iona is one of the island’s must-do activities and a visit to Tobermory is another. Both can be tackled from here and while neither is on the doorstep (it's half an hour to the Iona ferry, an hour to Tobermory), the journey's are all part of this island's adventure.