Holy Isle

Firth of Clyde island awash with spirituality. The idyllic Holy Isle has always been considered a spiritual place, but that has been ramped up in recent years after a Buddhist community bought the island. They now run a variety of retreats for both men and women, plus offering shorter term opportunities to volunteer on this deeply special island. You can just pop over for a day trip from the main island of Arran. There is superb hiking and the chance to see the unusual native wildlife – they have extremely rare species of pony, goat and sheep here. Pre-dating the colourful Buddhist rock paintings is an ancient cave where a Christian saint, Saint Molaise, is said to hidden out in the 6th century.