Ulva is located off the western coast of Mull in Argyll and Bute. The island rises steeply to 313m (1026 feet) at Beinn Chreagach. Although Gometra, to the northwest, is listed as a separate island, it is in fact a continuation of the headland at the western coast of Ulva. Covering a combined area of 2415 ha (5968 acres), both are were privately owned and, together, have a population which is much reduced from the 650 recorded in the middle of the 19th century. The population of Ulva has been unstable in recent years; 33 (1961), 23 (1971), 13 (1981), 30 (1991), 16 (2001) but just 11 (2011). A government-backed community buy-out in 2018 has repopulation of the island as one of its core aims.
Lachlan MacQuarie (1761 - 1824), the soldier, civil servant and regarded as the 'father' of Australia was born on Ulva. The T-plan church was one of a number across Scotland designed by Thomas Telford (1757 - 1834), while Ulva House dates from 1955. Access to the island is via a passenger ferry called by a visual signal from Mull.
