MV Ocean Unity and a Surprise Visit to South Rona - 1995

A while back I posted on the various boats that have taken me on memorable island visits. (Click on the 'boats' link on the list of labels). I just came across some photos of another boat I've been on; one that took me on my first 'community' boat trip: MV Ocean Unity.

MV Ocean Unity - 1995

That trip happened during a visit to Raasay in 1995. My wife and I were the only ones staying at the Isle of Raasay Hotel and, as it turned out, a family reunion was happening on nearby South Rona. The family of Donald and Fiona Macalman, the Rona island managers at the time, had arranged for a boat to take them to Rona. The staff and owners of the hotel also wanted to go, and instead of abandoning their only guests in an empty hotel, they invited my wife and I to come along.

And so a caravan of six cars drove from the Isle of Raasay Hotel up to Arnish. We hiked down to the shore, where we were taken out to MV Ocean Unity, a 9 metre, steel hulled fishing boat, with a heavy-duty crane at its stern. On the way to Rona we stopped to fling fistfuls of fragrant fish feed (say that 10 times in a row) into a fish pen; it was tiring work, work that automatic feeders do these days. Once we reached Rona we were taken ashore in a large metal boat, appropriately named 'Tin Can'.

Below are a few grainy photos from that day in 1995. It was an amazing experience. For the full story, and how it led to a return visit nine years later, see chapter 5 of book 2. As of 2013 Ocean Unity was working mussel farms in the Western Isles.

Afloat off Arnish - my wife standing behind the wheelhouse

'Tin Can' departs from Ocean Unity in Big Harbour- 'Tin Can' was the Rona landing boat

Fiona and Donald Macalman at Rona Lodge

Return to Arnish

Cairnaburg Chapel

During a trip to Staffa, the boat I was on passed through the narrow channel between the islands of Cairn na Burgh Mor and Cairn a Burgh Beg. Standing atop Cairn na Burgh Mor were two ruins; one was a low rectangular structure known as the Barracks, and the other, a much more intriguing structure, a 15th century chapel. As the boat continued on its way back to Ulva Ferry I promised myself that someday I'd find a way to get ashore on the tiny Cairnaburgs.

There were (and still are) no regular boat trips to the Cairnburgs. If you want to get ashore your options are either to sign up for a cruise that visits that part of the Hebrides, or to pay (a lot) for a charter day-trip. I have tried both methods. On a cruise in the area on Halmar Bjorge, the wind and sea were a bit agitated, and we were unable to land. But I did manage to get ashore to see the chapel by arranging a day-trip from Tobermory on one of the Sea-Life RIBs. Here are a few up-close photos of the chapel, and for a complete description of that visit to both of the Cairnaburgs see book 1, chapter 18.

Sea-Life RIB off Cairn a Burgh Beg

Cairn a Burgh Mor chapel

Chapel seen from the interior of the island

East gable and the altar

The Altar

The Mermaids of Raasay

The mermaids of Raasay, which date to the 1840s, were originally intended to sit astride the entrance to Raasay House. But they turned out to be too heavy, so they were left on the battery at Clachan. Their expense, along with alterations to Raasay House, helped bankrupt the last MacLeod of Raasay, who was forced to sell out and emigrate in 1846. Clachan has seen a lot of changes since I took these photos in 1995. It is now where the car ferry from Skye lands, and so these not particularly attractive mermaids now greet everyone who visits Raasay.

Mermaid #1 (Raasay House in the distance)

Mermaid #2

John Wilson Dougal

It was back in 1998 that I made the classic Tolsta to Ness coastal walk on Lewis (see chapter 19 of book 2). Along with Dune Tower and its chapel (described in the previous two posts) I also paid a visit to the Dougal monument. 

Dougal monument seen from the north - it's the white spot atop the small hill (below the soaring skua)

The monument, a 10-foot tall obelisk, stands atop a knoll overlooking the sea. Its white paint is worn, and it has a metal plaque embedded on one side. The plaque has an engraving of a rock-hammer, along with the words 'John Wilson Dougal' and the date '1905'. It was in 1905 that John Wilson Dougal noted the flinty-crush bands of the Outer Hebrides.

The Dougal monument (1998)

Plaque on the monument

Dougal was the founder of a chemical company in Edinburgh and an amateur geologist. For many years he explored the geology of the Outer Hebrides, and had been the first to describe their flinty-crush rock formations.

