The Adventures of Hjalmar Bjorge - Season 3, Episode 1

The Continuing Adventures of Hjalmar Bjorge

Exploring the Isles of the West Cruise    June 2-11, 2018

After a year (and three days) absence, it was good to be back aboard Hjalmar Bjorge on my third annual guide trip. This one would be a bit different from the previous two, as we would be heading south from Oban, instead of north. On board were ten guests looking forward to seeing some of the islands of the Southern Hebrides.

Nigel & Clare, Liz, Hazel, Wolfgang, Dave & Jane, Mike, Debbie, and Michael

The crew this trip was skipper Mark, his wife Anna, and chef Karen. This would be my 12th cruise with Mark on Hjalmar Bjorge; a voyage on this fine ship has become something I look forward to every year.

Hjalmar Bjorge (on a sunny day)

The weather the week prior to our cruise had been fantastic, and the forecast was for more of the same. But as we cast off on Saturday (June 2) the sky was a bit overcast. A two-hour transit took us over to a foggy Loch Buie on the south coast of Mull, where we could see the dark tower of Moy Castle standing at the foot of a misty Ben Buie. We did know it at the time, but we'd end the cruise in nine days with a long walk from Moy Castle.

With everyone now well acquainted we enjoyed a delicious Salmon dinner prepared by Karen, and then settled in for the first night.

Moy Castle - Loch Buie

Sunday morning saw us motoring out of Loch Buie through a heavy sea-fog to set a course to Eileach an Naoimh, one of the Isles of the Sea, also known as Aileach. The fog was still lingering as we went ashore at the traditional landing spot, one used since the monastery was active in the sixth century.

From the head of the narrow inlet where we landed (Geodha Bhride - St Bridget's Cove), we walked past the stone-lined St Columba's Well before making our way up to the massive double beehive cell, the largest of these fascinating structures in Scotland.

Columba's Well

The beehive (on a sunnier day)

A stroll through the monastic ruins was followed by a climb to a burial cairn overlooking the site – the traditional grave of Eithne, St Columba’s mother.

The whole group: Michael, Jane, Clare, Hazel, Liz, Mike, Nigel, Dave, Wolfgang, and Debbie 

Aileach is one of my favorite islands; a beautiful set of ruins on an island rarely visited by tourists. When I first visited in the late 90s it was covered with sheep. But the tall grass (and lack of poo), was a sign they no longer use the island for grazing.

A few of us crawled into the underground prison. It is a tiny beautiful stone-lined cell below ground level. I doubt if it was a prison; the name probably invented in the 19th century by early visitors. It was more than likely a place of refuge, or where food could have been kept cool. 

The "Prison"

While we were ashore the sea-fog had lifted slightly - but it was still a bit gloomy when we got back aboard Hjalmar Bjorge.

Leaving Aileach astern we set a course to our next destination; an island that has been devoured by man over the past three centuries: Belnahua of the Slate Isles.

Dun Chonnuill of the Garvellachs

There is not much left of The Great Castle of Dun Dunquhonle. It sat atop Dun Chonnuill, the smallest of the Garvelachs, and it's easy to see why this tiny island was chosen for a fort. Its cliffs rise 200 feet above the sea, and the few access points to the top were easily blocked by small defensive stone walls. 

Dun Chonnuill

The landing place is a natural galley slip in the rocky shoreline. From there a short hike around the head of an inlet leads to the base of a steep, and once heavily defended, path to the top.

Landing place seen from the sea

Landing place seen from above

The path zig-zags up the narrow grassy slope. There are five segments to it; the final one passing through a narrow defile to reach the summit. 

Zig-zag path to the summit

Atop the island you'll find a large grassy plateau, about four acres in size where, to quote John of Fordun writing in the fourteenth century, the "great castle of Dunquhonle" once lay. The only signs of this once great castle are several earthen mounds and low stone walls covered with green turf and nettles. 

Summit of Dun Chonnuill

This small piece of ground has seen a lot of history. A Lord of the Isles had been imprisoned here seven centuries ago, and thirteen-hundred years before that it had been the stomping-ground for the warriors of Fingalian legend, led by Conall Cearnach, cousin to Cuchulainn. It was Conall who avenged Cuchulainn’s death by killing ten and seven scores of hundreds of the men of Ireland. If my math is right, that's about 34,000 men.

Grass-grown foundation of a building

Dun Chonnuill is an amazing little island, one with more history per square foot than most others. And the view from this rock in the sea is expansive. To the south lie Scarba and the Slate Islands; to the southwest is Garbh Eileach, the largest of the Gravellachs; Mull spans the view to the north; Colonsay floats off to the west; and to the northeast the sea narrows in to the Firth of Lorne between Mull and the mainland. 

