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Mallaig is a busy little place. It is both the terminus of the West Highland Line, the final destination of the Road to the Isles and the jumping off point for the ferries to the Isle of Skye and the small islands of Eigg, Muck, Rum and Canna.
Mallaig's history is fairly short. It was founded in the 1840s by Lord Lovat, the owner of the North Morar Estate.
He encouraged his tenants to move to the western part of the peninsula and turn to fishing as a way of life. Quite why he wanted them to move and how willing they were to become fishermen is open to debate.
However the move was a good one, as it is now the main commercial fishing port on the west coast of Scotland. At one time, during the 1960s, it was the busiest herring port in Europe, but with the collapse of the herring stocks due to over fishing, the village has had to turn to other species. These days it is mainly prawns and other shellfish.