Spiritual Retreats on Iona
Welcome to Traigh Bhan – Sanctuary of the White Strand
Traigh Bhan is a retreat house overlooking white sand beaches and rocky seascapes on the sacred Isle of Iona, off Scotland’s west coast. Our vision is that it is a source of spiritual renewal, wherever you may be in the world.
After 54 years of being lovingly cared for by the Findhorn Foundation, Traigh Bhan is beginning a new phase.
Through online inspiration or at the retreat house, Traigh Bhan offers a space where people can step back from the demands of everyday life, reconnect with what matters most and listen for what may be seeking to emerge.
May the Spirit and Light of Iona be a source of renewal and inspiration in your life.
Join us on Iona & online
Island Retreats
Find deep peace, renewed purpose and creative inspiration on retreat at Traigh Bhan.
Online Inspiration
Connect with the Spirit of Iona and help create sanctuary wherever you are.
Bring a group
Offer a retreat, workshop or creative gathering, or bring your own group to Traigh Bhan.
What does Traigh Bhan mean?
The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic Tràigh Bàn, meaning ‘white beach’ or ‘white strand’ – the stretch of pale shoreline at the northern end of Iona from which the house, Traigh Bhan, takes its name. It speaks of the place – simplicity, spaciousness and beauty – and of its purpose: remembrance, renewal and inspiration.
The vision
The Sanctuary of the White Strand continues Iona’s ancient legacy of pilgrimage, renewal and a practical spirituality of service. For generations, pilgrims have come to Iona for spiritual nourishment, inspiration and guidance. They have carried its light back into their lives serving communities in the midst of challenge and change.
Our vision of sanctuary is not as a retreat from life, but as a place of renewal and inspiration from which to embrace our everyday activities with greater clarity, resilience, love and purpose.
Traigh Bhan offers space to listen deeply, reconnect with the sacred and reawaken the personal creative spark so necessary to shaping a more hopeful future in partnership with the living Earth.
Our deepest hope is that the sanctuary nurtured at Traigh Bhan will ripple outward through our lives, communities and cultures, seeding a future in which Earth is honoured as a planetary sanctuary, protected with love and shared equally by all forms of life.