A small rowing boat on one of the white sandy beaches on the Isle of Iona, Scotland.
Iona is a small island off the west coast of Scotland. It is particularly known as the island to which the Irish missionary monk Columba, arrived with twelve companions on coracles in 563 and set up a base on the island. From there, they spread Celtic Christianity throughout the Western Isles and onto the north-east mainland.
Little remains of Columba’s original wattle and timber monastery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, a cathedral was built by the Benedictines, together with an Augustine Nunnery. Only ruins of the latter remain to this day. The monestary was dismantled and the abbey church abandoned following the Scottish Reformation, and it became ruined. In 1938, the Rev George Macleod led a group which rebuilt the abbey under the supervision of the architect Ian Gordon Lindsay. George Macleod formed the Iona Community, a dispersed, ecumenical community of Christians who hold retreats and services at the Abbey.
To get there, you have to take a ferry from Oban to Craignure on the Isle of Mull, drive right across Mull, then get another ferry at Fionnphort for the short journey across. An alternative is to take the Lochaline-Fishnish ferry from the mainland onto Mull, then drive south to Fionnphort. Note that visitor vehicles are not allowed onto Iona unless there is a blue badge holder on board.
Iona is a small island, easy to walk around. There are bicycles for hire, and a taxi is available for anyone who might need it.
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It is available for sale as various types of wall art, and as home and personal accessories, from my gallery at Pixels.com.
My photo of a beach on Iona is also available to purchase as a stock photo from my portfolio at iStock.
