An early start saw me board the 0725 ferry to Craignure on the island of Mull, from where a large, but fairly empty, 6 wheeled double decker bus (I'm guessing there are usually many more tourists) was waiting for the run along single track roads to Fionnphort.
Fionnphort is on one side of the Sound of Iona and a second, much smaller ferry was there waiting for the short crossing to the island of Iona, one of the most sacred sites in Scotland. St Columba (remember him from Derry-Londonderry?) came from Ireland to Iona in 563 and founded a monastery from which to go forth and convert the Picts and the Scots to Christianity. It was sacked many times by the Vikings and over the centuries fell into disrepair but today the reconstructed abbey church is a place of pilgrimage.
To be honest, Iona warrants at least a day of your time, even better if you can stay overnight, it is a magical place and even more spiritual given its stunning location. Alas I was only stopping off here on the way even more amazing things so only had a couple of hours. This was enough to do a guided tour of the abbey complex, take some photos and admire the peaceful views. The abbey is built from the local stone which is a lovely pink granite. I have to admit that the traquility of the place was partly due to the pandemic, the abbey would see up to 1000 vsiitors a day in a normal summer.
As you should by now know following my two previous visits, the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland was formed by the rapid cooling of molten basalt during volcanic activity 50-60 million years ago. What a you may not be aware of, is that this volcanic activity pops up out of the sea again on the Scottish island of Staffa, some 6 miles from Iona. Therefore I was picked up by a small boat as part of a tour to Staffa this afternoon to go and have a look.
Staffa is an uninhabited island now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and it is made up of huge basalt columns that rise up out of the sea. The most amazing feature, however, is Fingal's Cave, a sea cave that runs into the basalt that is accessible by walking along a ledge just above the high water mark. It is truly amazing and when I got there, I was able to take some photos and then sit alone in the cave for about 10 minutes before anyone else came along - very special.
 |
| Fingal's Cave from the water |
 |
| This is very similar to the Giant's Causeway |
 |
| Inside Fingal's Cave |
 |
| Inside Fingal's Cave |
Fingal's Cave is famous of course as the place that inspired composer Felix Mendeelssohn to write his overture "The Hebrides". He visited the island in 1829 on a particularly rough day but for him, like me and many other people the island left a lasting impression.
 |
| Staffa |
No comments:
Post a Comment