Salen,_Mull

Salen, Mull

Salen, Mull

Human settlement in Scotland

Not to be confused with Salen, Ardnamurchan.

Salen (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Sàilean[1]) is a settlement on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.[2] It is on the east coast of the island, on the Sound of Mull, approximately halfway between Craignure and Tobermory at the narrowest part of the island. The full name of the settlement is 'Sàilean Dubh Chaluim Chille' (the little black bay of St Columba). In 1991 it had a population of 500.[3]

Quick Facts Population, OS grid reference ...

History

Until the early 1800s, the site of today's village was no more than an unremarkable junction of tracks. The Laird of Gruline and Ulva, Lachlan Macquarie, decided that there was commercial advantage in establishing a village and harbour on the nearest point on the Sound of Mull to his estates: and so Salen came into being.

St Columba visited Salen and preached from a rocky bluff behind the Salen Hotel.

North across Salen Bay sits the ruins of the 13th century Aros Castle.

Transport

The mailboat service from Oban to Mull formerly called at Salen pier en route to Tobermory. From 1964 the new ferries required bigger piers and Craignure was established as the main ferry terminus on the island due to its central location for visitors to Tobermory and Iona. This meant the end for Salen as a mailboat destination.

A minor road branches off here towards Gruline and various places on the west side of Mull.

Abandoned boats in Salen Bay in 2016

The psychiatrist Angus MacNiven FRSE (1900-1984) is buried in Salen churchyard.[4]

References

  1. [1]
    "Salen". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-names of Scotland. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. [2]
    Gittings, Bruce; Munro, David. "Salen, Argyll and Bute". The Gazetteer for Scotland. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  3. [3]
    "Salen Details". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. [4]
    Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
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