Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Shelves of snacks, jars and treats inside the St Columba Larder.
Isle of Iona

St Columba Larder

A little whitewashed café and larder on Iona's main road, for coffee, home baking and picnic supplies.

Call
Welcome

St Columba Larder is a little whitewashed café and shop on Iona's main road, with its name painted on the gable, an arched window and door with geraniums in pots outside, and a chalkboard for takeaway hot drinks.

It is open every day, from 10am to 5pm.

Inside, its shelves are stacked with good things for a picnic or a stay on the island, from snacks and treats to jars and packets, and it serves coffee in its own branded cups, with baking such as brownies, to take away or to enjoy at a table outside. There is a crate of buckets and spades by the door for the beach. Pick up lunch here before walking out to the beaches at the north end, or to St Columba's Bay in the south, or to eat by the sound after a visit to the abbey and the nunnery. Telephone 01681 700483.

Round the cornerIona Community ShopThe Iona Community's shop and welcome centre opposite the abbey, with books, local crafts and Iona Abbey bread.1 min by roadSee itThe Iona Community's Welcome Centre and Shop, a low white building with its sign on the grass in front.
Before you go

Open daily, 10am to 5pm.

On the main road on Iona. Telephone 01681 700483.

Getting there
CalMac ferry from Fionnphort on Mull, about five minutes, foot passengers and bikes only.
Hours
Daily, 10:00 to 17:00.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–5pm
Where it is

The Main Road, Isle of Iona, PA76 6SW.

Close byOn Iona's main road.
  1. Inside Oran Creative Crafts: shelves of candles, glass and gifts on a wooden counter.Oran Creative CraftsA co-operative of Iona's own makers in an old steading on the way to the abbey, selling crafts made on the island.Under a mile1 min by road
  2. St Oran’s Chapel & Reilig OdhráinThe small chapel and ancient graveyard beside Iona Abbey, where Scotland's early kings are said to lie.Under a mile1 min by road
  3. Iona AbbeyIona AbbeyThe restored Benedictine abbey on the site of St Columba's monastery of 563, with its cloister, high crosses and museum of carved stones.Under a mile1 min by road
  4. Iona Nunnery Ruins, Isle of IonaIona Nunnery RuinsThe pink granite ruins of Iona's Augustinian nunnery, the most complete in Scotland, on the street up from the ferry.Under a mile1 min by road
  5. The white sand and turquoise water of Iona's north end beaches from above, green machair behind.North End BeachesThe white-sand beaches at the north end of Iona, with the White Strand of the Monks, looking to Mull and the Treshnish Isles.3 miles8 min by road
Directions
The Iona Community's Welcome Centre and Shop, a low white building with its sign on the grass in front.ShoppingIona Community ShopA step away
The whitewashed front of the Iona Craft Shop with blue window frames, bicycles and chairs outside.ShoppingIona Craft ShopA step away
Scattered cottages and a stone church overlook a coastal bay from grassy hillsideAttractionsIsle of IonaA step away
Iona's shore and the Sound under a pale sky.AttractionsIsle of IonaA step away
The white sand and blue water of the bay, rocks beyond.AttractionsBay at the Back of the OceanA step away
The Keel Row in Fionnphort, low granite buildings with picnic benches behind a stone wall.BarsThe Keel Row0.2 miles
The pebble beach of St Columba's Bay on Iona between rocky outcrops, the sea beyond.AttractionsSt Columba's Bay0.7 miles
The rocky inlet of the marble quarry on Iona, green slopes above the blue sea.AttractionsIona Marble Quarry0.8 miles
A table laid with glasses and white napkins at Ninth Wave, a painting of pebbles on the wall behind.RestaurantsNinth Wave Restaurant0.9 miles
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.