Local Knowledge:
The Celts are Practical After All
Don’t forget what side your bread is buttered on!
- advice from an old Iona crofter
A pilgrim always welcomes practical advice––and a bit of local knowledge. You may be a seasoned traveler, a hiker, or a wilderness backpacker who abandons all conveniences in order to go adventuring. Or you may prefer to travel with the expectation that some of the comforts of home will be wherever you are, or at least hot water and a good bed. Your pilgrimage to Iona can meet both inclinations. I hope what follows will help you travel well and make your experience on Iona as easy and rich as it can be.
GETTNG TO IONA
The route to Iona seems complicated as you anticipate the various stages you will travel by plane, train, buses, and ferries. The first bit of advice is to keep your wits about you. Scottish people are known for their friendliness and will go out of their way to help if you need it. The next bit of advice is to always check current schedules for seasonal or holiday changes. You can do this online, or any tourist information office, or with the proprietor of your hotel or B&B.
You’ll likely break your journey to Iona with an overnight in Glasgow or Oban where you’ll enjoy the many historic and tourist attractions. There are three trains daily between Glasgow and Oban and several buses. Advance reservations are not required. But note that midway from Glasgow to Oban, at the small village of Crainlarich, the train divides, with the front two or three carriages going on to Oban and the rear carriages heading north to Fort William. You will want to make sure you are seated in one of the front carriages or you will find yourself enroute to the highlands rather than the islands.
Oban is a scenic tourist town built on a steep hillside, sweeping around the bay with its commercial fishing boats and ferries. In St. George’s Square, in the heart of town, you’ll find the tourist office located in what was once a Presbyterian church. Here you can get help if you’re planning further travel in Scotland after your visit to Iona. If you have time you might arrange a day-trip on the Puffin, the last of the old Scottish paddle-steamers, or take a ferry to some of the closer Hebridean islands, such as Coll, Tiree, or Barra.
It is essential to book your B&B or hotel in Oban before you arrive, especially in the spring and summer tourist season. A friend once failed to do so and, arriving on the evening train from Glasgow on a busy holiday weekend, resorted to sleeping on a bench in the waterfront park––only to be shaken awake by the local police and escorted to the town jail where he was given a nice cot and blankets for the night, and a hearty breakfast and friendly send-off in the morning. It’s unlikely this will happen to you, for Oban is full of B&Bs, several hotels, and a fine hostel and if you plan ahead, you won’t have trouble arranging accommodation.
The train station, bus depot, and ferry dock in Oban are conveniently adjacent to each other. Purchase your roundtrip tickets for both the ferry to Craignure on Mull and the Iona ferry in the new passenger building, right next to where you will board. No need to book ahead.
There are five ferries daily from Oban to Mull. It is imperative that you check the schedule at the ferry terminal. Departure times change, sometimes by a few minutes. Once while taking my time deciding between a smoked salmon or prawn sandwich at the seafood shop on the wharf, the owner kindly informed me that I better run like mad because the ferry now left at 11:50 instead of noon.
The ferry ride from Oban to Craignure is simply beautiful, a journey of about forty minutes. If you haven’t indulged in a seafood sandwich, the cafeteria on the ferry offers an assortment of food and drinks. Once disembarking the ferry at Craignure you will walk to the end of the jetty where the bus to Fionnphort will be waiting.
Keep in mind that the bus service from Craignure to Fionnphort does not
connect with every ferry from Oban and service is very limited on Sundays. Craignure is not a great place to find yourself waiting several hours for the next bus, especially in cold or rainy weather, so it is imperative that you check the schedule before leaving Oban. If you do find yourself stuck, the new tourist office near the jetty may help you arrange for the Mull taxi to take you to Fionnphort, but it is expensive and not always available. Some stranded pilgrims have been lucky enough to find an obliging driver and hitched a ride on one of the tour buses that wait at Craignure for groups traveling from Oban to Iona.
