Scotland - Day 4, 5 and 6

Day 4
Today we sailed to the fabulous island of Iona. The island is a popular attraction for Christian pilgrims, after St Columba brought Christianity to the island in the 6th Century.

What really struck me was the simplicity of the buildings and their close relationship with the landscape. This contrasts with the complex architecture and heavily-embellished interiors of some English churches and cathedrals. When visiting Japanese temples earlier in the summer, I felt a strong sense of spiritual calm, a key element of which was the simplicity of the interiors, and the incorporation of the natural world.


On Iona, the feeling was equally strong and was clearly shared by many of the visitors. Unlike most tourist destinations, there was an air of meditative contemplation. People walked slowly around appreciating the architecture and taking advantage of the many “quiet areas” to leave simple prayer messages.

Again the similarities between this and the prayer papers in the temples were striking - two different religions, thousands of miles apart but with so much in common.

Day 5
Today we took in the waterfalls of Aros, then made a challenging walk along the high cliffs, down into Tobermory to the tiny museum of Mull. The museum was a rich and interesting source of information; I always find domestic history and the impact of political upheaval on daily life engaging. The last century’s potato famine and land clearances in the last century were fascinating - I was shocked by the political brutality, and amazed to read of the numbers who went oversees to start new lives.

My sister lives in New Zealand and, when one visits, there is a strong Scottish heritage. While she chose to go and can come back and visit whenever she wants, it is incredible to think of so many people going there with no chance of returning. Reading the visitors book it was fascinating to see that so many descendants have traced their family history back to Mull and returned to see the land their ancestors left so long ago.

I am tracing my Lancashire roots at the moment, and have been shocked by the effects of the cotton famine and irreversible migrations that were necessary to survive. For me it puts the horrors of our current world political climate into perspective.

After the museum we toured the ‘Balamory’ houses, desperately looking for Jessie Jump, Eadie Macreedy and PC Plum. Clearly the inhabitants aren’t as enamoured by the toddler tourists as the traders in the gift shops (selling Balamory merchandise at inflated prices). There were several notices informing the enthusiastic little visitors to keep quiet and remember that the buildings are real homes!!!


Considering that the owners must have been paid for the use of their houses and that the tourist season is so short, it seemed a bit negative. Surely they could have found someone to dress up and keep the little visitors happy – after all toddler-tourism is a boost for the economy!

That evening we went to Calgery Bay, the site of the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life, with white sand, warm water and spectacular views. I am not a beach lover, and prefer the visual diversity of landscape, but I admit Calgery was exquisite.

Day 6
All too soon, our holiday came to an end. However en-route to the ferry we stopped at Fishnish, where there is a fantastic café overlooking the loch, where we could see a family of otters frolicking on the beach. Bliss!