Hotels in Iona

Iona is an enchanting, magical, and very special place. Today some 140,000 people make their way here each year. In doing so, they follow in the footsteps of pilgrims who have been coming to Iona since not long after St Columba's arrival in AD563: and of tourists who have been visiting for over three hundred years since Martin Martin published his guide to the Hebrides in 1703. Samuel Johnson visited Iona in 1773 and commented: "That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona".

Iona is a small island some 3½ miles long and, at its widest, 1½ miles wide. It is aligned approximately north east to south west, and lies just under a mile off the south western tip of Mull. It is geologically distinct from its larger neighbour, and what you find is a generally low lying island with a rocky spine that rises to a high point of 100m: and a selection of lovely white beaches.

These include, on the western side of the island, the wonderfully named Bay at the Back of the Ocean. The island has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland since 1979.

Iona's proximity to Mull places it a short ferry ride and some 38 miles by road from the terminus for the Oban to Mull Ferry at Craignure. Anyone thinking of driving across Mull needs to know that this will seem a long 38 miles as it is entirely along single track roads, and in normal traffic conditions the journey will take at least an hour.