Duart Castle as seen from ferry
One of the lessons we're learning about the kind of travel we do is that one can't see everything a region has to offer (especially with stops of only a few days). Many of the best sights can require full day trips, so advance planning is crucial.
Leaving Oban
A visit to the island of Iona had come highly recommended. It required a ferry ride, a bus ride, then a second ferry ride over rather rough water (fortunately a quick hop across a narrow channel) to get there.
Lochs in a glacial valley on Mull
The bus portion of the trip across the Isle of Mull (an hour in each direction) was actually quite interesting. Normally one sees quite a bit of wildlife and Mull is apparently a destination for naturalists and geologists, but wind and rain must have had all the beasties hunkered down. I'd really wanted to get a good picture of the shaggy Highland cows, as they are incredibly cute, but shooting from the window of a speeding bus, this was the best I could manage.
When we reached Iona the rain had let up, but a cold gusty wind dampened our desire to walk about and explore outdoors. We grabbed a Cadbury bar at the general store to fortify for a walk up to the Abbey. You can read more about the Abbey here, but the short version is that it was founded in 563 by St. Columba, was a working abbey and pilgrimage site for several centuries, was abandoned and fell into disrepair during the Reformation, then was rebuilt and restored beginning in the 1870's. Most of the structures date from that time, though there are displays of grave markers and some remaining bits of the early structures incorporated and on display.
Ruins of the nunnery which was not restored.
I believe this cross dates back from the earlier life of the abbey. The bus driver told us how the Celtic cross design (with the circle) came about: the heaviness of the stone couldn't support the horizontal pieces so the circle was added to the design to provide structural support.
There is currently an active Christian community living and working at the abbey.
After a quick peek into some of the local craft shops, we enjoyed a quick lunch, then it was time to hop back on the ferry to head home. While we enjoyed the excursion, I'm certain that had the weather been better we would have explored a bit more and enjoyed more if Iona's charms.
Next up, "The Road To Windermere." With a detour or two on the way.
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