The bus across Mull to Fionnphort takes about an hour. If you didn’t purchase your ferry ticket in Oban for Iona you will do so in the small ticket office, if open, or from the ferryman as you board. The trip across Iona Sound takes ten minutes. There is a lounge on the car deck, but if you climb the steep metal stairs to the upper deck where there is outdoor seating and an inside lounge, you can watch the cliffs of Mull receding and lovely Iona getting closer.
When you finally arrive on Iona you’ll first want to find where you are staying and get settled. The staff from the hotels or the proprietor of your B&B will meet you on the jetty if you let them know when you expect to arrive.
WHERE TO STAY ON IONA
On Iona you’ll find a variety of very comfortable and friendly accommodations. It is advisable to make your booking well ahead of time and essential if you plan your pilgrimage during the tourist months of May to September. The hotels and most B&Bs usually close from late October to March. For information and booking details visit www.isleofiona.com
There are two hotels ont the island, both a short walk from the jetty and operated by islanders. Both look over the Sound of Iona to the Ross of Mull, have well situated rooms (all ensuite), fine dining (open to non-residents), extensive organic gardens, are certified “green” for their environmental policies, and offer warm Hebridean hospitality. Both have a fascinating history and have been serving pilgrims, tourists, and islanders since the mid-1860s.
The Argyll Hotel is located in the middle of the village street. The oldest Inn on Iona, it was once a single story croft house. It has two cozy lounges with open fires and a lovely sun porch.
The St. Columba Hotel, built originally as a manse in 1846, it is situated next to Iona Abbey and less than a quarter of a mile from the jetty. It offers a spacious sunlounge, a small lounge with open fire, and offers wireless internet service for your laptop, and an internet room with computers.
There are quite a number of Bed and Breakfasts where you’ll be welcomed for a few days, a week, or longer. Some are located in or near the village, others further to the north, or on the road west to the Bay-at-the-Back-of-the Ocean.
If you know in advance that you want to be on Iona for a longer retreat, you might think about booking a self-catering cottage. There are only a few available, so you will need to make arrangements well in advance. This option is especially enjoyable, and more economical, if you’re coming to Iona with your family or friends.
You may be drawn to Iona because of the Iona Community and want to take part in a program at the Abbey and participate in the common life of the Community. To do this, you must book ahead and plan to stay for a full week. You’ll be accommodated in either the residential quarters of the Abbey or the MacLeod Centre (known as the Mac) with a group of about fifty people from many parts of the world, though mainly from Great Britain. You will share a bunk room, take part in the daily work rota, including cooking, washing dishes, cleaning rooms, and helping out in the book shop, or wherever you are needed. You’ll participate in special seminars and daily worship services. For some people this is a rich experience, a chance to meet others from different backgrounds and countries, and to gain a deeper appreciation for the vision and service of the Community.
However, if you are coming to Iona for a time of personal retreat and mainly want time for your own reflection, solitude, reading, thinking, and praying, then a week with the Iona Community may not be your best choice. The schedule each week is very full and allows little time for solitude or private reflection, nor much time to get out to explore the island. To meet the desire to be involved with the Community and also to have needed time alone, you might want to plan a longer stay on Iona, giving yourself a week with the Community and additional time in private accommodation. If you choose to stay in one of the hotels or a B&B you can participate in the daily services in the Abbey without being involved in the routine of the Community.
The Abbey is also open at any time for you to sit by yourself and listen to the spirit within and around you. But remember that this is a historic site and a tourist attraction, so you’re apt to be interrupted by tour groups and their guides coming through. You’ll find some refuge in the quietness of the St. Michael’s Chapel to the rear of the cloisters.
Bishop’s House, the Episcopal retreat center of the Diocese of Argyll, built in 1894, is the oldest retreat house on Iona. Located at the north end of the village street, looking east over the Sound of Iona, it offers comfortable rooms, a lovely lounge and library, and wholesome home cooking. The St. Columba Chapel is the “heart” of the house. Though primarily booked for week-long group retreats, Bishop’s House also offers accommodation for individuals when space is available. There is a discounted price for clergy.
