Some people may have thought us mad to go on a camping holiday on the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides with a lively 18 month old toddler, but we did, and we survived. We had to go to Scotland for other reasons and we decided that as we were already up there, we would have a few days camping on the Isle of Mull.

After a bit of a dash across country to get to the ferry at Lochaline we made it, just. The crossing was our son, Laughing Boy’s, first trip on a ferry or boat of any description. He was fascinated by the sea and couldn’t take his eyes off of the biggest expanse of water he’d ever seen.

We got off the ferry just as the heavens opened and we got to the site and had to put up a tent we’d not erected for two or more years, in extremely heavy rain. Some other campers kindly helped us put up the tent, a huge one with two separate bedrooms, one for my wife and I and one for Laughing Boy. By this time I was having some doubts about the wisdom of camping with a toddler mostly as I was wrestling with sodden canvas and watching an equally rain-soaked Laughing Boy having the time of his life sitting in a puddle of muddy water, laughing and playing with some pebbles.

Anyway we finally got the tent up, installed Laughing Boy’s travel cot and went to sleep. It was that night that we realised that our end of the tent was in dire need of re-waterproofing,and my wife and I woke up in a puddle of rainwater that had leaked in. Laughing Boy was fine, his end of the tent was OK and was in a more sheltered position facing a cliff. I was absolutely gob-smacked by how quickly Laughing Boy took to sleeping under canvas with only a similar amount of bedtime whinging as we get at home. I was so proud of his adaptability. The next day we acquired some tent reproofer and the leaks diminished although we put up the emergency two man tent that we brought with us up inside the main tent, just to make sure that we’d stay dry during the almost nightly heavy rain. I wasn’t sure whether to take the emergency extra tent but I’m very glad that I did. It was well worth the extra weight and space to have option of using it.

We travelled round the Island of Mull, which is a place of simply stunning natural beauty and went to Tobermory a couple of times. The ‘catch and release’ aquarium there is worth seeing and there’s a good fish and chip van as well. We got the butane stove out and cooked out on dry days (yes there were a few) in Forestry Commission car parks or some of the deep cutaways in the hills at the roadside and generally chilled out. Laughing Boy got the chance to experiment with walking on a variety of different surfaces such as rock, tussock grass and shingle.

We visited the Isle of Iona and I was disappointed at the money-grubbing and far Left political Christianity that I found there. Food is ruinously expensive in some of the cafés so I would advise people to take a picnic with them instead. We gave the Abbey there a miss since they wanted £14 for the pair of us to get in. I visited the shop run by the Iona Community of Christians just to see what they were up to and I was mightily perturbed by what I found. I found them still promoting the ‘nobody is illegal’ and ‘refugees welcome’ policies, despite the fact that these policies have caused so many terrorist and other problems in Europe, including so recently for Christians. The Iona Community’s ‘Coracle’ newsletter that I saw in the shop exemplified this. The Christians of the island also seem to have bought, lock stock and barrel the ‘Palestinian’ narrative, a narrative that has very little in common with the truth.

Apart from the disappointment of finding a community of ‘holy fools’ on Iona, it was a wonderful holiday and a break from the norm for all of us, Laughing Boy included. The roads there are difficult but exciting to drive as they are single track with passing places and lots of blind corners and summits. As a driver you really need to have your wits about you when travelling on them. This is especially true when you have heavy rain and gales to contend with as well. Also don’t expect phone coverage in more sparsely populated areas of the Island. My wife and I ended up using portable radio transceivers to keep in touch when we were out and about such was the poor quality of the phone coverage. Wi-Fi and mobile broadband signals are patchy to say the least, which is why I’ve been incommunicado for a while.

We had a wonderful time and will definitely go back to Mull but as it’s a long distance from where we live to the ferry at Lochaline, we will probably in future go by the ferry from Oban which although is a bit more expensive, saves at least a 100 miles of extra driving, mostly on the single track roads that lead from near Fort William to the ferry port.

Laughing Boy enjoyed seeing different things and different animals and has at least learned that a sheep is not a ‘large cat’. He enjoyed the Whale and Dolphin centre in Tobermory very much and was fascinated to hold a Whale’s vertebrae.

Without a doubt camping with a lively, inquisitive toddler, in places that are wild or semi wild, when the weather is somewhat inclement is a challenge, but it can be done. I’m glad that I ignored the doubts I had when I was being enveloped by soggy tent material because we had a great time. Yes, babies and tents do mix despite what some people may believe. So, if you like camping and have recently been blessed with a child, then don’t let the fact you are now parents put you off life under canvas. It can be done, but as we found, it does take a bit of planning. This includes bringing plenty of stuff to entertain and feed a small child when travelling or when you are sheltering from the rain.

Mull is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in the United Kingdom and I’ve only explored a fraction of it. It’s a place well worth seeing, with or without a child. I’m glad we went and will definitely go back again.