Cashels of the Hebrides

Monastic Cashels are interesting structures. They are small, round or oval enclosures, 120 to 200 feet in diameter. Inside is usually a church and several small cells where the monks lived. Some even had mills and bathhouses.

My interest in Celtic Christian Cashels began during my first visit to the west of Ireland in 1988. I tried to get out to see the cashel on the tiny island of Inishmurray, which lies off the coast 12 miles northwest of Sligo. But I was unable to find a boatman to take me. I tried again in 2013. It was easy enough to find a boatman that time, but the weather was atrocious and he could not sail out. I do plan to try again someday, as it looks like an amazing place.

Inishmurray Cashel

Not all cashels are as hard to get to as Inishmurray. There are five that I know of in the Hebrides, but even those require a bit of effort to get to. The easiest to see, Cladh a' Bhearnaig, requires getting yourself to Kerrera, and then making a two mile hike to the north end of the island. 

Cladh a' Bhearnaig

Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig is a nearly circular enclosure split in thirds by low walls. Inside sit the remains of several buildings; one that looks like a beehive cell, and two that are rectangular structures with walls three feet thick. Even though I visited the site in early spring, when the bracken was just starting to sprout, it was difficult to examine the structures under all the vegetation. If you're ever in Oban for a day, and want to get away from the tourists, there's no better way than paying a visit to Kerrera, and making the hike to its north end to see Cladh a' Bhearniag. 

Cladh a' Bhearnaig

The second Scottish cashel of interest is Sgoor nam Ban Naoimh on Canna. It is only reachable by a precarious sheep track that traverses down the cliffs. (The track starts at NG 2328 0460.) Inside the cashel walls you'll find an amazing set of ruins; beehive cells, an oratory, a chapel, and what may have been a bathhouse. I was able to descend the path down to the cashel in 2002, but when I tried again in 2016 it was so undermined by rabbit warrens that it did not look safe to use. Unless you are with a group, and roped up, I would not recommend using the path.

Start of the eroded path down to the cashel

Sgorr nam Ban-naomha

The third Scottish cashel that I'm aware of is on Nave Island off the north tip of Islay. Aside from an expensive day charter, the only way to visit it (that I know of) is as part of a southern Hebrides cruise such as those offered by Northern Light Cruising Company or Hebrides Cruises.

Nave Island - Cashel wall marked with arrows

I was fortunate to have landed on Nave Island in 2016 (see the June 8th post). It's most striking feature is its chapel with a chimney. The chapel dates to the 13th century, and was built on the site of the cashel's original church. The chimney was added in the 1700s when they processed kelp here. Cross-fragments found on the site date to the time of St Columba, so the monastery here may have been founded at the same time as the one on Iona, which is just 30 miles to the north. See this CANMORE page for more on the Nave Island monastery.

Remnants of the circular enclosure wall can be seen in the foreground

Inside Nave Chapel

The most visited of all the Scottish cashels is on the island of Eileach an Naoimh of the Garvellachs. Unfortunately, there's not much, if anything, left of its enclosing wall, as it was pillaged to build several structures after the site ceased to be a monastery. The Historic Scotland reader-board at the site has an evocative drawing showing what they think the original enclosure looked like.

Historic Scotland display on Eileach an Naoimh

Chapel at upper right, once within the cashel enclosure

The penultimate Scottish cashel, and the hardest to reach, is on far off North Rona. The cashel's enclosing circular wall, 120 feet in diameter, still survives, albeit cloaked in thick grass and moss.

North Rona Cashel

Standing inside the enclosure is St Ronan's Chapel and cell. The rest of the space is filled with ancient graves. The only legible tombstone, and barely legible at that, is the memorial to Murdo Mackay and Malcolm MacDonald, who died in 1885 (see chapter 29 of Book 2, and the final photo below).

North Rona Cashel - St Ronan's cell and chapel to the left

The remains of the cashel wall can be seen behind St Ronan's Church

It's intriguing to speculate what life was like in these cashels 15 centuries ago; the monks going about their everyday tasks, interrupted every now and then by raiding Ragnars. Iona was pillaged several times, so it's probable that Nave Island, Canna, North Rona, and Eileach an Naoimh suffered similar fates. If you want a day to remember, make a solitary wander to one of these sites. While there, let your thoughts drift to times long past, and try to sense the lingering presence of all the souls who once toiled, and found joy, in a life of contemplation and work.