A tale of Dun Chonnuill, one that tells how the Macleans came to rule the isle of Mull, is recounted in Fitzroy Maclean’s West Highland Tales. Maclean describes how, in the fourteenth century, two Maclean brothers, Lachlan (the brains) and Hector (the brawn), abducted John MacDonald, the Lord of the Isles. They brought him to Dun Chonnuill to coerce him into making Lachlan the admiral of his forces. Another concession he was forced him to make was granting Mull, Scarba, the Cairnaburgs, and the Garvellachs to the Macleans. They released him only after he swore to all this while seated on the Black Stone of Iona, a vow that could not be broken.

See this CANMORE page for more on the once Great Castle of Dun Chonnuill.

Dun Chonnuill seen from Garbh Eileach

Garbh Eileach seen from Dun Chonnuill

Garbh Eileach of the Isles of the Sea

During my cruise last month on Elizabeth G we visited the three main Garvellach Isles: Eileach a' Naoimh, Dun Chonnuill, and Garbh Eileach. It was only my second time to set foot on Garbh Eileach, the rough rocky island that gives the island group its name. From the landing jetty it is a short walk to Garbh Eileach House, the only habitable house on the island. No one was home, and it was locked up tight.

Garbh Eileach House

My first visit to Garbh Eileach was in 2002, when I chartered the catamaran Gemini for a day to take me to Dun Chonnuill and Garbh Eileach (see book 1, chapter 9). That trip was in late July, and the bracken was head-high, obscuring much of the ground. One thing I'd wanted to find on Garbh Eileach back then was an old cemetery called Cladh Dhubhan, but with all the thick vegetation I could not find it.

Cladh Dhubhan may have been the place of interment for some of the early ruling families of Dalriada. Around 660 AD, one of the kings was the son of Dunchad mac Duban (Duncan, son of Duban). So perhaps Cladh Dhubhan was named after the father of the king. Another possibility is that one of the Gaelic words for 'brave' is dhubhlan, so perhaps Cladh Dhubhan means burial ground of the brave. On my visit last May the bracken was only starting to sprout, and so it was easy to find the old burial ground; a rectangular enclosure behind the house.

Cladh Dhubhan

There is sparse information on Cladh Dhubhan. The most informative is this short mention in Patrick Gillies' Netherlorn, Argyllshire, and its Neighbourhood:

'On the island of Garbheileach there is a very old graveyard known as Claodh Dhubhan (the burying-place of Duban). More than one prince and certainly one king of Alban was called Dubh; and Dubhan seems to have been a common name; while in 927, Dubthach, son of Duban, fourteenth in descent from Conal Gulban the great-grand-father of Columba, became Superior or Co-arb in Iona.'

That is about all I can find on the mysterious burial ground of Dhubhan, although there is a CANMORE page on it, it is short and uninformative. Finding Cladh Dhubhan was one of many "I'll have to return to an island someday" promises I've made to myself over the years. It took 14 years to keep this particular promise, and it was good to return to this rarely visited Isle of the Sea.

Cladh Dhubhan

A Visit to Eileach an Naoimh

My first visit to Eileach an Naoimh of the Garvellach Isles was in 1997 (see book 1, chapter 8). The boatman who took me was Lachie MacLachlan, who lived in Cullipool on the island of Luing. The MacLachlans of Cullipool had been taking visitors to the Garvellachs for years and, as recounted in chapter 6 of her Wanderings in the Western Highlands and Islands (1921), it was an earlier Lachie MacLachlan of Cullipool who took MEM Donaldson to the Garvellachs.

I had made arrangements with Lachie (who has since passed way) to go to the island on a Sunday. I was surprised he agreed to this, as Luing is a fairly sabbatarian place. My wife and I were staying on the nearby isle of Seil, and on the Sunday morning she dropped me off at the ferry pier in Cuan. Since it was a Sunday, the car ferry to Luing was not running. But the little passenger ferry MV Oronsay was operating, and it took just a few minutes to cross the 900 foot wide Cuan Sound.

MV Oronsay - the foot-ferry to Luing in 1997

From the pier on Luing I was expecting to have to make a two mile walk to Cullipool. But I had no sooner started walking when I was offered a lift. The man who gave me the ride was Joe Hughes. He had just seen me walk by his house next to the pier, and wanted to be friendly and talk. As he drove me over to Cullipool he offered up several suggestions on things to see on Luing.

Joe Hughs and wife - Luing

Joe had no sooner dropped me in Cullipool when I saw Lachie climbing out of his boat, which was tied up to a rusty old fishing boat.

Lachie MacLachlan getting out of his boat in Cullipool

We were soon on our way to Aileach at full speed. But he did take time to slow down and give me a good look at Belnahua with its abandoned slate works, tiny Fladda with it lighthouse, and the once fortified island of Dun Connel. We then motored down the east side of Aileach, passing as we did a natural arch known as An Clarsach (the harp).

An Clarsach - the harp

Lachie then dropped me on slabs of rock east of the monastic site on Aileach. The island is best known for these ruins, which include two giant beehive cells that date to the sixth century.

