Day 12 – Iona

Iona is one of the cradles of Christianity as it was here in 563 that St Columba set up his first house of prayer. The Book of Kells was created here in the late 8th Century but was taken to Dublin for safe keeping once the Viking raids started. In 806, the wisdom of this decision was shown when the Vikings arrived and killed a number of monks and pillaged the remaining treasures. Further raids followed through the next two centuries.

Ironically, it was the established Roman Catholic church that did for Iona. At this time Iona was a bastion of the Celtic Church, but the Celtic Church was suppressed by King David in 1144 and in 1203 Iona became part of the mainstream with the establishment of a nunnery for the Order of the Black Nuns as well as a Benedictine Abbey.

Iona began to be overshadowed by the royal city of Dunfermline and its demise came with the Reformation when the buildings were dismantled and most of the Celtic crosses destroyed.

The abbey and surrounding buildings we see today date from the period 1899 – 1965.

Iona is a 5-minute ferry crossing from Fionnphort on Mull. The island is not that big and it’s easy to walk to most places including the Bay at the Back of The Ocean though you should be aware that the local golf course is here too, so you may be asked to remove yourself from the fairway when a golfer is trying to make a shot.

Also, if you have a dog, keep it on a lead as otherwise it could well start chasing sheep and close the gates behind you as there are working farms on the island.