Day 11: Isle of Mull, Glenfinnan and Iona

We weren't too sad to leave the Isle of Skye hotel and head to Isle of Mull. The rumors were somewhat true about this hotel. It wasn't great. But it was clean and warm. There isn't much option for hotels on the Isle of Skye, so I get it. I think my dream would be to open a nice hotel here and easily rake in the dough. Billie and I planned it all out while we were on the bus. First I need to find that wealthy husband...

Our booklet indicated we'd be stopping at the Clan Donald Center and visit he Museum of the Isles. This didn't happen and it wasn't until tonight that I realized it. Maybe I'll ask tomorrow. 

We pulled over ever so briefly at this bronze statue called Commandos. The Commando Memorial  in Lochaber, is dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during World War II. It overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it is one of Scotland’s best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr.

The Commandos also known as British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry.

Reaching a wartime strength of over 30 units and four assault brigades, the Commandos served in all theatres of war from the Arctic Circle to Europe and from the Mediterranean and Middle East to South-East Asia. Their operations ranged from small groups of men landing from the sea or by parachute, to a brigade of assault troops spearheading the Allied invasions of Europe and Asia. 

Our next stop was Glenfinnan. At Glenfinnan we also are treated with a visit to the train viaduct made popular by Harry Potter...of course we were slightly more excited to see that than the other memorial at Glenfinnan. 

The memorial at Glenfinnan is to celebrate the location where Bonnie Prince Charles raised his standard on the shores of Loch Shiel in 1745.

Then the plans for the day changed. We were supposed to visit the capital of Tobermory this afternoon. But, there's a storm a brewing off the Atlantic that is scheduled to hit Scotland over the next day or two. Our tour director, Ian suggested we try to add a stop that was planned for tomorrow to this afternoon to ensure we get to see it. The small island of Iona. It made for a long day, but it was decided to visit Iona today. Naturally, because we added it to today, tomorrow will likely be just fine. Still, I'm glad we went. We'll visit Tobermory tomorrow morning.

Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey. Iona Abbey was a center of Gaelic monasticism for three centuries and is today known for its relative tranquility and natural environment. Its modern Gaelic name means "Iona of (Saint) Columba" (formerly anglicised "Icolmkill").

The Abbey was beautiful. I could have spent more hours there shooting photos, but alas, we had to move on. 

Such a beautiful day to visit Iona, and if a storm is, in fact, coming in, I'm glad we visited it today. The sun was shining and the weather perfect. 

As we got back on the bus on the main island of Mull, we found out from some other folks on our tour that if we had walked another 200 yards from the abbey we would have encountered Highland Cows. These elusive creatures have been on our list to see up close this entire trip. We've been given glimpses of them on the road, but no time to stop and pet them. I was bummed when I found out they were right there and we missed them. I did, however, get the photos from this couple. So I'm counting it.