The Catholic House of Prayer (Cnoc a’ Chalmain or the “House of the Dove”), located on a hill overlooking the village and Iona Sound, offers several lovely rooms for pilgrims of all faiths. Built in 1997, this small retreat house marked the effort over many years to establish a permanent Roman Catholic presence on Iona and has been well received by residents and visitors alike.
Iona Hostel overlooking the north shore is another option. It’s a wonderful, inexpensive place to stay for a few nights, built only a few years ago by John MacLean, who lives next door in Lagandorain croft and raises black sheep, a somewhat rare Scottish breed. The common lounge with a large open kitchen has views over the North Sea. Here, you are apt to meet people of all ages and nationalities, many of whom are avid hikers, backpackers, and bikers. Most often, the shared interest in travel opens up fascinating conversations and tips on where to go and where to stay and eat, as well as where not to go. The drawback to the hostel is that it doesn’t offer private rooms, and you will not find the quiet retreat space you may want.
WHERE TO EAT AND BUY SUPPLIES
Martyr’s Bay Restaurant to the south of the jetty is a fine place for meals. The cafeteria serves lunch, tea, coffee, and snacks, though can be crowded when boat-loads of tourists arrive. The dining room offers excellent dinners with an extensive menu featuring fresh, local fare. You can also enjoy a meal in the small pub, a great place to meet other visitors and locals.
The Argyll Hotel and the St. Columba Hotel offer full breakfasts, lunch, dinner, and afternoon teas. The food is as organic and local as they can provide, with vegetables coming from their own organic gardens. A reservation for dinner is essential.
The Heritage Centre Tea Room is a wonderful place for lunch or afternoon tea, serving sandwiches, soups, and cakes. It offers free WiFi while you enjoy your lunch or a snack.
The Spar Store is amazingly well-stocked for a very small shop. In addition to any groceries or supplies you might need, you’ll find ready-made sandwiches, as well as a variety of meats, cheese, fruit, drinks, wine, beer, spirits, and an assortment of gift items. Good ice cream cones, too!
Martyr’s Bay Shop, the general store near the jetty, doesn’t carry fresh food, but is a good place for dry goods, preserves, cereals, and drinks. Here you’ll also find household items, shoes, boots, rain gear, gifts, cards, and books.
EXPLORING THE ISLAND
Buy a good map. I recommend the colorful one published by the Iona Community, with its detail and intriguing place names in both Gaelic and English. Also excellent is a smaller pocket map by Colin Baxter. Though limited in detail, it is more easily tucked into your pocket or backpack. Both maps are available in the Heritage Centre, the Iona Community Bookshop, and the Historic Scotland Gift Shop in the Abbey cloisters.
During your time on Iona you will want to check announcements on the notice board by the jetty. You’ll want to know about special concerts and events in Iona Abbey featuring visiting church or college choirs or ensembles, and events in the village hall. The Monday night ceilidh, an evening of Scottish folk dancing, is great fun and you will be invited and encouraged to join in. You do not need to know the steps but must enjoy looking like a foolish tourist.
You might also want to arrange a morning or afternoon boat trip to the
legendary Island of Staffa and Fingall’s Cave, made famous by Felix Mendelssohn who composed the Overture to the Hebrides after his visit to the cathedral-like cave. Staffa is also a breeding ground for the migratory puffins that return each spring after a long winter spent on the sea. It is a great delight to see these small birds with their brightly colored feathers and orange webbed feet landing awkwardly on the side of the grassy cliffs. The roundtrip to Staffa takes about five hours and can be arranged with David Kirkpatrick aboard the Iolaire, or Gordon Grant Marine on the MV Ullin or MV Ossian. These are popular trips, so make your booking at least the day before you plan to go. If you are a sailor, you might want to arrange an outing with Mark Jardine of Alternative Boat Hire in his traditional wooden sailing yacht. Another enjoyable outing is a round-the-island trip with Gordon MacCormick aboard the Volante. Signs with information on these trips are posted on the jetty.
