The Cloisters link all of the peripheral buildings together and allow movement between them without having to face the elements. As this was one of the most northerly of European monasteries, it was decided to glaze the cloisters – a most unusual feature.

The cloisters and cloister garden of the Abbey was originally a barrack square which now lies underneath the grassed central courtyard.

In addition to the four sides of the cloisters, there are two other junctions - a crossroads at the Court of Arches and an access to the Sacristy part way along the southern side. In addition it was intended to build a third cloistered passage from the western side across to the church. Part of the work on this was left unfinished and can be seen with an ornate door on the inside and just under a metre of construction on the outside. These three accesses to the church would have allowed the monks access from the monastery without the need to pass through the main Sacristy; the priests for the day would have access to the church through the Sacristy and visitors staying in the Hospice could have accessed the church without getting wet and without interfering with the monks’ routines, unless, of course, they were female in which case they would have to brave the elements and enter with the rest of the congregation through the church vestibule.

The cloisters also contained eight statues of saints, two on each corner, but these were stripped out when the monastery closed despite the fact that they were actually part of the fabric of the building. One statue was so badly damaged when they attempted to remove it that they abandoned it, the others were stripped from the cloisters in 1999

The cloister garden was used for many ceremonial events.

If we take a walk around the cloisters there are some hidden secrets.

Firstly, enter through the stained glass doorway from the Hospice and see the inscription for Christ. Directly opposite this entrance is the heavy wooden door providing access to the cloister garden.

Turn left and notice that the wall directly on our left has no window onto the cloister, showing that this was definitely the powder magazine. Windows were not a good idea for rooms where weapons and explosives are stored.

A few metres further on there is a bricked-up doorway. This was a handmade brick passage of extreme historical importance. The walls were up to two metres thick because this passage was behind the powder magazine. During the period of the Enterprises, this gave access to the Loch Ness Diorama which was housed in the old school hall.

As we reach the first corner of the cloister there used to be an altar here. In fact the monks processed weekly around the cloisters celebrating what they called, “The Stations of the Cross”, twelve locations around the cloisters, marked by small crucifixes, to commemorate Christ’s last walk with the cross.

Along the next side we begin to see very low windows in the wall. These are part of the old Fort Augustus and provided light to the sloping corridor which ran the length of the fort.

The next door on the left provides access to the Old School (College Wing) and the Clock Tower. This picture of the last Abbot of St Benedict’s with Cardinal Keith O’Brien was taken in the cloisters during the opening of the Enterprises in June 1994.

Currently the cloister is closed at the next junction, but will re-open shortly presumably. In this corner there was a shortcut passageway into the monks’ kitchen and then the grand entrance to the monks’ refectory where meals were taken in silence, except for one monk who lunched earlier and read from a pulpit during the others’ lunch.

The next section of the cloister was off-limits to ladies throughout its time as a monastery and, in fact, none of the cloisters were open to any members of the public for any reason until 1994 when the Enterprises opened for business. Off this eastern side is the entrance to the fabulous monastic library where books such as the Marianas Scotus manuscript used to sit on the shelves, with no alarms or even bars on the windows. This manuscript alone was valued at more than a quarter of a million pounds and contained the oldest written Gaelic in Scotland. Today it is in the National Library in Edinburgh. Other books included a charming illustrated prayer book owned and signed by Mary of Guise, Mary Queen of Scots’ mother.

At the end of the eastern section we find the Court of Arches and access to the monastic garden, the calefactory and a passage to the Chapter House, back sacristy and church.

Turning right at the Court of Arches we soon come to another smaller door into the cloister garden and, opposite it in the left hand wall, the entrance to the sacristy. Many of the vestments in the Sacristy had been made by the nuns from the convent, three hundred metres up the Fort William road. Almost all of the sisters of the convent died of tuberculosis early in the twentieth century. Some of the illustrations on the vestments comprised more than 20,000 stitches.

As we approach the final corner of the cloister at the southern end, we find a doorway which would have led into a planned extension of the cloister to join with the church and on the western side was the huge crucifix seen at the end of the cloister picture at the beginning of this section.

Now we turn right into the final side of the cloister. Notice the window into the cloister here from a room of the old fort and then we are back at the beginning having completed our tour.