Return to Eilean Chaluim Chille

While researching the locations of beehive cells on Lewis I came across a reference to a linear layout of three cells on the north side of Eilean Chaluim Chille. I had been to the island, which lies near the mouth of Loch Eireasort (eastern Lewis), a couple of times. Those visits had been made to see the ruins of Eaglais Chaluim Chille, St Columba's Church. (For a description of Eaglais Chaluim Chille see the April 8, 2014 and April 13, 2014 posts, and Book 2, chapter 28).

Eaglais Chaluim Chille

But on those previous visits I'd never been across to the island's northern side, where the beehive cells were said to be. So this August I visited Eilean Chaluim Chille with John Randall to see if we could find the cells. I'd made several walks with John in the past, most recently in July of 2017, when we made a long hike from Loch Claidh to Eisgean (see the August 11, 2017 post).

Our hike around Eilean Chaluim Chille began on a wet August morning by crossing to the island from mainland Lewis, via the tidal causeway near the village of Cromore.

The causeway before low tide

From the causeway we hiked southwest past Eaglais Chaluim Chille, where a monastery was established around the 9th century. (The ruins on the site date to the 12th century). Along the way we passed a modern burial enclosure. In it lies the grave of Charles Menedez Macleod, the first Charlie Barley of Charles Macleod Stornoway Black Pudding fame. 

From the ruins of St Columba's Church we turned north to cut across the centre of the island. The grass, bracken, and heather were thick and wet, which made the going difficult. After a half hour we came to a low cliff that overlooked a small bay.

A hard trudge through the wet heather below the cliff led us to the ruins of the beehives. The searcher for beehive cells encounters many highs, and lows; this was not a high, as the ruins were almost completely collapsed; their circular foundations barely visible in the thick, wet vegetation. But the site itself was spectacular, overlooking the islet-studded mouth of Loch Eireasort.

The three beehive ruins barely visible in the bracken

From the ruins we hiked northeast past Port nam Marbh (the port of the dead), where funeral processions landed to take the bodies to the burial ground near the church. (The graveyard was used into the 19th century.) From there we passed Loch na Muilne (mill-loch) and carried on to Dubh Thob (the dark bay), at the northeast tip of the island. Across the bay rose the rocky summit of Crois Eilean (Cross Island). At low tide this small islet is connected to Eilean Chaluim Chille. Since the tide was still out we made our way to the narrow crossing.  

Cross Island

An easy climb of 75 feet took us to the top of Cross Island. At its summit stood a large cairn; one that, based on the name of the island, may have once been the base of a cross that long ago signified to the sea-traveller that they were nearing the monastery of Eilean Chaluim Chille. 

Cross-base cairn Crois Eilean

Any visit to Eilean Chaluim Chille requires you keep an eye on the tide. But from the top of Crois Eilean we could see the tide was still low; and as it was only a half-mile back to the causeway there was no need to rush. As most of our walk had been, the return to the causeway was across rough, wet terrain. Nearing the causeway we could see that all the island's sheep had decided it was also time to return to the mainland. And so, before the rising sea made Eilean Chaluim Chille an island once again, we followed them back across the causeway. 

John and I had spent a day trekking over a part of Eilean Chaluim Chille that neither of us has been to before; we'd not found any intact beehive cells but, just as fascinating, we'd set foot on new ground, a part of an historic Hebridean island we'd not seen before. Something you don't often get the chance to do.

Something Amazing

I saw something truly amazing during my visit to Lewis last year. My wife and I were staying in a cottage on Great Bernera, and one day we decided to drive to Stornoway to visit Museum nan Eilean at Lews Castle. The museum was fantastic, and as I was looking at the various items on display I noticed an unusual dark green stone mounted high on a wall. It was egg shaped, with veins of lighter green running through it: a talisman of some kind. In an instant a memory of something I read 30 years ago popped into my head, and I knew what it was before reading the adjacent information plaque. Before me was something fantastic; something I thought I'd never see.

What was it?  It was something Frasier Darling found over 80 years ago buried below the altar of St Ronan's Cell in far off North Rona.

St Ronan's Cell (beehive cell oratory at left)

Inside the oratory - altar (and fulmar) at bottom

Here is Darling's description (from A Naturalist on Rona; pp. 43-44) of what he found while excavating the altar in St Ronan's cell:

As I was digging at floor level beside the altar my spade was deflected from a rounded stone which, even in the dim light of the cell, showed green. My first thought was - Iona Marble - a stone of which I am familiar, for I always carry some small pieces in my pocket. I picked up the stone, washed it, and found a piece of smooth, dark-green marble about the size and shape of a sheep's heart. There was an intricate veining of lighter green. No rock of this kind occurs naturally on Rona, and, found in this place of all others, I wondered if St Ronan had been to the collage of Iona and had brought this piece of stone to his church on Rona to be a symbol of the mother foundation.... this stone has left Rona with me, so that it may be seen by antiquaries and men of science, and that it may not be lost. But it must go back to its place as part of Ronan's altar and not be kept by me or placed in a museum. I have left a token of good faith of my present custodianship by burying three of my own pebbles of Iona marble in the masonry of the altar. Fanciful, perhaps, but it has pleased me so to do.