As you explore the island, common sense and courtesy are the rules. Iona is not a museum but a living, working community. You will share the road with cars that often go too fast. (Only permanent residents and service suppliers are permitted to have cars or other motorized vehicles on the island.) You’ll also encounter lots of children on their bikes. Then there are the sheep or cows being herded from one pasture to another. You’ll wait and watch in wonder at the intelligence and skill of the border collies rounding up their flocks. If you go through a gate when hiking, close it behind you. Don’t climb the fences unless really stuck and then do so carefully to prevent damage to the fence or yourself. You’ll often find a wooden stile, or step, to help you over. Of course, don’t annoy the animals in a burst of friendliness, do respect private property, and be aware that Iona is a sensitive ecology. Don’t pick the wildflowers. Watch when walking the shore or the hills to avoid trampling the nests of birds that lay their eggs among the rocks or in clumps of heather or gorse. To help keep Iona beautiful and reduce the negative impact of human life on the environment, you might want to carry a sturdy trash bag in your pack and when out walking, collect what you can carry back to the recycle bins in the village. You could consider this a new spiritual practice.
You might also enjoy taking part in one of the day-long pilgrimages around the island offered each week by the Iona Community. One is designed for sturdy hikers and takes you over the more rugged areas. The other keeps mostly to the paved roads and easy paths for those wanting a bit less exertion. You must sign up at the Community Welcome Centre across from the Abbey.
As I’ve described earlier, the only paved roads on Iona run to the north and south along the shore from the jetty and then west across the island to the machair and the Bay-at-the-Back-of-the-Ocean. The rest of Iona is heathered moors, cliffs and inlets, sandy beaches, fields, and bogs. Yes, bogs, both literal and metaphorical. With a bit of luck, you’ll find your way around these wet marshes, though sometimes you just have to take the leap over or splash through, with the wonderful squishing music of the bogs around your ankles. You definitely need a good waterproof jacket and rain pants, waterproof shoes or lightweight boots for hiking, and a day pack to hold an extra layer of clothes, food, water bottle, and your camera. Some find a folding walking stick helpful. An umbrella is mostly useless due to the frequent winds.
You absolutely have to be prepared for a variety of weather, no matter what time of year you come. Every season comes in the same day on Iona, it is often said. It can be pouring rain, wild with wind, or bitter cold one day, and gloriously sunny and warm the next. Even when the skies are bright, the north wind often blows, and you’ll be glad for your warm sweater. It’s good advice always to pack your rain gear, even when you head out on a sunny morning. If the fog is thick on the hills, don’t head for them. The mists can come in quickly and it can be hard to find your way home. If that should happen, keep the sea as your orientation, find a fence and follow it, remembering that the village is on the eastern side of the island. But no matter the weather, remember you haven’t come all this way to sit inside and read about Iona. So, get yourself out-of-doors and let the beauty of Iona nourish you in body, mind, and spirit.
WORSHIP SERVICES
Religious services are held daily on Iona. The Iona Community holds
Sunday morning worship in the Abbey at 10:30. This includes an open Communion with the common bread and wine. The lively, informal service is led by the Warden of the Community or visiting clergy, with participation by community members, associates and guests. As you leave the sanctuary to have tea in the cloisters you’ll be offered an oaten cake and invited to share it with a stranger in the Celtic spirit of hospitality. An information session about the work of the community is held in the Chapter House off the cloisters following the service.
The Community also holds daily morning worship at 9 am, and evening services at 9 pm, open to all residents and visitors. The evening services follow a daily theme:
Saturday, Gathering Space, a service of hospitality
Sunday, Quiet Space, a time for silent prayer and meditation
Monday, World Space, reflections on the needs of our world
Tuesday, Healing Space, prayers for healing and wholeness for yourself, others, and the world, and includes a “laying on of hands” ritual
in which everyone is invited to participate
Wednesday, Creative Space, led by community guests and staff
Thursday, Table Space, Holy Communion, open to all
Friday, Inner Space, a quiet time for personal reflection
Tea is served in the refectory after some of the evening services.
