Iona - saying goodbye

As the ferry left and  the resident staff waved us off , Phil wiped away a few tears.  He's not sure he'll make it back again but we'll see.

iona - some people we met

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Michelle from Adelaide has been living on Iona for the past 2 years as a member of the community

Iona sights

Some beautiful sandy beaches on Iona and crystal clear ( but FREEZING) water

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The Hebridean Princess visited one day.  The queen had chartered her earlier in the summer for a family cruise around these islands

The cloisters at the Abbey

Iona - a trip to Staffa

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Iona - a morning at the beach

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Iona Pilgrimage

Every Tuesday come rain, hail or shine, some of the resident members of the Iona Community lead a pilgrimage around the island.  It covers about 7 miles and takes about 6 hours of gentle walking, pauses for reflections and plenty of time for chatting.  Like all pilgrimages, I guess, this one starts at the cross. This time its St Martins cross dating from the 8th century.

Jamie is a resident staff member of the Iona Community and has lived on the island for the last 18 months.  She is an ordained minister of the Reformed Church of USA - a delightful lady and I wonder if we could tempt her to visit us sometime. She was standing at the only point on the island where 2 roads cross and invited us to consider crossroads in our our lives and read the Robert Frost poem - The road not taken.

The labyrinth at St Columba's Bay

Most of the walk was fairly easy with some gentle climbs and weather favourable.

Some of the going was a bit more diffilcult - sturdy boots were essential.

This glam couple are waiting for the summer to begin

At St Columba's bay where he was thought to have landed from Ireland in 563. He was making a fresh start and we were thinking about that too. 

Meeting people from all over is one the other good things about being here.  Sharon ( black hat) is a priest from Somerset.  We became very good friends in a short time and I'm sure we'll keep in touch.   Mary in pink is a teacher and Caroline is a minister from Nebraska.

The heather is in full bloom all over the highlands as well as Iona

LOTS of bogs even on the high ground and not always possible to leap across them.  Even our good walking boots weren't quite up to keeping our feet dry.

One reflection is at the nunnery dating from 1203.  It is the most substantial remains of any nunnery in the whole of Europe.  It is within the village of Iona, close to the school, shop and houses and suggests the nuns related more to the locals than the men of the Abbey which stands outside the village in some seclusion.








At the end of the walk we put our boots out to dry - it took 2 days before they were completely dry.

At Iona

Phil had no trouble climbing up Dun I - the highest hill on Iona.  The Abbey is in the background with Mull across the water

The tiny island of Iona is beautiful - it was once home to over 500 people but the potato famine decimated that and while it has increased slowly, there are still only 120 year-round residents.  The Abbey though is the 4th most visited site in Scotland hence LOTS of day trippers.  A couple of days while we were there there were large cruise ships docked off shore bringing passengers in on the life boats. Tourists are an important part of the island's economy and they stick to a fairly short route from the harbour to the Abbey and back so they don't interfere too much.

From Dun I looking east across Mull.

Chopping veges with my buddies from US, UK, Czech Rep, Germany, France.  Some of us were just there for the week but others for longer - six weeks to 3 years

Phil was going so fast with the hoover that he's just a blur

From Dun I looking north across the crofts - Staffa and Skye are on the skyline.

Life on Iona isn't all climbing hills.  There are worship services at 9am and 9pm each day in the beautiful Abbey Church.    They are probably the main reason we go to Iona - really inspiring.  Also most afternoons there are prayers for peace and justice.  Members of the  Iona community are heavily involved in activities and advocacy in these areas. 

But there are also chores to be done.  One meal each day you have to help set up, serve andclear away then wash up.  In addtion I had to chop veges each morning and Phil had to hoover a hallway - not terribly onerous.

Some of these photos have jumped into odd places but I'm sure you'll get the idea.  More about Iona later.  Phil wants to check his email - we're not used to having to share one laptop!!! 

Brodie to Iona

Leaving the colourful harbour area of Oban

Getting to Iona is a bit of a chore but more so from Inverness.  An early drive from Brodie Castle into Inverness, a taxi to the bus station ; a bus to Fort William; another bus to Oban; a ferry to the Isle of Mull; and hour bus ride across Mull then another ferry to Iona.  Our connections weren't great so after leaving Brodie at 7am we finally arrived at Iona at 7 pm - a long day.

This lovely lighthouse is about half way between Oban and Mull

                                So it was so nice to arrive at Iona at last with the abbey in view

Just in time for dinner in the refectory

Meals are simple and mainly vegetarian which suits me just fine.  There was a group of 23 german people from Dortmund with us and some of them found the lack of animal protein challenging - they are used to cheese and sausage for beakfast and meat at least one more meal a day.

Brodie Castle - Loch Ness

Brodie Castle - Beach walk Findhorn to Burghead

Brodie Castle - Battle of Culloden

From Scotland

After 3 lovely warm sunny days, today is cool and damp hence we are in Inverness catching up on emails and soon to have a lunch at a 1 Michelin * restaurant.

We are staying in a beautiful little National Trust cottage in the grounds of Brodie Castle - 1/2 an hour along the coast.   It is a beautiful area - fabulous coastline with golden sandy beaches and then inland to the Cairngorms - dramatic highlands. 

Yesterday we took a steam train from Aviemore to Broomhill - the station called Glenbogle in Monarch of the Glen - we loved the scenery in that show so got to see it for ourselves yesterday.  We finished the day with a tour and tasting at the Glenfiddich Distillery - one of Phil's favourite drams.  All in all a good day.

Plenty to do here - later this week we'll take a boat along Loch Ness and do some more coastal walks.  Then Saturday we take a bus to Oban, then a ferry to Mull then a bus across Mull then a ferry to Iona where we stay for the next week.

Slow travel UK #3 - Yoxford Suffolk

We hadn't spent much time in Suffolk before so we stayed 3 nights at this rather quirly B&B - The Old Methodist Chapel.  Our suite was in the old Sunday School
rooms so we felt right at home.  Really interesting area -
lots of farming so great fresh produce.

Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh near Yoxford is called the Cathedral of the Marshes

 - a beautiful example of local stone and a fine ceiling - note the angels.

This speaks for itself  - Wolsey and Pygot were protestants who refused to change their beliefs

during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary 1

In contrast the magnificent cathedral in Ely dating from 673.