Oh how I wish I'd taken a photo of the Rona stone when I saw it in the museum. But I did not have a camera with me, and even if I did I doubt that the docents in the museum would have approved of taking a photo. 

So next time you are in Stornoway be sure to pay a visit to Museum nan Eilean at Lews Castle. And while there take the time to find a beautiful green stone mounted high on the wall - it is easy to miss. Darling did not want to see it end up in a museum, but I think it's the best place for it; although I wonder how many tourist who see it truly appreciate this ancient relic of island history.

If you are interested in visiting North Rona consider joining our ten-day cruise in July of 2019.

Postscript (May 6, 2018): I was just reading DDC Pochin Mould's book Irish Pilgrimages. On page 81 there is a description of a stone strikingly similar to the one found on Rona:

Martin Martin (1695) tells of St Moluag's Ball... this is Moluag of Lismore, who was originally a monk of Bangor in Ireland before crossing to Scotland. The stone was round and green, 'about the bigness of a goose egg'; it was used for swearing oaths, for curing stitches, and for throwing at enemies armies, the opposing force being flung into confusion and at once running away. Macdonald of the Isles was said to have carried the stone and always to have been victorious when he had it with him. The stone had a hereditary keeper of the Clan Chattan.

This makes me wonder if at some point St Moluag's stone found its way to Rona.

The Rona Cross

I think the North Rona three-holed-cross is the most intriguing early Christian monument in the Hebrides. When I first saw it in 1990, it looked a bit sad and neglected, standing in a dusty case in a dark corner of Teampull Mholuaidh in Eoropie, a mile south of the Butt of Lewis. Here is a photo of the cross from 1990 - you can see it to the left of the very young fellow in the white coat. (Oh how he wishes he took a close up photo of the cross back then.)

The Rona Cross in Teampull Mholuaidh - 1990

Teampull Mholuaidh - 1990

In 1992 the cross was placed in the custody of the Ness Historical Society, and it can be seen today in their museum in Ness. 

The most informative history of the cross that I have come across is Michael Robson's Rona: The Distant Island. In it, he says the cross was removed from Rona 'more than 50 years ago'. As the book was published in 1990, I assume that means it was taken to Lewis in the 1930s. Michael Robson's wonderful book was given to me by Rhoddy MacLeod in 2006. Rhoddy, who passed away in 2011, now lies buried in the holy ground of St Michael's, on the island of Little Bernera.

The Rona Cross on the cover of Rona: The Distant Island, by Michael Robson

Memorial to Rhoddy Macleod - Little Berneray

The Rona cross is an interesting stone. It is pierced by three holes; perhaps symbols of the trinity, and these holes line up with the neck, and armpits, of a figure carved on the cross. Even more odd is the giant phallus/fertility symbol depicted on the torso of the figure, which was either missed (or ignored) by those who wrote about the cross for many years. One of the first depictions of the cross, based on T.S. Muir's drawing from the 1850s, is a simple outline drawing used on the cover of an early book on Rona by Malcolm Stewart: Ronay (1933).

It is a shame the cross was taken from Rona.These days you'll find a half dozen similar cross-stones in-situ on Rona, and some collected inside St Ronan's Chapel, but none have holes in them.

Cross-Stones at the entrance to St Ronan's Cell - 1

Cross-Stones at the entrance to St Ronan's Cell - 2

Cross stone still in the burial ground

The earliest known (I think) photo of the three-holed-cross, is this 1887 photo that shows J A Harvie Brown at St Ronan's Chapel. Brown can be seen reclining in the grass (marked with a 'B'). The three-holed-cross is marked with an 'A'.

If you've read book 2, then you know that during a visit to Rona in 2002 I wanted, but did not have the time, to recreate that photo of Harvie-Brown reclining in the grass by St Ronan's Chapel. But on a return visit in 2011 I had plenty of time to play around, and so I took this 'selfie' reclining in the grass in front of the chapel. The original location of the three-holed-cross is marked with an 'X".

A year before that return to Rona, my wife and I visited the museum in Ness to see the three-holed-cross. Although part of me would like to see it in its true home, it is probably a good thing the stone is now in the safe-keeping of the museum. So next time you're on Lewis, be sure to visit the museum to pay your respects to the ancient cross of St Ronan. And if you want an experience to remember for a lifetime, dedicate a couple week's holiday to get out to North Rona. Northern Light Charters offers such a trip every other year. Unfortunately their 2015 trip is fully booked, but perhaps, if the demand is there, they'll offer it again in 2017.

Scenes from North Rona

In 2011 I was fortunate to spend two consecutive summer days on North Rona. The grass was tall, the sun was shining, the sea was calm, and the skuas were dive bombing. I spent my time exploring the village and St Ronan's cell, enjoying the view from atop the lighthouse on Toa Rona, climbing over the ridge to see Tunnel Cave and the site of Fraser Darling's camp. Best of all was standing at the western tip of this fascinating isle, where the only land to be seen in the sea were the two humpy rocks of tiny Sulaisgeir.

