The stones and bell of St Finans Isle

We wouldn't dream of making a journey on Loch Shiel and not visiting st Finan's Isle.  The island is named for Finan, a saint of the early Celtic church who was also known as "Finan the Leper" from the disease which afflicted him.  Details of his life aren't completely clear but he is believed to have followed Columba from Ireland and became Abbot of the monastery he established on this small island.  He lived from around 520-600AD and is thought to have died at Clonmore in his native Ireland.

The location of the monastery may seem withdrawn and remote to the modern mind, but in Finan's time waterways were the main method of travel and this island was on a main travel route.  Finan is believed to have carried Christianity into much of Argyllshire and further afield, apart from the nearby Glenfinnan and Kilfinnan his name crops up in places such as St Finzean's Fair in Perth and Finzean in distant Aberdeenshire.  The names of these early pioneers from the Celtic church reach out across what were the Pictish kingdoms as he church made a determined effort to convert the Picts.

The island has been in use as a holy place down 1200 years, firstly as a monastery and then as a graveyard - use which continues to the present day.

One of the most prominent monuments on the island is a celtic cross commemorating the Rev Charles McDonald, priest of the diocese of Argyll and the Isles.  The stonework is really fine (some closer views of this side of the stone are here)......

......and the reverse side of the column is hardly plain.

The oldest of the grave markers are grouped together near to the summit of the domed island, simple slabs of stone, some of which my have borne inscriptions.

Occupying the only flat ground near the top is the ruined stone buildings which succeeded the timber and thatch of the earlier monastery buildings.  It's a simple enough complex of two stone buildings, one of which was a chapel, but there are remarkable artefacts here.

In an alcove at the end of the chapel is a very old cross with a crucifixion image on it.  Worn and weathered, it exudes age.  A wooden boat shaped vessel at the foot of the cross often has coins left on it - today there was the stump of a votive candle.  This cross alone would be an important artefact...but it's what is on the alter stone next to it which makes this such a special site.

This hand bell is cast in seamless bronze and was produced in the 10th century.  For 1100 years it has been here, surviving Viking raids, countless wars and local feuds and the upheavals within both church and state in the intervening period.

Almost anywhere else this might have been removed by theft or taken away to a museum many miles away....but it's still here, secured by a chain to the altar it has been associated with for all the centuries......just remarkable and quite uplifting.  Of course, there's a curse associated with it; whoever would remove it would have a very short and painful existence awaiting them!  Astonishingly, this 1100 year old bell rings as clear and true as the day it was cast and finished....as we can confirm having rung it on a previous visit.....how many modern products will still be fully functional in a century's time?!

As with each visit we make to this special place, we left the chapel with a sense of calm and thoughtfulness. 

Descending around the summit area, one of the older grave slabs bears a vivid representation of mortality - our forebears were somewhat more pragmatic about such things it seems.

Heading back to our boats the path goes through a group of stones which look really old but are believed to date from the 18th century....quite late in the history of this place.  They certainly are a good fit here though.

A little way above the jetty is (to my knowledge) the only war grave on St Finan's Isle.  The stone commemorates Deckhand Dugald Grant, son of Peter Grant of Dalilea, Glenfinnan, who died whilst serving in HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy's torpedo and mine warfare school in Portsmouth.  The record on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website is, as so often, both poignant and fascinating. 

We returned to our boats, each of us with our own thoughts and memories of Eilean Fhianain, for all of us it remains a compelling place to visit.  For now though, our thoughts turned from the past to the future - it was time to get back onto the water.

The penny drops on Isle Maree

Following a stop for second breakfast I headed back among the islands of Loch Maree.  The improving weather had extended to the length of the loch and the flanks of Slioch (the spear) were now lit with morning sun.

My next planned stop would be on Isle Maree, perhaps the best known of the loch's islands, but by no means the largest.  The closest island to the north eastern shore, Isle Maree differs from all the other islands in being wooded mainly with deciduous, rather than pine trees including some very old stands of oak and holly.

Isle Maree has a long history of usage as a ritual site; it seems to have been used for the pre-Christian tradition of sacrificing a bull - which reportedly continued into the 17th century; the crags on the northern shore are named Creag an Tarbh (crag of the bull) which recalls this tradition.  In the 8th century a chapel and hermitage was established by St Maelrubha, centred around a well. 

