Isle of Staffa to Iona the Island West of Mull

If you have been watching the other videos of our Three Isles Tour series then you will know that visiting Iona is the final island destination of the tour. If you haven't seen the earlier videos, see a list of links to them in the description below.
As we approached Iona, the skipper of our small boat advised the best place to have lunch was the restaurant close to the ferry pickup point as the hotel would have finished serving at this time. This we did and a nice lunch it was. Of course as part of my lunch I has to try a plate of those fresh local mussels mentioned by our coach driver who drove us from Craignure to Fionnphort. My wife took a notion for her favourite soup, Cullen Skink which she said was delicious.
With lunch out of the way, we set off to visit the Abbey. Things are very quiet here on Iona with just the handful of visitors like ourselves and the few friendly locals we passed on the way.
Very soon we arrived at the ruins of the Nunnery which dates to the 13th century. You will find a poster here which gives good details about its history.
Carrying on along this small path takes us back onto the main road where after a short walk we reached the Graves of the Kings and in the left hand corner sits St Oran’s Chapel.
Kings from Scotland, Ireland and France lie here and perhaps surprisingly due to the history of Iona, Viking kings as well. Even Macbeth, yes that Macbeth of Shakespeare fame. Another, although not a king is John Smith who was the leader of the Labour Party in 1992 until he died of a heart attack 1994.
Just next to the Graves of the Kings is where you will buy the tickets to the Abbey. There is so much to see in both the Abbey and the museum that you will need to keep moving along, if you don't want to miss your ferry.
The museum is a must, as this is where so many interesting items have been placed including a replica of the Book of Kells.
For us it was time to head back and catch the ferry for the short crossing back to Fionnphort. As with the time on Staffa flying by, the same applies here on Iona. There are hotels in Iona as there are in Fionnphort so the next time we visit this area we will be staying for a longer spell.
The crossing time is only around 20 minutes but if the weather is clear and you look to the south, you will be able to pick out the easily recognised Paps of Jura.
Embarking from the ferry it's only a short walk to our coaches waiting in the car park. Now we will be heading back to catch the Craignure to Oban ferry. Which will be the final part of this wonderful trip.