Here are a few photos from two long Rona walkabouts.

Memorial stone to Malcom MacDonald and Murdo Mackay

Inside St Ronan's Cell

St Ronan's Church and Cell

Memorial stone and the church

Toa Rona and the lighthouse

The north end seen from the ridge

Tunnel Cave

Toa Rona seen from the north end

The lighthouse

North end panorama

Skua soaring over the village

Entrance to Ronan's Cell

Researcher's shack

A well stocked shack

Beehive dwelling in the village - Sula in the distance

Sula seen from Rona (zoom)

Eilean Chaluim Cille - 2

When I arrived at the crossing to Eilean Chaluim Cill the tide was too high to cross; the sea still a foot above the causeway.  I waited for 45 minutes, crossed over, and then walked to the church ruins and burial ground, which lie a quarter mile from where the causeway reaches the island.

The ruined church of St Columb Kill is a sad sight, as its crumbling walls are half fallen. It is surrounded by a burial ground, and there are also graves inside the church. Sometime in the seventh century a monastery was established here, and the burial ground was still used in the 1800s.  It's been said that the monks had a large orchard on the island, and in the Ravenspoint Visitor Centre in Kershader you will find a mural painting of monks at work in the orchard. When I walked to the island in 2012 I meet a man who lives near the crossing to Eilean Chaluim Cille. He told me local opinion is that the orchard was actually at nearby Cromore, on the mainland of Lewis.

St Columb Kill

The ruin of St Columb Kill - the 'modern' tombstone marks the grave of Kenneth Ross 

Here is what TS Muir had to say about Eilean Chaluim Cille in 1855:

In a shockingly-conditioned burial-ground….is a not greatly ruinated chapel, dedicated to St Columba…..with features much resembling those of the other Long Island chapels. The east elevation, which is nearly entire, contains a flat-headed window, 4 feet by six inches, and in the west gable there is a smaller one of the same shape. The south side contains a narrow lanciform window, and a broken doorway on its left; the north side is down to the ground nearly, except a bit at its west end.

In the 159 years since this was written the 'shockingly-conditioned burial ground is in even worse shape. Still, the old monastic site, isolated on its tidal island, is beautiful. I spent an hour wandering around the island; taking about a hundred photos before walking back across the causeway to Crobeg.

For more info on Eilean Chaluim Cille see this RCAHMS link. An even better reference is a booklet entitled Eilean Chaluim Chille: St Colm's Isle, produced by the Pairc Historical Society in 2008.

Looking back over St Columb Kill to Crobeg

Time to leave - back across the causeway before the tide rises

Eilean Chaluim Cille - 1

It is always fun to walk to an island. The tidal isles of Oronsay (off Colonsay), and Vallay (off N. Uist) come to mind. But there is another, lessor known tidal isle that is just as fascinating: Eilean Chaluim Cille in Loch Erisort. On my first visit to this island I was set ashore from a boat (see book 2, chapter 28). But as with Vallay and Oronsay, the best way to visit is afoot.

That first visit was in 2002, when I spent a couple of hours exploring the ruins of the old chapels and the burial ground. I only learned then that a causeway had been built so that you can cross to the island from mainland Lewis. And I promised myself that someday I'd return to walk to the island.

The causeway is tidal, so you can only cross at low tide. And it was on a June day of 2012, while staying in nearby Gravir, that I finally made my way on foot to the crossing. Although I'd checked the tide tables I was a bit early, and had to wait 45 minutes for the tide to drop another foot before I could cross over.

Below are two photos of the crossing; the first taken just before low tide, the second at low tide. Next time we'll see what lies across the causeway to Eilean Chaluim Cille.

The causeway to Eilean Chaluim Cille - just before low tide

The causeway to Eilean Chaluim Cille at low tide

Way Out Where?

Here is a view of the lighthouse on Bass Rock, built on the site of an old castle. Walking among the gannets here was a surreal experience, one I am not sure I would want to repeat.

Early versions of the books included a chapter on a visit to The Bass. But I cut it out as it did not fit the 'Isles of the West' theme.  But direction is relative, for someone living in Dunbar The Bass is certainly to the west.

This perspective became evident when I had my first article published. It was in Scottish Islands Explorer back in 2003 when the magazine was based on Fair Isle. The article was about a visit to North Rona, and I anxiously waited for the magazine to arrive to see how the story looked. (This was long before you'd get a PDF to proof). When the magazine arrived what did I see on the cover? A teaser for the story that read: "Rona: Way out West", and here I was thinking I had ventured way up north. But to Linda Grieve, putting the magazine together on Fair Isle, Rona was not way up north, it was way out west.

Rona : Way out West

This directional perspective is also evident in Scottish Gaelic culture where "going up" meant a trip south, hence the term "Suas gu Deas" (Up to the south, or "Up sous").  A wonderful book that captures this perspective in an actual journey is Suas gu Deas by Angus Peter Campbell.