THERE can be few places in the world where it is easier to shift down a gear or two.

Stunning Mull is the perfect get-away for anyone wanting to take things slowly, even for just a bit.

That, on the island’s long, winding and desperately narrow roads, does not always make for a relaxing life for those who need to be places.

But after years of beeping and honking in frustration, the people of Mull think they have come up with a solution to slow coach drivers.

They have teamed up with ferry operator CalMac to give every motorist who arrives on Mull and neighbouring Iona a guide to how to drive on narrow roads. Their aim? To instil holiday-makers with a single-track mind.

Margaret Matthew has seen this from both sides. A regular visitor turned resident, she appreciates not everybody from mainland or urban Scotland or beyond knows how to use passing places.

She said: “I once only made a ferry by the scruff of my neck after two cars of visitors slowed me down. People can be late for the ferry or medical or other important appointments. We want people to enjoy the views, but understand that they have to let other drivers overtake.”

Mull has been booming in recent summers. Calmac in 2017 reported a 40 per cent rise in crossings, partly thanks to the Government’s road equivalent tariff, or RET, the new fare structure designed to ensure crossing water is no more expensive than driving the same distance.

Island communities across Scotland are living with some of the unintended consequences of that policy, as well as extra tourists.

That includes roads so clogged in the summer that bus companies have to change their timetables. In the summer, buses have to allow extra time.

Islanders have tried other campaigns to unclog their roads. The latest scheme marks an alliance between Mull organisations and Calmac. It was suggested by Neal Goldsmith, from the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee.

He said: “It seemed such an obvious thing to do, to increase road safety and prevent frustration for locals and visitors alike. If every driver coming to the islands is handed the information as they board the ferry, they are much more likely to understand and adopt the rules of driving on single-track roads.”

The leaflets were produced and funded by Marketing Mull and Iona (MMI), the destination marketing organisation for the islands.

Colin Morrison, who chairs MMI, said “This initiative is a great example of how several organisations working together, taking a positive approach, can ensure the benefits of tourism are achieved.”

Iain Erskine, area operations manager for Argyll and Lochaber for CalMac, who also lives on Mull, said: “We are very pleased to announce that we will support this excellent Mull community initiative. We have supported educating drivers on how to drive on island single-track roads for many years. Our staff will hand out the Driving on Mull leaflet to all drivers and to specific vehicles embarking for Mull which will give this a fresh approach.”

The Driving on Mull leaflet directs visitors to watch a video from local Georgia O’Neill from Dervaig. She has a friendly Highland Cow popping up with advice for motorists against a cloth background.

“Drive at a speed at which you feel comfortable,” it says. “But please let others pass. Please understand the person behind you may be travelling to a hospital appointment. Or a ferry. Or attending to someone in need.”

The video addresses some common problems with drivers who lack that single-track mind. They include people parking in passing places (“There are places to stop and enjoy the view,” says the cow, “they are not always obvious but they are there”) or failing to keep left.

Islanders are also producing leaflets that CalMac will hand out to motorhomes. There has been real annoyance across Mull and beyond on campervan drivers – not least when they spend the night “wild camping”. A decade ago many in the Hebrides complained they were swamped by motorhomes, including those which park on fragile ground. Concerns include how they dispose of their chemical toilets contents. Last year there were calls for campervans to be excluded from the RET scheme.

Speaking in September Roy Pedersen, who invented RET, said the system had “generated additional traffic which has taxed the capacity of many existing routes”

He added: “RET is a very blunt instrument and rather out of tune with modern yield management practices.”

Ms Matthew, who now runs a guest house, Achaban House, in Fionnphort, stressed Mull was very much open to visitors. Like many locals, she wants them to stay rather than drive on, drive off the ferries.

Some visitors have been trying to circumnavigate Mull in a day, she said. Sometimes those motorists – those rushing – are the slowest of all. The island, after all, becomes a succession of selfie opportunities. The trick to relaxing on Mull and Iona, locals say, is to go slow – but to let life pass you by as you do so.