The Beehives

Standing in front of the beehives is a 12-foot stone pillar with a natural overhang. It is called St Columba's Pulpit, and someone could preach here under rainy skies and stay dry.

Beehive cells and Columba's Pulpit

Columba's Pulpit

From the beehives it is a short walk to the site of the monastery. The most intact structure is a beautiful chapel (11th century), which you can see to the left in the next photo. The large structure to the right is a hodge-podge of altered buildings that were used as a residence when the island was last occupied in the 19th century.

Another relic of ancient times, one that many visitors miss seeing, is St Columba's Well; a little stone lined pool that lies above a narrow landing place known as Am Port, which had been the main gateway to the monastery.

Columba's Well

In my opinion the most evocative spot on the island is Cladh Eithne. It is a small circular burial ground with one of the few remaining cross-stones on the island. The cross is said to mark the grave of Eithne, St Columba's mother.

Cladh Eithne

Another interesting site is an underground chamber often referred to as 'the prison'; where it is said the prisoner was trapped by placing their arm under a wedge of rock. I did not see any such rock, but the cell had a beautiful little niche with a ledge that could be used as an altar. The cell may have been a solitary retreat for the monks; a cell of the penitential type, as opposed to the penitentiary type. During my visit in 1997 a prayer group was inside, and after they left I crawled in to find several lit candles sitting on the ledge.

Entrance to the cell

In the cell

To give them some privacy, while the prayer group was in the underground cell I wandered down to the south end of the island and climbed up to what may have been the shortest lighthouse in the world (established 1904). However the classic little lighthouse I saw then (1997) has since been replaced by a boring aluminum-clad tower, which you can see here.

Mini lighthouse at the south end (1997)

The world's shortest lighthouse?

From the light I climbed the spine of the island to Dun Bhreanain, the highest point on the island. From here you can see the other, and less visited, Garvellach islands of A' Cuili and Garbh Eileach. Those islands were so close, but so far, as it would take me five years to set foot on Garbh Eileach, and another two years to get to A' Cuili. Beautiful little islands all, but they don't have the history of Eileach an Naoimh.

Looking north from the top of the island

A' Chuli and Garbh Eileach

When the time came to go I heard Lachie speeding towards the landing spot. I jumped aboard, he throttled up, and we started motoring back to Luing at full speed. That didn't sit too well with the folks scuba-diving from a nearby sailboat, who bade us farewell with middle-finger salutes. Aside from that it had been an amazing day afoot. It was the first time I'd chartered a boat for a solo trip to an island - something I'd soon become addicted to - and it was not over yet. I still had time for a little Luing wandering (see postscript to chapter 8 of book 1). 

Eileach an Naoimh is an amazing place. One of the most accessible sites of its kind. After my visit in 1997 I returned two more times; reaching the islands from Crinan in 2002 and 2004 with Mike Murray, who owned the catamaran Gemini at the time. There are no trips from Cullipool these days (that I know of), but you can get a day trip with Seafari, operating out of Easdale. For more info on Aileach see this CANMORE page.

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Gemini - 3

Another island journey I took on Gemini was to Dun Chonnuill and Garbh Eileach of the Garvellachs. Dun Chonnuill is a great lump of rock, and atop it once stood 'the great castle of Dunquhonle'. Garbh Eileach, the largest of the Garvellachs, is home to Cladh Dhubhan, a burial ground said to have used by the royal house of Dalriada. But the bracken was so thick that I could not find the burial ground. See book 1, chapter 9, for a description of the visit to Dun Connel and Garbh Eileach.

Dun Chonnuill

Gemini off the south end of Dun Chonnuill

Looking down to Garbh Eileach House

Garbh Eileach - a bracken jungle only passable by following deer trails

Ruined croft house - Garbh Eileach

Stone enclosure next to Garbh Eileach House

Garbh Eileach House - House sign above the front door

Close up of worn house sign

A' Chuli - Cuil-ri-Brennan - An Unwritten isle

This photo was taken from the north tip of Eileach a Naoimh of the Garvellach Isles. In the foreground, just beyond the three skerries, cloud shadow can be seen darkening the island of A' Chuli; also known as Cuil-ri-Brennan - St Brendan's retreat. Just beyond it rises the larger island of Garbh Eilean. 

Eileach a Naoimh, with its monastic ruins, sees lots of visitors. But few set foot on A' Chuli or Garbh Eilean. I described a visit to Garbh Eilean in Book 1, chapter 9, and although I have visited A' Chuli, I never wrote about it.

I wanted to go there because, in a book that I've forgotten the title of, I'd read there was once a chapel on the island, and that St Brendan used it for a retreat. And so I set foot on the island to see for myself if there were any ruins. It didn't take long to scour every inch of the small rocky islet, and no ruins were seen. That said, the thick grass, heather, and bracken hid much of the surface, so I could have missed something.