The Cross of Cave Bay - Rum

One of the most interesting short walks on Rum is to see the cross of Bàgh na h-Uamha (Cave Bay). To get there follow the Dibidil path for a mile until it reaches Allt Mor na Uamha, the Big Stream of the Caves. Leave the trail here and go cross-country to the west, following the stream as it tumbles down to the sea via a series of rocky waterfalls.

Looking west from Cave Bay to Hallival and the Dibidil track

Cave Bay is the site of an old settlement, and here you'll find the low outlines of several cottages pushing up through the turf. Just below the ruins, and above the rocky beach, stands a four-foot tall stone pillar. Incised into the top of the pillar is a Greek cross, four equal arms with flared ends. Carved in the seventh or eighth century, this cross style fell out of fashion at some point, as it had been later modified into a Latin style cross by doubling the length of the vertical arm to create a shaft.

The stone had been found lying prone on the beach in the 1970s, and re-erected a safe distance above the surf in 1982. Is this a Christianized standing stone, like St Taran’s Cross on Taransay?  Or did an early monk, perhaps St Beccan of Rum, originally put the stone up as a cross?  I don’t know the answer. But if you ever visit Bàgh na h-Uamha you’ll have plenty of silence to think about it. This tranquil spot sees few visitors. Most who come to Rum go up high to traverse the Rum Cuillins. Others come to see the wild-life: the deer, or the shearwaters nesting on Hallival. I saw nary a soul on my journey to Cave Bay, and I doubt if you will either.

Eigg seen from Cave Bay

See this CANMORE page for more on the cross of Cave Bay.

The Crosses of Raasay

One of the jewels of Rassay is its Pictish Symbol Stone. It lies in a small patch of ground east of the road north of Raasay House. The top of the stone has a square Chi-Rho cross that appears to be carved inside a Pictish mirror symbol. Below the cross is what's described as a tuning fork (or tongs), and at the bottom a crescent and V-Rod.

Raasay Symbol Stone

Although the symbol stone is easy to find, there was another Raasay cross, carved into the bedrock near the landing place below Raasay House, that I was only able to locate on my third visit to the island. I first read about this rock-carved cross in Boswell's Journal, where he mentions that 'on one of the rocks just where we landed...there is rudely drawn a square with a crucifix in the middle.'

On visits to Raasay in 1995 and 1998 I searched in vain for this cross. I walked back and forth all over 'The Battery', looking on every rock surface I could find. But I saw nothing that looked like a cross. The Battery is the little peninsula below Raasay house that was the main point for landing on the island before they built the ferry slip a mile and a half to the south.

These days the ferry lands at a new slip on The Battery, and on a visit last May I looked for the cross again. But this time I found it thanks to location details and photos on this CANMORE page. The cross lies just above the original landing place, on the southeast side of The Battery, where Boswell & Johnson landed in 1773. The cross is a sad sight, nearly completely worn away. So there is no way someone can find it without specific directions, and most everyone who arrives on Raasay these days drives (or walks) past the cross without even knowing it's there.

The cross is the same design as the mirror chi-rho cross on the symbol stone; and you can find a comparison drawing of the two crosses on the last page of Proc. Soc Antiq Scot Volume 41. Other good images can be found on page 64 of Proc. Soc Antiq Scot Vol 67, and on this Pictish Stones of Raasay page. Next time you are on Raasay be sure to pay your respect to this vestige of the past before it completely disappears.

The cross is on the exposed rock face at centre

The Carved Stones of Eigg - 3

Eigg's most interesting carved stone is an 8th (or 9th) century example of recycling. The cross, which was found at Kildonnan in two pieces, has been put back together with concrete. One side is carved with an elaborate ringed cross, topped with the letters 'IHU  XPI', a Latin abbreviation for Jesus Christ (Oh Jesu, of Christ). But it is the other, and older side of the stone, that is really interesting. It depicts a mounted hunter with two dogs chasing what appears to be a lion, a boar and a deer - quite an assortment of animals. The scene is carved such that the stone was intended to be oriented the long way (as shown in the second photo). Perhaps the stone was a shrine to an early ruler of Eigg, which was later reused to make an ornate cross.

Sadly, as you can see in the photos, the side with the hunting scene is severely eroded. You can see a better image of it on this RCAHMS page. You can also see it on the Eigg History Society website (they use the hunter depicted on the left side of the stone for their logo). If this stone interests you, a complete description can be found in this article in Medieval Archaeology.

The Carved Stones of Eigg - 2

You will find several interesting carved stones in the ruin of Kildonnan church. One is a beautiful 8th century cross stone; four equal arms with barred ends contained within a recessed circle.

The cross and the Sheela (or is she an angel?)

Behind the cross, and mounted in her own little house on the church wall, is the Kildonnan figure. As her hands are posed across her lap, some think she may be a sheela-na-gig. But others call her an angel, for what appear to be large wings on each side of her head. But the 'wings' could be depictions of either large ears, or a good head of hair. See the 'Kildonan' page on sheilanagig.org for more on this mysterious figure.