A Treasured Place - Sgorr nam Ban-naomha

On our May 21st cruise we hope to visit Canna. One of the best, but difficult, walks on the island is the seven-mile round trip hike to the Celtic Christian cashel of Sgorr nam Ban-naomha. The place name 'Sgorr' is used for a level shelf of land below a cliff and above the sea, and so Sgorr nam Ban-naomha means something like 'the cliff-girt terrace of the holy women'.

Sgorr nam Ban-naomha

Getting to Sgorr nam Ban-naomha requires descending the 300-foot cliffs via a narrow sheep track. It's been 14 years since I last walked down that path, but if it's still there, and looks safe, we'll try to do it.

The Sheep track down the cliff (marked with arrows)

The ruins are extensive, and include an oratory, altar, and what may have been a bathhouse or mill. See book 1 chapter 29, and this CANMORE page, for more on this fascinating site, which was also selected as one of Scotland's Treasured Places.

Two-chambered beehive ruin

Kerrera Monastery

For me, the most fascinating sites in the islands are old monasteries; like Sgorr nam Ban Naomh on Canna, Ailech of the Garvellchs, Charadail of Eigg, and Oronsay (off Colonsay), to name a few. Most are very remote, and it can take a lot of effort to see them. But there is one monastic ruin that, although it lies only a mile from a large town, is one of the least visited: Cladh a ' Bhearnaig, on the north tip of Kerrera.

Cladh a ' Bhearnaig is easy to find. From Slaterach Mill (see last post), make your way north to Oitir Mhor (the big headland). Here the road turns inland, but keep to the shore around the headland of Rubh Aird an Duine, and then continue for another half mile to a small bay called Port a’ Bheàrnaig, where, a small knob shaped headland, Rubh a’ Bheàrnaig, marks the north tip of Kerrera. At its centre is Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig, an enclosure of stones, 200 feet in diameter, that may be the ruin of a Celtic Christian cashel.

Looking north up the east coast of Kerrera

The monastic enclosure

On a 1750 map the site is marked as "Clyvernock, an old monastery". The meaning of the name is a mystery. Cladh means burial ground, but what could Bheàrnaig mean?  (Bheàrnaig is pronounced ‘var-nak’). The name is not just found on Kerrera, for the original name of fifteenth century Glen Sanda castle, on the mainland ten miles to the north, is Castle Bheàrnaig.

One possible meaning of Bheàrnaig is hinted at in the Gaelic spelling of Inchmarnock, an island dedicated to St Marnock. That spelling is Innis Mheàrnaig. Bheàrnaig is pronounced the same way, so perhaps Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig means the burial ground of St Marnock. Marnock was a bishop in the early 600s, and there is a chapel dedicated to him at Kilfinan, thirty miles south of Kerrera.

Looking down to the cashel from the high ground to the east

Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig has the appearance of a monastic site. It is a nearly circular enclosure split in thirds by low walls. Inside sit the remains of several buildings; one that looks like a beehive cell, and two that are rectangular structures with walls three feet thick. Even though it was early spring, when the bracken is just starting to sprout, it was still difficult to examine the structures under all the vegetation. There is said to be a stone with twenty cup-marks carved on it here, and I searched through the low bracken and brambles, but could not find it.

After wandering around the cashel I climbed to the giant obelisk monument to David Hutcheson. Reaching the monument I took a seat and, enjoying the silence of Kerrera, looked across the water to Oban as the Mull ferry glided into the busy harbour.

Hutcheson Monument

Looking back to busy a Oban from a quiet Kerrera

Next time you are in Oban I can suggest no better day out than escaping the crowds and spending the day on Kerrera. See this RCAHMS page for more details on Cladh a’ Bheàrnaig, and this Scotland Places page for a diagram of the cashel. Also see the April 21st through May 2nd (2013) posts for more on Kerrera.