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Putting Pennyghael back on the map with inn and campsite

The opening of the Inn at Port nan Gael and a new campsite will help to put Pennygahel on the remote Ross of Mull back on the map.
The opening of the Inn at Port nan Gael and a new campsite will help to put Pennygahel on the remote Ross of Mull back on the map.

New management at the hotel and the opening of a campsite at Pennyghael on the remote Ross of Mull could help put the village back on the map.

Pennyghael was once a regular stop-off for visitors on their way to Iona.

The Inn at Port nan Gael on the Ross of Mull in the snow. Image: Colin Morrison, Tobermory.

But businessman Calum MacLachlainn, who has bought the Pennyghael Hotel, says the village is dying.

He hopes that his plans to grow the business under its new name, the Inn at Port nan Ghael, will make Pennyghael a popular destination again.

And the opening of a campsite next to the Inn will add to the attraction, bringing yet more people to the south of Mull.

Planning permission has been granted for a camping area with caravan and motorhome stances, eight pods and a toilet block in a field next to Gleneven. It will be up and running this season.

New management for the Inn

Fiona Woods, who manages the Ben Nevis Bar in Fort William, another of Calum’s businesses, will run the Inn.

Calum said: “There is huge support for this. The village is dying. People want to see things happening. So it needs encouragement from business people like me to come in and help.

“We have a young couple moving into the area to be involved in running the campsite.”

The new management took over the inn in October. It is currently closed for the season while work is carried out in the restaurant, the seven bedrooms and behind the scenes.

It is hoped the Inn at Port nan Gael will make Pennyghael a popular destination once more. Image: Colin Morrison, Tobermory

When the Inn reopens the restaurant will serve rustic, locally sourced, Scottish food.

And by the special request of locals, the public bar will reopen with its former name from decades ago, The Clansman.

Calum said: “There is a lot of pressure from people on Mull to change the name back to the Clansman.”

Fiona spoke about the reopening of the inn.

Up and running for Easter

She said: “We will be open for Easter. There is a lot of work going on at the moment.

“We hope this will be the heart of the community, encouraging people to stop at Pennyghael, putting it back on the map.

“Historically Pennyghael was a really busy location. It used to be the stop off on the way to Iona. We would like to bring that back. The hope is that people will break their journey to Iona by stopping here.

“We hope it will become a real destination, a place for people to stop. There is nothing else in the village.”

The Inn has seven bedrooms and a letting cottage. Image: Colin Morrison

The only other public bar in Pennyghael at the Kinloch Hotel closed several years ago.

Initially the inn will employ eight people, which is likely to increase.

Fiona added: “It’s half an hour in each direction from anything food or drink wise.

“It will be a real bonus to bring people here and locals will be pleased to come and make the most of something they can walk to.”

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