Dougal, who died in 1935, thought it was a band of this tough material stretching the length of the Western Isles that helped them survive glacial erosion. He wrote up many of his adventures in the Hebrides, and after his death they were published in Island Memories, a jewel of a book for anyone interested in the islands. His walks around the Lewis coast while staying at Dune Tower, and in the Uig hills on the west side, inspired me to explore these remote places for myself. In book 2 (chapter 19) you will find a photo of Dougal with a rock-hammer, like the one on the plaque, hanging from his belt. It is a wonderful photo, and was sent to me by his granddaughter who lives in Australia.

Dougal monument seen from the sea (2013)

Bilascleitear Mission Hall - "Dune Chapel"

Standing atop the cliffs, five-hundred feet southeast of Dune Tower, is the ruin of a small mission hall. It was built for John Nicolson at the same time as Dune Tower (1920s), and when I saw it in 1998 the hall was in better shape than the house. Perhaps the hall was better constructed, or perhaps its site, below a small rise that separates it from the house, is not subject to as intense winds in the winter.

I've only seen one photo of the interior of mission hall taken when it was in use. It was a sadly worn black and white snapshot, that I'd guess was taken in the 1960s. It was shown to me by a woman who attended my book launch in Stornoway in June of 2012. I was so overwhelmed by what was going on that evening that I did not think to ask her name, or if I could make a copy of the photo. If anyone out there has a photo of the mission hall from back when it was used I would love to see it.

See this RCAHMS page for more information and photos of the Bilascleitear mission hall.

The mission hall from the north

West gable

East gable, door and fireplace

Looking east over the Minch

Dune Tower

It has been far too long, over 16 years, since I've visited Dune Tower. In its day it was the most spectacularly located house in the Hebrides: standing high atop the edge of a cliff overlooking the Minch. It was built by Iain MacNeachail (John Nicolson), a Baptist minister who grew up on Lewis, went to America, and then returned to build this house, and a nearby mission hall, way out on a remote stretch of moorland between Toltsa and Ness.

Dune Tower - 1998

The "Dune" name came from the fact that a broch known as Dun Bilascleitear once stood here, and some of its stones were used in making the house. See this RCAHMS page for more information on Dun Bilascleitear and the house.  For a more evocative description read Alasdair Alpin Macgregor's The Haunted Isles. It has a chapter about Dune Tower entitled: The Loneliest Place, and it was Macgregor's description of its history that enticed me to hike out to see the house. It was in sad shape when I saw it in 1998, so it must be in even worse shape today.

Inside Dune Tower

In the foreground of the next photo you can see two rocks that look to be tombstones - said to mark the grave of a man who died while hunting birds on the nearby cliffs.

Tombstones at Dune Tower

When I visited this beautiful spot back in 1998 I promised myself that someday I'd return to spend the night. I hope to make good on that promise in May.

Dune Tower from the south

Dune Tower from the north

The Beehives of Clan 'ic Phail

There are three beehive cell ruins on Eilean Mor of the Flannan isles. The largest, and most intact, is Teampull Beannachadh, the house of blessing. It lies near the lighthouse on the east side of the island, and has been altered into the form of a rectangular chapel.

Teampull Beannachadh

The other two beehives lie on the west side of Eilean Mor. They are often referred to at Bothan Clan 'ic Phail (the bothies of the Clan of the son of Paul). Donald MacDonald, in his book Tales and Traditions of the Lews, dedicates a short chapter to the MacPhails of Lewis. To quote MacDonald: 

The MacPhails made their power felt throughout the ages, and we find that they were used as wardens by the Macleods of Lewis and placed along the west coast...to prevent the Macaulays of Uig from passing north to raid the Morrison territory.

Below are some photos of the MacPhail beehives that I took during a visit in 2003. The two cells were probably shelter for those who came to the island to harvest birds. See page 132 of Bill Lawson's Lewis (the West Coast) in History and Legend for some descriptions of the abundant wildlife once found on the Flannans. See this link for some information on the various branches of the MacPhails.

The MacPhail bothies (the two bumps on the slope) 

The larger of the two cells

The smaller cell - ready to collapse

The smaller cell - not much of a shelter these days