Isle of Iona - Inner Hebrides
 Abbeys |
Iona is a low-lying island only 3 miles long by a mere 1.5 miles wide, with low craggy hills overlooking pale sandy beaches and crooked coves. Here it is that St Columba is reputed to have landed in AD563; accompanied by 12 companions he arrived from Ireland in order to establish the mission that transformed Iona into the Christian centre of Europe. Only a mile of choppy water separates Iona from Mull and today's visitors to the Holy Isle, like pilgrims centuries before them, must cross by the ferry on foot; the main destination now, as before, is the restored Abbey.
Iona occupies a unique place in the cultural and spiritual history of Scotland and every year half-a-million people are drawn to this mystical site, described by Dr Johnson as "that illustrious island". It was a sacred island and a centre of worship in Druidic times, eventually to become the cradle of Scotland 's Christianity with the arrival of Columba.
Although all the buildings of St Columba's original monastery are long gone, nevertheless their sites are full of the ruins of a later ecclesiastical era, spread out around the magnificently restored medieval Abbey. The long Abbey buildings seen today are based on those of the Benedictine monastery established in the early 13th century. However, the surviving structure of the Abbey dates mainly from the late 15th and 16th centuries, when it became the Cathedral Church of St Mary, usually referred to as ‘the Abbey'. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, 1536-9, the Abbey fell into ruin and thus it remained until the Church of Scotland meticulously restored it between 1902-10. Some of the best restoration is to be seen in the tiny cloister, most especially the detailed depiction of birds and plants on the slender replacement columns, studiously copied from the one remaining medieval original.
Opposite the Abbey's west facade, standing in quiet serenity, is an 8th century historic treasure, the Great Cross of Iona, otherwise known as St Martin 's Cross. A prodigious monument it reaches 14 ft towards the heavens and is lavishly decorated with Christian iconography on one side while Pictish symbols adorn the other.
Situated south of the Abbey is the oldest surviving building on Iona , St Oran's Chapel, said to have been built on the instruction of Queen Margaret in 1080. The surrounding burial ground, Reilig Odhrain or Royal Cemetery , was the traditional burial place of Scottish kings; no fewer than 48 are claimed to reside here. Intriguingly, one of the last Scottish kings to be interred at the cemetery was Duncan in 1040, followed in 1057 by his murderer Macbeth. In addition, 8 Norwegian, 4 Irish and 2 French monarchs also share the hallowed ground. More controversially, John Smith, the former Socialist leader, was also buried here in 1994. Many of the cemetery's medieval grave slabs are now preserved in the Infirmary Museum to the rear of the Abbey, along with a collection of Celtic crosses.
Located near to the present ferry jetty, at Baile Mor, is the ruined, but still graceful, Augustinian Nunnery of St Mary, built in rosy granite in 1203 by Reginald MacDonald of Islay, Lord of the Isles; the first Abbess to be installed was Reginald's sister Beatrice.