How blessed have I been with this weather!!! Yet another beautiful sunny day.
My plan for the day was obviously to spend the day on the Isle of Iona and I had selected the 10am ferry as the way to go.
We have a group of 6 extra people staying at this B&B so the conversation was quite lively at breakfast.
I have to admit I hadn't done a lot of research about what I would do on Iona. I assumed there would be a map or some handouts to highlight what might be worth a visit, but unfortunately it didn't work that way. Sadly my feet suffered for it!!!
Anyway, I hopped on the ferry and it was good trip..
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| My ferry coming in |
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| The little boat that was going out to Staffa.... so glad I wasn't on that! |
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| Approaching Iona |
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| Approaching Iona |
When I got there, I wasn't armed with a map or any kind of guide.... get a bit slack these days!!!
Anyway, I thought I would be very smart. Everyone seemed to be heading straight to the Abbey, so I thought I would go in the opposite direction, but I didn't really know where I was going. And I just kept going and going and going.... and I got a bit tired!!!
Some things I saw along the way...
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| Stuff about birds |
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| Lovely pastoral scenery |
Eventually I met some fellow travellers who actually had a map and they let me take a pic of it so I could see where I was and where I was going!!
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| Aaaah - that's better. Now i know how far I've walked!!! |
So I kept heading west until I ran into the sea, then I thought "That's enough" and I turned around and walked back... I was a bit tired after all that walking!!!!
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| Here's the beach I walked to |
My next priority was a big fat coffee and a sit down. So I managed all that in the pub called the Martyrs' Bay.
After recovering a bit I was ready for the next part of the adventure and there were 2 sets of ruins that I wanted to investigate.... The Nunnery and Iona Abbey.
This is how the Nunnery is
described online
Reginald, son of Somerled (Lord of the Isles), founded the nunnery in 1200 and installed his sister, Beatrice, as its first prioress. One of only two Augustinian Orders in Scotland, the Iona Nunnery earned itself the name 'An Eaglais Dhubh' - the black church - after the colour of nuns' robes.
Unlike the rest of the Abbey buildings, the nunnery has not been restored since being made derelict during the Reformation. The pink granite walls that remain, despite being ruinous, are amongst the best examples of a medieval nunnery left in Britain.
Little is known of the nuns who lived here, like the Benedictine monks, they followed a strict life of prayer and contemplation.
Here are a few pics the ruins of the Nunnery
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| About the site |
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| The Nunnery |
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| The Nunnery |
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| The Nunnery |
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| The Nunnery |
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| The Nunnery |
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| Relationship to the MacLeans Clan |
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| Macleans Cross |
My next stop was the Iona Abbey, but I took a heap of pics there, so I might start a new post.
How amazing are the nunnery buildings, still standing since being ruined in the Reformation. They certainly built them to last, especially in that harsh climate. Xx
ReplyDeleteAnd even though they’re ruins, they still have that sense of stillness about them....
DeleteGorgeous pics petal...what a beautiful place. At this stage you should have huge leg muscles from all the walking you have been doing! X
ReplyDeleteDon’t know about muscles, but my legs were aching last night! All worth it though of course!!!!
DeleteMmmm, Martyrs' Bay. I bet there's a story there!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing..??? Wonder if it was related to the Viking invasions???
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