Oban to the Isle of Mull and Iona
We left the quay at Oban early in the morning, which had dawned fresh and bright, and promised a beautiful day in the Inner Hebrides as we began our cruise among the islands. Passing a gleaming white lighthouse designed by the civil engineering uncles of Robert Louis Stevenson, after about 40 minutes sailing we saw Duart Castle perched high on the cliffs of Mull on our approach to Craignure, our port of disembarkation for the day. By 8:30 we were all aboard Steve’s bus and heading westwards through the Great Glen of Mull. Steve is a Mulleach (a native of Mull) and gave us a lively up-to-date commentary as we travelled along single-track roads with superb views of mountains, lochs and the sea. The road journey to Fionnphort at the end of the Ross (peninsula) of Mull took about an hour and three quarters and we hurried past lobster and crab pots down the slipway to board the little ferry which took us across the narrow sea strait to Iona. Camera shutters clicked as expedition members took photographs of the crystal clear sea, pale sandy beaches and rock outcrops fringing Iona.
When we were all safely on land Konya led the “Striders” group of walkers on a tour of the important monuments while Iris led the “Strollers” on a more leisurely walk. We visited the 13th-century nunnery ruins, and then admired the school children’s Tatty Bogles (scarecrows) and Olympic Rings sculpture. Passing MacLean’s Cross, we proceeded past organic vegetable gardens to St Oran’s Chapel, where a group of Orthodox Christian pilgrims were just finishing a service. The smell of incense was strong inside the 12th- century chapel which contains burials of the MacDonald High Chiefs and a collection of late medieval carved stone grave slabs.
At last we reached our final destination: Iona Abbey. We saw the little rocky hill where St Columba built his monastic cell in A.D. 567 and where he died in A.D. 597. The Celtic Christian monastery grew around this point and missionaries from here converted the peoples of the north of Scotland to Christianity. Massive stone High Crosses decorated with low relief carving stand outside the present Abbey church. These are the oldest stone examples of the “wheel-headed” or “Celtic” crosses yet discovered, dating to about A.D. 750, and are the prototypes for all later versions. Their decoration links closely with the pictorial pages of the Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel book produced on Iona in the 8th century and evacuated for safety from Viking raiders to Ireland along with St Columba’s bones. We toured the inside of the Abbey and then went for lunch at the St Columba Hotel. Afterwards there was time to stroll and shop before catching the little ferry back to Fionnphort and our coach.
We retraced our route back to Duart Castle, the home of Sir Lachlan MacLean, High Chief of Clan MacLean, who was there to welcome us and guide us around the kitchen and dungeons of the fortress. Views from the roof were extensive, even though rain clouds were approaching rapidly from the west. It was perfect rainbow weather. We all returned to our ship a little tired and tucked into our dinner with relish as we sailed north to Tobermory. Wings Over Mull, a raptor rehabilitation charity based on Mull, gave an after-dinner presentation and brought some of their feathered charges to show us.
