Iona Abbey and the Nunnery – a Ferry, a Cloister and Lunch
A few hours, from the ferry slip at Fionnphort and back.
The route
Iona is a small island off the tip of the Ross of Mull, and its abbey stands where St Columba founded his monastery in 563.
The little ferry from Fionnphort takes ten minutes, and everything here is a short, flat walk from the jetty. There are the pink granite ruins of the medieval nunnery, the restored abbey with its cloister and its museum of carved stones, and the old burial ground beside it. Lunch is in a café garden on the village street, on the way back to the boat.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Fern Cottage in Croggan, 25 miles away. Sleeps 4.
Book an Iona Abbey ticket on Historic Environment Scotland's website before you travel, where it's cheaper than on the day; from April to September the abbey opens 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12.30pm to 5.30pm on Sunday, and in October 10am to 4pm, shut on Sundays.
Book the ferry from Fionnphort to Iona
Buy a foot passenger ticket for the Fionnphort to Iona ferry on CalMac's website before you travel; from 19 October every Sunday boat runs only if requested by 4pm on the working day before, on 0800 066 5000.
The day
Iona
Over on the little ferry, up the village street past the nunnery to the abbey, and back down for lunch before the boat. It's all on foot and all close together, with time in the abbey to go slowly.
About four hours from Fionnphort, with both crossings
The ferry from Fionnphort to Iona
Iona is reached on foot. CalMac's small ferry crosses the Sound of Iona from the slip at Fionnphort, at the far end of the Ross of Mull, in about 10 minutes. Visitors can't take a car over without a permit from Argyll and Bute Council, so leave it at Fionnphort, in the car park by the slip or on the street. Some of the parking is charged, and the signs give the price. Buy a foot passenger ticket online before you travel, and be at the slip 10 minutes before the boat. On the summer timetable, which runs to 18 October, boats leave Fionnphort from Monday to Saturday at 8.35am, 9.55am and 10.30am, then often through the day. On a Sunday the first three are at 8.35am, 10am and 11am. The 10.30am suits this day. From 19 October the winter timetable has fewer boats, and every Sunday boat runs only if it's asked for by 4pm on the working day before, on 0800 066 5000. Wind can stop the boat, so look at CalMac's service status page that morning. There are public toilets by the jetty on Iona. Coming from the mainland with a car, book it on CalMac's Oban to Craignure ferry well ahead.
3 min on foot
Iona Nunnery Ruins
An attraction
From the jetty it's 3 minutes' walk up the village street to the nunnery. Reginald, a son of Somerled, built it for Augustinian nuns around 1200, at the same time as the Benedictine abbey, and made his sister Bethoc its first prioress. Its walls of pink and grey granite, round arches and gable windows stand roofless round a lawn, with benches and wild flowers among the stones, and it's one of the best preserved medieval nunneries in Britain. It's free and open at all times; the ground inside is grass and uneven. Then carry on north up the road to the abbey.
9 min on foot
Iona Abbey
An attraction
The abbey is about 9 minutes' walk on up the road, past MacLean's Cross. You come first to St Oran's Chapel and the Reilig Odhráin, the old burial ground where a survey of 1549 listed 48 Scottish kings as buried. Then the grounds open out, with St Martin's Cross, over a thousand years old, standing before the west door. Historic Environment Scotland runs the abbey, and a ticket is cheaper bought online before you travel. From April to September it opens 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12.30pm to 5.30pm on Sunday, and in October 10am to 4pm, shut on Sundays, with last entry 45 minutes before closing. The ticket takes in the church, with the marble tombs of the Duke of Argyll who saved it, the cloister with its carved capitals, St Michael's Chapel and the museum, where the original high crosses and early gravestones are kept. Allow an hour and a half. Dogs are welcome in the grounds but only assistance dogs inside. It's step-free into the nave through the cloister entrance, with steps up to the crossing and the east end.
6 min on foot
The Rookery Café
Lunch
Lunch is at the Rookery Café, in the garden of the Iona Heritage Centre, about 6 minutes' walk back down the road from the abbey. It does home baking and daily specials, often with the island's own produce, with vegetarian and vegan choices and tables outside in the garden. It opens Monday to Saturday from 10.30am to 4pm, from April until mid October, and shuts on Sundays. It takes cards. If it's shut or full, the Argyll Hotel on the street above the shore serves a soup and sandwich lunch to non-residents from noon to 2pm, and dogs can be served in its two front lounges.
5 min on foot
The ferry from Iona to Fionnphort
From the café it's 5 minutes' walk down to the jetty. On the summer timetable boats back to Fionnphort run often through the day, and the last two leave Iona at 6pm and 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday, and at 5.15pm and 6.15pm on a Sunday. From 19 October, on the winter timetable, the last regular boat back is at 4.30pm from Monday to Saturday, and every Sunday boat must be asked for by 4pm on the working day before. Be at the jetty 10 minutes before the boat.
If it rains
The abbey church, the cloister walk, St Michael's Chapel and the museum are all under a roof, so on a wet day give the abbey longer. The nunnery and the walk along the street are open to the weather, and wind can stop the ferry: look at CalMac's service status page first.
