Meet the Islanders who need a day of rest... to recover from the TV tourists!

By CLAIRE ELLIOT, SCOTTISH GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:43, 28 May 2026 | Updated: 20:56, 28 May 2026 Everyone needs some quiet time after a busy week. And it appears the 16 inhabitants of the isle of Ulva are no different. The Hebridean island’s starring role in a hit TV series has led to ‘unprecedented interest’, resulting in a surge in visitors. So, to give residents of the community time to recharge and prepare for the week ahead the island has made the decision to ‘close’ on Sundays. Its privately owned foot-ferry service will now only operate six days a week to give islanders a break from the scores of tourists visiting after Ulva featured on the BBC six-part series Banjo and Ro’s Grand Island Hotel. The show, which first aired in January, documents the renovation of a stately home on Ulva into a seven-bedroom boutique hotel. It stars Australian-born interior designer Banjo Beale, a judge on the BBC series Scotland’s Home of the Year, and husband Ro Christopher, who live on the island. The couple help run The Boathouse, which has been catering for visitors for almost 20 years. But the popularity of the programme has led to ‘set-jetters’ flocking to the island in recent months. Passengers boarding the ferry To Ulva from the Isle of Mull Diners at The Boathouse restaurant on the Isle of Ulva Interior designer Banjo Beale ahs helped Ulva's popularity soar The Ulva Ferry has said it is taking action to prevent the isle becoming overwhelmed. It said: ‘The unprecedented interest in the island has been wonderful and we are delighted that more people are finding out what makes Ulva so special. ‘None of us could have predicted how significant the increase in the numbers of visitors would be, so to give ourselves, the Boathouse and fellow islanders the chance to recharge and prepare for the week ahead, we have made the difficult decision not to open Sundays this summer.’ The ferry operator apologised to those who ‘will be undoubtedly disappointed’ but said ‘we feel it’s the right decision for the island this year’. It asked those who have booked accommodation and are leaving or arriving on a Sunday in June, July or August to ‘liaise with their accommodation provider’ or get in touch so they can ‘make sure you can still get across’. Mull and Iona Community Trust took to social media to warn visitors that due to the ‘unprecedented demand for parking’ at Ulva Ferry there would be an increased police presence ‘to manage parking and move vehicles if necessary’. It added: ‘If both car parks are full, please do not park on the roadside verge.' Ulva, which was bought by the community in 2018, is accessed by ferry from nearby Mull. It has no public roads but is a haven for wildlife, attracting around 7,000 nature lovers a year. Should small communities have the right to limit tourism to protect their way of life? What's your view?BBCScotland Share or comment on this article: Meet the Islanders who need a day of rest... to recover from the TV tourists! e-mail Add comment window.articleShortUrl = 'https://mol.im/a/15856815'; adverts.addTaboolaPosition({ position: "thumbnail", id: "taboola-below-article-thumbnails" }) adverts.addTaboolaPosition({ position: "afterArticle", id: "taboola-below-main-column" }) DM.later('bundle', function (){ DM.SHOUT = {}; DM.SHOUT.shoutChannels = '{"disabledMolShout":false,"disabledChannels":[]}'; DM.SHOUT.isOldArticle = false; }); DM.later('bundle', function (){ DM.has("reader-comments", "ReaderComments", { gplusClientId: '746589970956-e10ciaf67a1id9ggu75ph3ds0sthn7j6.apps.googleusercontent.com', total: 1, offset: 0, allowNewComments: true , moderated: false }); }); Comments 1 Share what you think The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.