- Location: Isle of Iona, PA76 6SQ
- Opening times: 1 April to 30 September 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, 1 October to 31 March 10 am to 4 pm. No access to the church between 10.15 and 11.45 am on a Sunday.
- Entry: Adult £10, Concession £8, Child (7 – 15) £6
- Access: By ferry from Fionnphort, Mull, and then a short walk to the abbey.
In 563, the Irish monk Columba arrived on Iona with twelve followers and established a monastery there. To modern minds, this tiny island in the Inner Hebrides may seem like a remote choice of location, but in the sixth century it was on the busy sea roads between Ireland, the Isles, and the kingdoms of Dal Riata, Strathclyde, Fortriu, and Northumbria in what would later become mainland Scotland. Columba and his successors would travel into these lands successfully spreading the Word of Jesus, and Iona soon became a renowned centre not just of Celtic Christianity but also of spirituality, intellect, and art. It was here, for example, that the first Celtic crosses were thought to have been made, and here too the illuminated manuscript now known as the Book of Kells created.
It was a golden age, but one destined for a violent end at the hands of the Vikings. They attacked and plundered the island on several occasions, most notably in 806 when they slaughtered 68 monks in the area now known as Martyr’s Bay, and in 825 when they murdered the future saint Blathmac and his co-celebrants during mass. As a result of these raids the relics of St. Columba, the Book of Kells, and other treasures were removed to keep them out of the hands of the invaders.
In the early thirteenth century, Ranald, Lord of the Isles invited the Benedictine order of monks to take over the now depleted monastery, a move which aligned Iona with Rome rather than Derry. In a show of Christian brotherhood, a couple of Irish bishops gathered their forces and attacked the island in an attempt to maintain control over so influential a site, but they failed, and Iona’s Celtic Christian period was over. The Benedictines built the abbey that is seen today, and continued to worship on the island until cast out during the Scottish Reformation. Several centuries of neglect and ruination followed, until, in 1938, George MacLeod resigned as minister at Govan Old Parish Church to form the Iona Community, an organisation devoted to rebuilding and restoring Iona Abbey. It is thanks to their work that so much of the Benedictine Abbey survives.
That said, I’m starting my visit by climbing up one of the few survivors from Columba’s time, the Tòrr an Aba, or Hill of the Abbot. ‘Hill’ is a bit ambitious, it is more the ‘Mound of the Abbot’, believed to be the location of a hut to which Columba retired to do his writing. The only other visible remains of Columba’s monastery is the earthen bank that encloses the site.
Highlights of my visit were the cloisters – always the most tranquil spot in an already tranquil place – and the museum, which has a collection of Celtic art that is nothing short of stunning, but here I think I will let the pictures do the talking.
Two grave slabs in the abbey’s museum. The one on the left is unusual in that it depicts the unnamed knight drawing his sword, while the slab on the right is even more unusual in that it depicts a woman, specifically Lady Anna Maclean, a prioress in the mediaeval nunnery and who died in 1543.
Destination or diversion?
The fact that you can only get to Iona by getting a ferry from Oban to Mull, and then driving across Mull to Fionnphort to get another ferry across the Sound of Iona to the island means that one can only view Iona as a destination: that’s just too much effort for a diversion.
A visit to the abbey can easily take an hour or two, but the island itself is worth exploring as it has some great views and some equally great beaches. Mrs Bagger and I climbed Dun I hill to get an overview of the island, and entertained the thought of striding out for Columba’s Bay until we were waylaid by the double whammy of a gloriously sunny day and an inviting beer garden. This turned into the Iona Pub Crawl, no difficulty as it only had two bars (three really, but we discounted one for not having draft beer).
