The Dudricks in Scotland: Impossibly Beautiful Iona

As a family, very little compares for us to the beauty of a visit to the Isle of Iona. Our first visit, in June of 2011, was about as close to perfect as a weekend getaway could be. While we were there, we agreed that we needed to get the Colgate students there, as it was such a special place, so for this trip we set aside time and budget to make it happen. On Thursday, we set off with our students for a day of travel to get there. It requires a bus trip across the country (and for this we hired a chartered bus to avoid the multiple changes that public transportation requires) to the lovely port city of Oban. From there, we boarded a large Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for an hour-long ride across the sound of Mull to the Isle of Mull. In the port city of Craignure, we boarded another bus for the hour long scenic drive across Mull, and ended up in the even smaller port city of Fionnphort. There, we boarded yet another ferry for the ten minute ride to Iona. We were on the island at last, but still had a 20 minute walk to the very end of the island, where our hostel was located. The hostel was an ecofriendly little bunk house in a shatteringly beautiful spot behind a farmhouse, and between two sandy beaches that looked like they were straight out of the Caribbean. Our travels overall were relatively uneventful, though Leah did take a spill on the road up to the hostel and ended up with a bruise and a bit of blood streaming down her forehead. She was so exhausted from the travel, though, that she still managed to fall asleep on my shoulder as I carried her up the road. When we arrived, she rallied, and so after a quick dinner prepared in the hostel kitchen, we headed out to the beach. It was 9:00 pm at that point, but the sun was still up and so the kids got in some good beach time while we talked with the students and watched the sunset over the rocks.

The students spent most of the two days alternating between studying in the hostel and exploring the island. We got in some good hikes and hill walks, a visit to the Abbey, a quick turn on the 18 hole golf course, and more beach time. Friday was lovely and sunny, but Saturday brought some rain, though both days were equally enjoyable nonetheless. We had a lovely dinner out with the students on Friday night at one of the island's two upscale hotels, and the meal featured lots of local seafood and vegetables from the hotel's enormous garden outside the windows. On Saturday, we had dinner at the only pub on the island, and it was equally good (I might have eaten an entire kilo of mussels on my own...). We left on Sunday morning for the long journey home, and though it's always sad to leave such a special place, I'm glad that we had the chance to share it with the students this time.

It's hard to describe how lovely Iona is, so I will let my photos do the talking instead!