When Dr Samuel Johnson and his travelling companion and biographer, James Boswell, visited the small island of Ulva in October 1773, they found little of interest and only stayed one night.

Now, some 252 years later, the island is seriously en vogue, with BBC Scotland TV show Banjo and Ro's Grand Island Hotel - which first aired in January - generating an unprecedented level of interest among visitors.

So much so, that islanders have decided to declare the island 'closed' on Sundays for the summer season, to allow them the chance to recharge and prepare for the week ahead.

Indeed, so many visitors are now making their way over to the island - via the on-demand foot-passenger ferry from nearby Mull - that the local community trust has met with the local council and police to actively explore suitable options to address the parking situation at Ulva Ferry, where the ferry departs for the island.

It's clear that no-one, not even the residents on the island, could have predicted just how popular Ulva would become when the ferry started its seasonal operations on March 31.

The signal board at the Ulva Ferry slipway (Image: Newsquest)

Back in April, ahead of the 2026 ferry........

© Herald Scotland