Day 7 - July 18, 2022 - Oban - Isle of Mull - Isle of Iona

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Today was a very busy day.  It is now 11:00 PM so my commentary will be very brief, but I will post a few photos.  If I have a chance, I will come back later and add more detail.

After breakfast we made a 5 minute walk to the ferry terminal to catch a ride to the Isle of Mull. The island covers 338 square miles, Mull is the fourth-largest island in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. In  2020 the populace was estimated to be 3,000.  

Mull was beautiful and full of mountains and lochs, but we were just passing through.  After the one hour and 15 minute ferry ride, we immediately boarded a bus and rode approximately 40 miles to the other end of the island to board another smaller ferry for a 15 minute ride to Iona, our destination.

Iona is much smaller than Mull, just under 3.5 square miles and a population of less than 200.  The significance of Iona is tied to it being the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland.

I would like to write much more about Iona and the church history which dates from the 700's, but it is too late tonight.

I will say that we had absolutely beautiful weather.  The locals said days like today are rare.  It was a clear sky and temperatures reached about 80 degrees.


A short walk to the ferry terminal.




Iona has only one road on the island so it's hard to get lost.



We had a nice simple lunch of soup and sandwiches at the Argyll Hotel.  I had broccoli and blue murder soup  (made with blue cheese)  it was delicious.

Walls of the original nunnery.









The Abbey


The porus walls allows a rare type fern to grow.  These are at least 10 years old and cannot be removed because of their protected status.



When we got back to the bus on Mull from Iona, these guest were using the shade.



Clint, this is for you, the Scotch call them Airey Koos


The phone booth is heavily used on Mull




We leave early tomorrow for Inverness and a boat ride on Loch Ness.



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