The Community also holds a brief afternoon service of Prayers for Justice and Peace, “expressing concern for the environment and God’s people,” daily from May through August.
The Parish Church of Scotland in the village, holds its weekly service on Sunday at noon. You’ll enjoy worshipping with the local community and other visitors.
Bishop’s House holds morning and evening prayers and the Eucharist in the lovely St. Columba’s Chapel, open to everyone. Visiting clergy lead the services.
The Catholic House of Prayer also invites visitors to join in the celebration of the Sacrament on Sunday mornings, usually held in the St. Michaels Chapel to the rear of the Abbey, and to participate in other services when scheduled. The chapel is open to all for prayer and meditation.
Note: The time and frequency of services change with the season. The current schedule is usually posted on the bulletin board by the jetty and in the main entrance to the Abbey.
OTHER ESSENTIALS
The Post Office is marked with a bright red sign at the corner of the village street. Mail goes out once a day in the morning. There is no bank on the island, but a traveling bank comes over from Mull for an hour on Thursday mornings, and the small grocery store in Fionnphort has recently installed an ATM. You can use your credit card in the hotels, shops, and restaurant. If you are staying in a B&B you will need to pay in cash. If you are bringing your computer or electric appliance, such as a hairdryer, make sure it has an adapter for the British current.
Will you be completely cut off from the outside world? Fortunately or unfortunately, no. The Columba Hotel offers an Internet room where you can access your email for a small fee. You’ll not have a private telephone in your hotel or B&B room. There are public phones in the village and in the Iona Community Welcome Centre, and the hotels have phones for use by their guests. An international cell phone may or may not work. You’ll often see another visitor hunkered down by the road or on a rock having succeeded in finding a temporary hot spot. British newspapers are available in the Spar Store.
But you’ll want to remind yourself that one of your reasons for making this pilgrimage is that you need, or hope for, a time out and away from the demands and distractions of the phone, computer, office, and home. You have come to Iona to be free for a while from the cares that bind you to the responsibilities and stresses of your ongoing life and ministry. You need to be open to something new, unexpected, and gloriously wonderful to happen. Even if you’ve left everything in trusted hands, this may be hard to do. So perhaps a new spiritual discipline is to “unplug” for a few days and be intentionally out of touch. Turn off the computer, take the cell phone out of your pocket, put away the ear plugs and the iPod, quiet down and just start listening to everything around you. And maybe for the first time in a very long while, you’ll hear the song birds and the waves over the rocks, and the voice of the Spirit. And, don’t worry, in an emergency the world will be able to reach you.
MEDICAL SERVICES
There is no resident doctor on Iona. Once a week, for a few hours, the doctor comes from Mull to the small clinic in the village. However, there are skilled nurses in the community, the doctor is always on call, and emergency medical service is quickly arranged if needed. If a serious condition or injury occurs, the helicopter comes from Mull and takes you to the hospital in Oban or Glasgow. But it is imperative that you are in reasonably good health, bring all needed medications and prescriptions with you, and carry insurance that covers you when abroad.
TRAVEL LIGHT
Bring only the luggage you can easily manage. You’ll be carrying your worldly belongings through the airports, on and off the trains, buses, ferries, and taxis, and often up and down stairs in your B&B. Leave the extras behind.
Iona is a very informal place. You will have no need for anything dressy, only what is warm and comfortable. The hotels, restaurant, Abbey and other places of worship are very casual. Remember the traveling monks, walking the roads with their satchel, cloak, bell, book, and candle.
Finally, as you prepare for what may be one of the finest experiences of your life, perhaps one that changes you forever, you’ll want to throw all worry to the wind. Trust that you’ll have with you what you need or can get by without. You may run into bumps on the road, lose your way or your luggage, and have to deal with the inevitable challenges of travel. But, after all, you are on a pilgrimage to Iona. Release expectations if you can and open yourself to unexpected gifts. Be courteous to all you meet and go out of your way to help another traveler.
As you make this journey, bow in thanks for your own unique life, and for the spirit of God who knows you by name, holds you in love, and accompanies you every step of the way!