A very ancient wall encloses a graveyard on the highest part of the island.  Some of the gravestones are very old and there are two grave slabs incised with crosses which date from the 8th century.  It's a peaceful, atmospheric place in which to spend a little time.

One more modern memorials is a broken cross stone with very fine carving which sits in a prominent spot - but seems a little out of place among the more modest graves.  Nearby, and not so easy to find is a relic of the pre-Christian tradition here.

An oak tree has been used for centuries as a "wishing tree" - where people travelled to the island specifically to hammer in a coin as an offering, in the hope of curing illness or fulfilling a wish.  The oak tree died hundreds of years ago due to copper poisoning from all the pennies driven in, but the tradition persists.

I found the tree difficult to find, because a nearby Horse Chestnut tree has come down in the gales which raged across Scotland in early October and landed on top of the wishing tree - I reported this to Scottish Natural Heritage who were hoping to get out and assess what could be done.  If trying to locate the tree, look to the south west of the graveyard.

I'm fortunate to enjoy good health, but two of my good friends are experiencing significant health issues, so on their behalf I tapped in two copper coins, with a wish for full recovery for them both.  Traditionally the island was associated with curing insanity - but I didn't have a third coin for myself!

The tradition warns against taking anything, even a pebble, from the island in case the insanity or illnesses are brought away as well, so I didn't keep to my own habit of taking a small pebble from the landing place.

Isle Maree is one of those very special places where the long spiritual traditions seems to add to an atmosphere of peace and tranquility - I left the island feeling noticably calmer.

Back on the water, the weather was developing; on the north eastern shore all was colour and bright sunshine.....

...while to the south west impressive shower clouds were building over the hills of the Flowerdale Forest.  It was turning into a wonderful day to be out on the water.

Flags and stones at Kildonnan

We carried our boats well up the beach above the rising tide to give us time to explore Kildonnan.  Behind the beach an area of usually boggy ground was quite dry after a few weeks without rain.  The sword shaped leaves and bright yellow intricate flowers of Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) were well in evidence.  A typical plant of wet ground, the plant has many common names and a few medicinal uses.  Our friend Douglas points out that the Irises on the west coast flower just as the first midges of the summer appear - and he's right - in which case it should perhaps also be known as The Warning Flag"!

As we climbed the slope above the beach the unmistakable outline of the Sgurr of Eigg came into view, surely one of the most easily recognised of Scottish hills.  Mike and I had agreed that it would be great if we could incorporate climbing the hill into our trip.

But that was for another day; ahead of us was the first point of interest for which we'd landed at Kildonnan.......

This finely carved cross stands in a prominent position near the graveyard of Kildonnan.  The "Kil" prefix common in Scottish and Irish place names is an anglicisation of "Cille" meaning a religious cell or chapel. The carving up the cross shaft is foliage representing the tree of life and is still very clear and well preserved.  The head of the cross is missing; the replica at the base is cast in concrete and was copied in part from the Oronsay cross.  The Kildonnan cross is believed to date from the 14th or 15th century and is typical of those produced in Iona around this time.

We wandered from the cross through the graveyard, reading some of the stones as we went, towards the ruined church of Kildonnan.  Donnan was an Irish monk who brought Christianity to Eigg in the 6th century.  He and all his monks were killed in 617 but a new monastic community was founded and flourished until at least the 9th century.  There's no visible remains of the original buildings which would have been of timber and earth with thatched roofs.  The current ruins have elements from the late Middle Ages to the 16th century.

Some of the grave slabs preserved within the church walls date from the 8th century, a very early date.  Interestingly, it seems that Vikings re-used some older burial mounds to inter their own dead from around the 9th century, despite being firmly pagan at that time.

The interior of the church is typically medieval in plan, but with later additions.  After the Reformation the church fell into disuse and the church became a graveyard.  A tradition emerged of Catholic burials in (initially) nine rows inside the walls and then immediately outside the church, with Protestant burials in a graveyard to the south of the church near the cross - it's a tradition which has persisted into modern times.

We left Kildonnan and walked back past the cross, facing out across the sea to the Arisaig shore as it has done for over 800 years.  Though not religious, I find places associated with faith, belief or superstition fascinating.  Exploring the places of interest along a route is, for me, one of the best parts of a sea kayak journey and really adds to the whole experience of a trip.

