AMANDA RIDINGS

A journey to a Holy Isle retreat in Scotland holds one coach’s assumptions to account

On the ordnance survey map, Holy Isle, off the east coast of Arran, Scotland, is roughly the shape and size of my thumb. On the ferry from Ardrossan, it’s pointed out to me. It’s bigger than I envisaged, and more rugged, rising to 1,000 feet. Taking leave of the everyday world begins with leaving my car at the port, and boarding the ferry on foot. Immediately, the pace of life shifts down a gear. Standing on the deck, Arran steadily approaches across a benign Firth of Clyde. Suddenly,...