Collectively I spent multiple days in the small port town of Mallaig. During my first visit I arrived on the morning Jacobite train, dropped my bags off in the backpacker hostel above a restaurant, and spent the rest of the day hanging out with a friend i made on the train. It was during this first trip that I made a discovery of utmost importance: Mallaig is home to an amazing bakery- Bakery House. This bakery, I discovered later, is well known through out the islands. On Eigg, people would hang around the pier waiting for the deliveries from the Bakery, and then swarm the shelves trying to grab one of the precious Almond Croissants.

Mallaig itself is a small, yet highly important port town. Here ferries take locals and tourist alike all over the Scottish small islands. The locals depend  heavily on the ferry for their food supply and much more.

Mallaig is also home to the local high school. Here the local children ready to go to secondary school leave their homes and, if they are island dwellers, live in a dorm next to the school. Island students live in Mallaig and have a school ferry that takes them home once every two weeks, weather permitting. Currently Mallaig has a population around 1000. After many weeks spent on the Isle of Eigg, population under 100, Mallaig felt like a booming metropolis. Most people will only spend the couple of hours between the trains in this lovely town, but if you have a chance I would recommend spending a few nights here and exploring the coast line.

After my first visit to Mallaig I passed through or visited the town 4 more times before leaving Scotland. There is simply no other practical way to get to the island of Eigg. Besides the Bakery I would recommend walking up the road above the town, and if you have access to a car, driving along the old road which winds around the coastline and offers break taking views of the Scottish small isles.