The big attraction on Iona is the abbey founded by St. Colmcille (aka St. Columba) around the year 560 A.D., when he crossed the sea from Ireland. The many generations of monks who inhabited the abbey were key in preserving knowledge during the Dark Ages in Europe.
After taking one more ferry, we landed on Iona, a small scenic island with a long history.
Luckily traffic on the Isle of Mull was light. We really only encountered traffic once, when a herd of Highland cows filled the road.
Yesterday, after disembarking from the ferry, we drove across the Isle of Mull towards Iona. There is one road, that’s one lane wide, with occasional “passing places” marked with black and white striped poles where one car can pull over to make way for oncoming traffic. It’s a little tricky at first, but you soon learn the rhythm.
Now, the next day, we’re all on a ferry to the Isle of Mull. We’ll drive to the other side of the island and then catch a second ferry to Iona.
After we finished at Stirling, we drove to Oban where we met up with our friend Owen.
While at Stirling Castle, Heather, Ted (my father-in-law), and Dianne (my mother-in-law) got a guided tour of the site that was quite well done.
First stop: Stirling Castle, the historic seat of Scottish kings and queens. I was surprised at how big it is. I think it might be even larger than Edinburgh Castle.
