Miss Hoolie’s green Balamory house on the Isle of Mull has been put on the market for offers over £225,000. The Tobermory cottage, Beul An Atna—Gaelic for Mouth of the Sea—serves as the home of Miss Hoolie, the nursery teacher from the BAFTA-winning children’s programme Balamory, which aired from 2002 to 2005. The current owner, Matthew Spence, who has lived in the three-bedroom cottage for almost four decades, said he and his wife agreed to the home’s use in the series and gradually grew to love Mull after moving from Glasgow when he was 15.
The house quickly became part of television history, drawing busloads of preschool visitors to the colourful harbour town. At its peak, Balamory attracted about two million viewers a week in the United Kingdom and was watched by children around the world in Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and South Africa. Across 152 episodes, eight main characters — including the green-clad Miss Hoolie, a police officer, an inventor, a school bus driver, a painter, a fitness instructor and two shopkeepers — solved problems in the island community, often with celebrity guests. Miss Hoolie’s outfits mirrored her home’s signature colour, and the property itself gained fame as a central set piece.
Filming for a new Balamory series began this year in preparation for a 2026 reboot, with original stars Julie Wilson Nimmo (Miss Hoolie), Andrew Agnew (PC Plum), Kim Tserkezie (Penny Pocket) and Juliet Cadzow (Edie McCredie) confirmed to return. The house’s Gaelic name, Beul An Atna, is reflected in the property’s history as a former bed and breakfast on West Street; it has retained its green hue ahead of production this summer, even as the structure has seen layers of paint over the years. Spence explained that the decision to feature the home was a spontaneous one: when someone came to the door asking if the house could be part of the programme, the family did not hesitate. “Anything to do with children — we had none ourselves — and we just fell for it,” he said. After 38 years, he added, he would be sad to leave and acknowledged the emotional side of packing up a home tied to so many memories.
In Mull, the house’s presence meant daily interactions with visitors. Spence recalled summers when two busloads of children would park across the road, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the show’s stars or meet Miss Hoolie herself. He and his wife delighted in the attention; even his dog became a local celebrity of sorts, with children posting sweets through the door. Spence said actors who had once arrived as guests now returned for filming, and he enjoyed a big cuddle with PC Plum when the character appeared at the door. “I’ll be sad to leave. Looking back, I get emotional. You never realise how much you collect until you start packing,” he said.
Estate agent Andrew Fuller, of Bell Ingram, called the sale a “real pleasure” to bring to market, noting the cottage’s status as an iconic part of Mull’s story. “As a resident of Mull, I know just how iconic the green house is—it’s part of the island’s story. While it’s bittersweet to see it change hands, this sale marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for a property that holds so many happy memories,” Fuller said. The sale comes as interest in Balamory remains high, with more than 40 episodes from the programme’s fourth series available on BBC iPlayer, more than two decades after the original run.
Beyond its sale, the house’s legacy continues to resonate with viewers who grew up watching Balamory. The show’s memorable theme, which begins with the question, “What’s the story in Balamory, wouldn’t you like to know?” remains a touchstone for many families. The 2026 reboot aims to bring together core characters while introducing fresh storylines that reflect today’s children’s programming landscape.
The stories around Beul An Atna, the green house that welcomed a generation of children into a world where color-coded characters and friendly problem-solving defined a small community, now move into a new phase as a sale in a remote Scottish town closes a chapter but also opens a door to a refreshed chapter of Balamory for a new generation of viewers.