Iona Scrapbook October 2026
The map above gives you a better idea of the route I take to get to Iona. By the time I arrive in Oban I have already been on a plane for 10 hours to Dublin and then another 90 minutes to Glasgow. After that it is a 3 hour train ride, with 15 stops between Glasgow Queen Street station to Oban. Happily it’s a pretty ride and there’s time to knit. From Oban there is a 45 minute ferry to Craignure, where you wait an hour to catch the bus for the 75 minute ride to Finnophert. (The bus ride is the worst part of the trip. Have ginger to alleviate motion-sickness. Oooof, it is awful!) But once the bus drops you off you can finally SEE Iona! It’s right across the sound and takes only 10 minutes to sail to the jetty. Then I had to drag my luggage to the pods, a 15-20 minute walk from the jetty. I’ll admit when I arrive I have to recalibrate. Walking every where for every thing is the norm and I get used to it in a hurry; especially since there is no hurry.
The two photos at the end of row one are of Oran’s Chapel. Last season I was in Oran’s Chapel every Wednesday afternoon singing acapella with Kelly Anne. It was a highlight of my time. Now it’s too cold and rainy for her to have her weekly group sing. No matter, I sat in the chapel and sang anyway. I chanted the tunes I had learned in that space and added a few more I’ve learned this year. To be honest it was my worship time. I only went to one abbey service this trip. It was so cold and dark for the 9:PM services; I was already tucked in my pod. As for the morning services at 9:AM I was either taking a slow start with tea and granola or already off for the first walk of the day. This surprised me, I thought I’d go to every service. A different plan took shape and I went with it, singing with warmth in the chilly chapel.
Rainbows! The weather being so rainy to sunny and back again there were lots of rainbows. In fact you can see in the bottom row, when Margaret was waving me off, there was a rainbow shining on us.
People have favorite spots on Iona. I have a couple. I really love the North End. You can see I took big photos and little photos: a tiny snail shell, yellow covered rocks, and a big grey sky. I sat in that circle of rocks someone had made. It felt like a sacred place to watch the North End waves slam into the island. I love it when the wind whips up and tries to blow me off. I yell into it with delight.
In the third row you see a long wide beach, that’s Port Ban. At some point I will have to draw it for the abecedarium but for this photo I was enjoying the view with a friend. On my way back into the village I stopped at a bench I love. It’s the second photo in the third row. The bench is sheltered by the hill so you can park yourself there and enjoy the view of the village (the next photo). The last photo in that row is the nunnery. I could’ve filled pages with cloud photos but I’ll leave you with just this one.
The last row is my leaving day. The new jetty is complete and so the boats float in calm water. The abbey was looking out as always on the sound and the village. I’ll be back old friend. Once back in Oban I hung out at the Black Croft, a coffee shop on the main drag. I love their logo. Finally there is a shot of my room in Oban. It’s very small, my pod was more spacious. But I settled in and savored my last few hours in Scotland.
My trip was truly a balance of funny and sacred, leisure and focused work. I visited friends yet had hours alone. I drank in the island. I didn’t mind getting wet for I had a secure place to dry out. I ate a few meals at the abbey. They served dishes I remember making, yes sticky toffee pudding. So good. I ate out alone and I went out with friends. I made a visit to the abbey library and felt those ancient monks from centuries ago nod in recognition of a soul sister returning. This visit I had no work to do other than be still, and I know that was a very good thing.