The Kildonnan figure - is she a Sheela?

On the side of the church is the 16th century tomb of the piper Raghnall Mac Ailein Oig, which is marked by an elaborately carved Clanranald shield (see photo below). I have seen similar carved shields at Kilmory Church in Arisaig, and the Kildonnan museum in South Uist. The Uist stone has an interesting history. In 1990 it was stolen from its location in Howmore. Then, in 1995, when an apartment in London was being cleaned out after its tenant died, the stone was found. In 1999 it was returned to S. Uist, where it is now safely held at the museum. (See this link for a photo of the Howmore stone.) Next time we'll visit the Kildonnan cross-shrine; the most intriguing carved stone on Eigg.

Clanranald Shield at Kildonnan

The Carved Stones of Eigg - 1

There are some remarkable carved stones on the island of Eigg. Most are thought to have originated in Kildonnan, a monastery founded by St Donnan in the 7th century. The only building on the site today is a church that dates to the 16th century, but remnants of the original monastery have been uncovered under the turf between the shore and the church.

Mounted on a pedestal in a field next to the roofless church is an ornately carved shaft of a cross. The cross, of the Iona type, is thought to date to the late 14th century, and is carved from Loch Sween schist, so perhaps it was carved on the mainland near Kilmory Knap, and then shipped to Eigg. 

The cross shaft at Kildonnan

As you can see in the photo, at some point in the last 500 years the cross must have fallen, as the cross-head has broken off. Unfortunately it's gone missing; either lost or taken by thieves. Today you will find an unrelated cross-head propped up against the cross-pedestal. I read somewhere that it was intended as a replacement head, and is a copy of the top of Prior Colin's Cross on Oronsay.

Eigg cross shaft with the stand-in head on the ground

The crucifixion scene on the face of the stand-in head has been heavily worn by the elements and is barely discernible. However, the beautiful carving on the reverse side is still in good shape.

Reverse side of the Eigg stand-in

The cross slab also graces the cover of the 1927 edition of Kenneth Macleod's The Road to the Isles. (Macleod was born on Eigg.)

There is not much information on the headless shaft. It's not mentioned in Romilly Allen's Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, and the only thing TS Muir has to say of it in his Ecclesiological Notes on the Islands of Scotland is: ...within it (the chapel) is a slab covered with folaige. That description was from 1856, so it was at some point after that that the slab was erected on a pedestal outside the church. The next photo is a side-by-side comparison of the Oronsay cross and the replacement head. They do look similar. See this RCAHMS page for more on Kildonnan, and be sure to see this Eigg History Society page for a information on excavation work that has uncovered some of the old monastery, and includes a drawing of what it may have looked like.

Eigg stand-in (left) and the Oronsay Cross (right)

On Roads to the Isles - 2

Another road to the isles is the route to Crinan. From Inverary you follow the A83 south to Lochgilphead, and then head west on the B841 towards Crinan. Whenever I pass this way I try to take the time to make a diversion south from Bellanoch to see the 6th century Daltote Cross and Kilmory Chapel.

Many people visit Kilmory, but few take the time to see the Daltote Cross. I first learned about it in chapter 3 of T. Ratcliffe Barnett's The Land of Lorne (1933); in which he relates a visit to the cross in the company of one of the sisters that lived in Daltote cottage, which lies on the road 300 feet east of the cross.

To get to the cross you drive south for a mile on the Tayvallich road from Bellanoch (which is next to the Crinan Canal). Here you will reach a left hand turnoff to the minor road to Kilmory Knap. That's the way you want to go, but before heading down this road stop and pay your respects to the beautiful war memorial: a replica of the Kildalton Cross on Islay.

The War memorial

From the memorial follow the road to Kilmory for seven miles until you reach a slight bend in the road (where a private, gated track, heads off to the right). You can leave your car here, as there is just space enough space to park on the west side of the public road. The cross lies a quarter mile down the gated track.

The track beyond the gate leads to the cross

When I first visited the cross there was a sign on the gate that showed a woodland walk down the path. The last time I was there the sign had disappeared - but there is still a sturdy stile that allows you to get past the gate. Once afoot, cross the stile and head south for a quarter mile. At a spot where the track drops and turns hard to the right, keep walking straight for a hundred feet or so into the moss, grass, and bog, and you will see the marker sign for the cross.

Footpath route to the cross

The cross, incised on a large upright slab, is beautiful, but a bit sad; as it's flaking away with the elements. It is carved inside what looks like the mirror symbol you find on some Pictish Symbol Stones, and I wonder if this might be a Christianized symbol stone like the one on Pabbay.

