Afoot on Kerrera 9

On Rubh a’ Bheàrnaig, the headland that marks the northernmost tip of Kerrera, lies Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig. The name may mean the burial ground of St Marnock, and on a 1750 map it is called “Clyvernock, an old monastery”. Marnock was a bishop in the early 600s, and there is a chapel dedicated to him at Kilfinan, thirty miles south of Kerrera, where he had a retreat.

The oval enclosure is split in thirds by low walls. Inside sit the remains of several buildings, one that looks like a beehive cell. Tourists in the thousands sail by Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig every year on their way to Mull and Barra. But few ever train their binoculars on these overgrown ruins, for what grabs their attention here is a giant obelisk that stands on a knoll above the monastery. Tomorrow we’ll climb up to see it.

Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig