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Camas Cuil an
t-Saimh |
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From
the ferry,
turn left and follow the shore road
which eventually bears right up the
hill. This area is a great place to spot
the Corncrakes which nest in the iris beds.
At the end of the road go through the
gate, over the machair and Camus Cuil an
t-Saimh stretches as far as the eye can
see. The English translation is Bay at
the Back of the Ocean.
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Martyr's Bay |
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From the ferry turn left, go
past the cafe and you will
reach Martyr's Bay or
Port nam Mairtear. The
granite memorial is not in
memory of the 68 monks
killed here by Vikings in
806AD, but of the two dozen
men lost in the First and
Second World Wars. This is a
beautiful beach with
stunning views over to Mull
and to Erraid, once the
summer home of Robert Louis
Stevenson.
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St. Columba's Bay |
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To make the pilgrimage to
St. Columba's Bay follow the
directions to Camas Cuil an
t-Saimh, go along the
machair heading south and
follow the path that goes
over the hill. Walk along
the path on the side of the
lochan keeping it to the
right and this will bring
you down to the bay where
St. Columba landed in his
coracle in 563AD. This is a
fabulous beach with pebbles
rather than sand but there
is a super grassy area for
sunbathing and picnics.
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Traigh an t-Suidhe |
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Follow the directions to
Traigh Ban and continue to
walk west, past the
north headland, staying on
the machair, to the
beautiful white sands of
Traigh an t-Suidhe (Beach of
the Seat). The land owned by
the
Iona Hostel at Lagandorain stretches down
to this stunning, secluded
beach. Even on a summers day
there are few people about
and it would be easy to
pretend this is your own
private beach!
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Traigh Ban |
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From the ferry terminal,
turn right and walk through the
Nunnery
and past the Abbey continuing along
the road until you reach the
glistening white shell sand
beach of Traigh Ban, one of
the loveliest beaches on the
island. The full name of the
beach is Traigh Ban Nam Monach which is Gaelic for
'white strand of the monks'.
The north of the island is
very quiet so take time out
to enjoy this beautiful
landscape.
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Tràigh Mhòr |
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At the jetty on Iona turn
left and walk along the road
by Martyrs Bay. On the shore
you can see a glacial
erratic boulder sitting on
top of Torridonian
sandstone. It was
transported by ice across
the Sound of Iona. The
Torridonian sandstone beds
can be seen to be almost
vertical at this locality.
Walk further along the road
and where it turns right
then turn off onto the sandy
beach at Traigh Mhor. For
more information on this
geological walk
click here to see the
informative Mull Historical
and Archaeological website. |
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