Iona 4, Marble Quarry

Another stunning day on Iona, Monday today and the sun has been shining since 9.30. I've got very pink on my neck and shoulders again.
Today we set out to find the Marble Quarry. Iona Marble is famous, certainly across Scotland and I think further afield. It was quarried in one of the bays to the south of the island, practically inaccessible by land, so most of its business was done using sea access. The blip is taken looking back into the quarry from the shore. The quarry closed around 1914 having been active since medieval times. Some of the old equipment was left as there was no need, nor was it easy, to take it away. There are slabs of cut marble too. I've often wanted to go, but it's a notoriously difficult place to find, however today we found it, going from the Columba Bay end, almost first time. The paths are unmarked, lots of rocks to scramble over. The route took us across hills and bogs it's clearly seldom used, possibly even less than usual in these covid times. We crested the headland just to the south though and when I looked down I could see the marble pieces with the waves crashing beneath me. Extra 1.
We scrambled past the old machinery and across the huge chunks of marble until we were almost at the edge of the sea - where we rewarded ourselves with our sandwiches. I had some fun stone stacking, sadly though I missed the world championships last week.  I was quite pleased with my stack of 11. Extra 2. While we were eating, a mink ran out from a gap between the rocks just in front of us. A beautiful creature but an unwanted invader. 
We headed back to the village, now we know the way it will be easy to get back - famous last words! We rewarded ourselves with a lime and soda in the garden of the Argyll Hotel and watched the ferry coming in and out and the children playing in the waves. 
A quiet evening tonight, we're signed up for the 9pm service at the Abbey provided my feet survive. To give you an idea of the ups and downs of the scrambling and climbs of our route, the island is only three miles long and we are staying about a mile from the north end. We covered 6.2 miles going to the Quarry and back!

Keep safe and well everybody. Just because we can doesn't mean we should.