Perhaps the place you'll feel it most keenly is in Iona, where St.Columba, an Irish Prince, chose to establish his mission almost 1,500 years ago. The religious community he founded on the island quickly became a place of pilgrimage and Christian learning that was renowned throughout Europe. The Abbey, which the earliest parts date back to the 11th century, produced some of the most beautiful and intricately carved Celtic crosses in Scotland.

Islay's Kildalton Cross, ornately carved in the 7th century from a single slab of rock, was probably by a sculptor from Iona. And it is thought that the famous Book of Kells may have been written on the island.

Over the centuries, Iona became a place of pilgrimage. The great came as well as the good: by 1549, over 60 Kings of Scotland, Ireland and Norway were buried on the island. You can find out

more about Columba and Iona at the Columba Centre in Fionnphort on Mull, from where the ferry leaves for Iona, or Iona Heritage Centre, which has a fascinating exhibition of the island's history.

Oronsay is the site of some of the most remarkable and beautiful ecclesiastical buildings in Scotland. There is evidence of very early monastic settlement, dating back as far as the 6th century. The 14th century Augustinian Priory survived the Reformation largely unscathed, taking sanctuary in its relative isolation.

The Priory, its outbuildings (including a church with a beautiful cross, cloisters and a Prior's house), and monumental sculpture - including an outstanding High Cross carved around 1500 and sculpted graveslabs - have been named a scheduled monument. In the Prior's house there are 30 magnificent tombstones dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.

These islands are still places of peace, tranquillity and contemplation, and many people find their visit to be a rewarding and memorable experience.

Tiree is also home to some remarkable pre-Reformation Chapels. Kilkenneth is dedicated to St Cainnech, a contemporary of St Columba. The Kirkapol Chapels date to the 13th and 14th centuries, but a nearby Pictish burial mound indicates that this was a sacred place long before then.

Teampull Phadruig or Temple Patrick has been reduced to its foundations apart from the drystone east wall, which is over a metre thick. But perhaps the strangest religious building on the islands is the round church of Kilarrow in Bowmore on Islay, which is said to have been designed that way so that 'the Devil would have no corner to hide in'.

These islands are still places of peace, tranquillity and contemplation, and many people find that there is an opportunity to relax and reflect on these shores.

It can take many forms. You may be windsurfing off Tiree, or watching dolphins surf boisterously in a boat's bow wave. Gazing across the wild Atlantic from a wave-lashed beach, or watching an eagle soar. Witnessing a sunset from a stone circle, or absorbing the hushed still of Iona Abbey.

Whatever your reasons for coming, few people leave Argyll's Atlantic Islands feeling just as they did when they arrived.