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Saturday 9 June 2018

Alone on a Beach - Sepia Saturday

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt photograph shows a woman  sitting alone on a quiet beach at a seaside resort. c.1920's 



Here is my daughter on a beach which we had to ourselves 
 on the Isle of Iona off the west coast of Scotland - July 2016. 

The Western Isles of Scotland  are one of my most favourite  spots in the world and there is something very special about Iona and the peace and tranquillity you can experience there.    It is   a tiny island off the southwest coast of the island of   Mull, only 1.5 miles wide by 3 miles long, with a population of around 120 permanent residents.

It holds a special place in the history  of Scotland, and a significant one  for all Christians. For it was here in  AD 563, Columba and his followers arrived from Ireland to spread the gospel in Scotland.  The restored medieval abbey continues to hold daily services  and 48 kings of Scotland are reputed to be buried in the grounds. 


 
Dramatic lighting in this view of Iona Abbey

 

To get to Iona, you  sail  from Oban to Craignure on  Mull - a 45 minute sail where you are surrounded by just water, and hills, and then travel 50 miles on a mainly single track road across the island through hills and along a sea loch to reach the tiny village of  Fionnphort - one pub, one cafe, one shop. 


At Fionnphort is  the ferry to Iona.  It is is only a 10 minute crossing, but can get surprisingly choppy in poor weather.  Only Iona residents can take their car across.  Despite  the number of   tourist that visit the island, it is amazing how quickly you can get away from them and often find yourself on your own on one of the many beaches. 




 
"Deep peace of the running waves"
(A line from John Rutter's Gaelic Blessing)

                                                                           

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Sepia Saturday gives bloggers an opportunity to share 
their family history and memories through photographs


Click HERE to read other Sepia Saturday bloggers' beach tales 

10 comments:

  1. One of my favorite places when we visited Scotland was Iona. It has so much charm. The Abbey, of course, was wonderful to see. Also the nunnery which, I hope someday, will receive the same restoration care as the abbey! The single-track road across Mull from Craignure to Fionnphort was my first experience with a road like that. Everyone is so patient & polite at the marked turnouts. Of course we were an oncoming bus facing automobiles which might have had something to do with it? We do have a similar road here called Wards Ferry Road. It twists and turns down into a canyon becoming ever narrower with turnout spots every so often so vehicles can pass one another - and often with a 1000 foot drop on one side. I've been over it once and once was enough!

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  2. Thank you, Gaill for your comment. Yes, there is something, special about Iona and it is such a different pace and style of life there - 70 + miles to the nearest supermarket {small) in Tobermory for a start, and then 70 miles back!

    back.

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  3. Lovely, poetic landscapes.

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  4. The colors in these photographs are stunning!

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  5. Oops, you got the same spammer I did earlier in the day. I've changed from open to comments on blogger back to moderating them, it was just too weird to not know when someone said something, like Mr. viagra!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Me too, and even worse, when I tried to delete his comment I somehow managed to delete all the other comments on my latest post and on several previous posts. Very annoying!

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    3. Thank you, Barbara and Jo, for your comments. I had not seen that rogue comment until you mentioned it - now deleted. The good news is that today the Reply option reappeared on my Comments and the Remove Content has gone - so I assume this has been a Blogger issue.

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  6. The Abbey is just gorgeous as is the surrounding countryside and shoreline. Seems a remote point to launch a Christian campaign from, but it certainly is a beautiful setting.

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  7. Lovely scenic views! My daughter lives in a locality called Iona, but there are no other similarities apart from the name. It’s just a district in Gippsland Victoria, not even by the sea, no actual town centre or shops, not even a general store or pub, just a few properties scattered round about, but no doubt the name originated with some Scots immigrant.

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