Below the cross is a Holy Well, and here and there you'll find old stones that may mark ancient graves. It is a peaceful spot, and in the three times I've visited over the years I've never run into anyone else. Chances are, though, that you won't be entirely alone, as it can be very midgy. So come prepared for the bugs. See this RCAHMS page for a photo of the cross in better days.  Next time we'll continue on down the road to Kilmory Knap Chapel.

The Daltote Cross

Cill Chatriona - Colonsay

One of the best walks on Colonsay is the trek to the beach of Traigh Ban via Balnahard farm. Traigh Ban lies at the north end of Colonsay, and is a six mile (round trip) walk from Kiloran Bay.

To get there, climb the track that ascends north below Carn an Eoin, the highest point on Colonsay. From the top of the road the summit of Colonsay is easily obtained by making a small detour to the east. A little farther on another detour is well worth the effort; a short side trip down towards the sea to visit St Columba's Well.

St Columba's Well

From the well, return to the track, and then carry on to the north. After a mile you'll pass Balnahard farm, and in another half mile you will come to the end of the track above Traigh Ban. On the hillside here lies the old church and burial ground of Cill Chatriona, (I've also seen it referred to as Cill Cairine and Cill Cabrine.)

Cill Chatriona

All that's left of the church are low walls of rubble, as the site was pillaged for stone in the 1870s. Although there is not much of the church left, there are two interesting stones here. One is a beautiful cross, its black stone polished to a glossy sheen by centuries of cattle using it as a rubbing stone.

Cross/Bovine Scratching post

Another cross once stood here; an elaborately carved stone with four holes in the head (see this RCAHMS page - the cross was given to a museum in Edinburgh in 1881). I'm not sure what the holes represent, and the only other holed-cross I know of is the odd three-holed cross of North Rona. 

Another stone of interest that is still here is Clach a'Pheanais - the penance stone. It is tilted, four feet high, aligned east to west, and one of several penance stones in the Hebrides. See the February 28, 2013 post for a photo of the Penance Stone on Canna, and see this RCAHMS page for more on Cill Chatriona.

Colonsay's Penance Stone

From Cill Chatriona it is a short walk to the beach of Traigh Ban. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the beach, as I ran out of film shortly after visiting Cill Chatriona. That visit was back in the pre-digital days, when I'd pack a bag of 20 rolls of film whenever I visited Scotland, and then try my best to ration them out over a three-week period. Occasionally, on a hike like the one to Balnahard, I'd forget to take an extra roll, and so there are several sites in the islands I've visited, but returned without any photos. 

I don't miss those film-days. Especially the week-long delay after a trip waiting for the film to be developed, only to find out, on far too many occasions, that many of the photos were either under or over exposed. That said, one of the best investments I've made is a film scanner, as many of those film-photos were poorly printed, and when I scanned them, and printed them myself, they turned out much better. An example of that is the next photo of the church on nearby Oronsay. The original print from the developer was dark and disappointing, but the scanned negative turned out much better.

Photo of Oronsay Church from a scanned 35mm negative

Kilnave Church and Cross - Islay

I've always thought that the 5th century cross at Kilnave (Cill Naoimh) is beautiful. Its two worn arms, one pointing skyward, the other pointing down, give it an almost human look.

The cross is not mounted on its original pedestal, but I wonder if part of the original base still exists. For at the doorway of the adjacent chapel lies a stone slab with a circular depression that visitors have left coins in (see third photo below). It could be that this stone was part of the original cross base. I say that because the depression is similar to one on the base of the Kilchomain Cross, which holds a prayer stone that is turned deiseil (sunwise/clockwise) to insure health and well being; or that your child will be male. For a complete description of the Kilnave cross see this link.

There was a monastery at Kilnave, and the monks had a remote hermitage, a cluster of beehive cells, four miles due west on the other side of the peninsula. For photos, and a description of a walk to the hermitage, see the posts for April 17th to April 20th of 2013.

Stone slab with circular depression at the chapel doorway

A Sad Sight - 1

Sometimes, while wandering on the islands, you come across a sad sight (or is it a sad site?). Here is one of them: the empty cross socket atop Tor an Ab, the hillock of St Columba on Iona. One wonders what work of art and faith once stood here, but was destined to stolen by thieves or destroyed by vandals.

Empty cross-socket on Tor an Ab - Isle of Iona

Kilnave Cross - Islay

Another Islay cross full of character is this one at Cill Naoimh (Kilnave), seven miles NW of Cill Chomian. Some sources date it to the 5th Century, others to the 8th. You can read an extensive description of this work of art that has survived the centuries, albeit a bit worn and weary, here.

Kilnave Cross

Four miles west of Kilnave, below the hill of Cnoc Uamh nam Fear, lie the ruins of a monastic settlement possibly associated with Kilnave; where the monks had their Diseart, their place of retreat. It is reached by descending a narrow ravine that slices down through the cliffs to a rocky shelf, 100 feet above the sea. We'll head there tomorrow.