No cars are allowed on Iona Island allowing you to experience travelling at it’s finest. Whether travelling on your own, with friends, Iona Hostel offers you a warm welcome.
Recently I wrote about the Hostel on Iona, a tiny island just off Mull on the west coast of Scotland.
I wrote about its history, about how people have been attracted here for its serenity and spirituality. The people at Iona Hostel recognise this and welcome artists seeking a particular state of mind to their shepherd’s bothy retreat. The main hostel is a gem as well – Scandinavian in its elegant simplicity – it sleeps 22 in a range of room sizes from 2 to 6 and has the most homely communal room with a woodburning stove and views on three sides ‘to die for’.
You are not allowed to bring your car to Iona. Yes, its one of those places. Straight away you know the pace will be different on the island. When you walk everywhere, you experience your environment on a human level, at a human scale. The height of the hill is measured in breaks to catch your breath; the grass is a collection of individuals; you choose to put your foot on that stone or that; your hand feels the rough cold of the stone. The sea is always with you. As you’d expect on this morsel of an island. The sound and smell, the constant rush and fall back between rocks.
The Hostel clearly attracts a swelling of warm affection. The community of comments online features a collection of photographs of stunning wide open vistas rich in golden light of dusk or bright crisp blue skies. Visitors have left comments like:
“This is travelling at it’s finest. It’s because of places like this that you trudge through everything else.”
“A simple elegance of old and new, it speaks of generosity, of quality, as if saying ‘the best for our guests’.”
“Possibly one of the most amazing places I’ve been.”
A good friend once wrote, “I’ll tell you a thing about a good life: It’s broader than it’s long.” It seems like we might find a bit of that good life in Iona.