Kildonnan is a place of real interest and historical significance, well worth a visit and easily accessible on foot form Eigg's main settlement at Galmisdale.  THere's a really good information page here.  If you visit Eigg, try to include it in your exploration.  If you get a stunning day of sunshine with a soundtrack of Skylark song and a profusion of wildflowers underfoot, then so much the better.

The stones of South Harris

Baigh Steinigaidh faces out to the Atlantic at the south end of the Sound of Taransay.  Heading on a straight line westward you would arrive at St Kilda some 70 kilometres distant.  Beyond that, only the wild Atlantic all the way to the east coast of Canada.  Small wonder that this beach gets some big surf, and on the day we visited, a fresh onshore breeze was bringing crashing rollers up the beach.  The settlement of Borve (Buirgh) just above the shore is the site of a ruined broch, and a truly astonishing holiday property based on a broch design.

In a field overlooking the bay is a prominent standing stone, some 2 metres tall.  It's the only remaining stone of a complex consisting of a stone circle, burial mound and circular ditch and has stood here for more than 5000 years.  Intriguingly, this is one of three stones overlooking the Sound of Taransay.  The second is on the headland which can be seen beyond the bay in this image, known as Clach Mhic Leoid (the McLeod Stone) and the third is on the east side of the island of Taransay.  The presence of three prominent megaliths in such close proximity shows that this area was settled and well populated 5000 years ago.

In Borve cemetery, among the stones is this one erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  It commemorates Deck Hand Kenneth Maclean of the Royal Naval Reserve who served on HMS Venerable and who died on 1st January 1919.

The bare facts on the stone only hint at the full story.  1st January 1919 was a full six weeks after the Armistice which ended the First World War, and is one of the blackest days in the history of the Outer Hebrides. On 31st December 1918, HM Yacht Iolaire left Kyle of Lochalsh bound for Stornoway, packed with servicemen who had survived the horrors of the war and were either being demobilised or returning home to the islands for leave.  Just after midnight on 1st January 1919, approaching Stornoway in foul weather and pitch blackness the ship hit rocks known as the Beasts of Holm just off the harbour.

The ship foundered and sank quickly and in the dark and cold, 205 men died less than 200 metres from the shore.  It was a disaster which touched just about every community in Lewis and Harris - and the graves of the dead lie in cemeteries close to their homes across the islands.

We were thoughtful as we left the cemetery and headed to Traigh Niosabost, our favourite beach in Harris and a place Kenneth Maclean would have known well.

On our way back towards Tarbert, we passed what's arguably the finest view in Harris - and there are many fine ones to choose from!  Between Horgabost and Seilebost the road climbs steeply to pass over a rocky headland.  The view looking over Seilebost to Luskentyre where we'd been that morning is simply stunning.

The day had one final flourish; having been out for dinner we drove back towards our accommodation and were treated to a slow-burn sunset across the hills and the Atlantic - a super end to a super day.

Oronsay Priory - a place of peace

 We rounded the south tip of Oronsay and entered the long, narrow bay of Port na Luinge which has a beautiful sandy beach at its head.  The name translates as "Port of the ships", and it is wonderfully sheltered with a gentle slope on which craft could be beached.

As our own keels touched the beach, a figure with two dogs appeared on the machair and walked down onto the beach - it was the warden/farmer who must have seen us paddling into the bay and probably wanted to check out what we were doing.  Oronsay is owned by Mrs Colburn, an American lady, who has a management agreement with the RSPB.  Visitors to the reserve aren't discouraged by the RSPB, but then again neither are they encouraged - their focus is on managing the island for birds.  Access is of course allowed under the Land Reform Act, and the warden was probably wishing to ensure we didn't intend camping.  We chatted for a while about the island and the Corncrakes for which the island's agriculture is managed (there are five calling males this season, though unfortunately we didn't hear them during our visit).  In order to assist these birds the grass is cut late at the old, traditional time - and unusually the farmer counts nettles as one of his main "crops" because the Corncrakes like to hide in the dense patches.

 Port na Luinge really is a most beautiful spot.  We followed the path up above the beach...........

 ....past the wonderfully situated and very handsome Oronsay House........

...to the place we'd landed to explore - Oronsay Priory. There are several traditions attributed to the original Celtic monastery which occupied this site - that Columba established a church here in the sixth century, or that St Oran founded a priory on the site in 563, giving the island its name.  Actually the name probably comes from the Norse term for a tidal island and there are a few islands so named along the western seaboard.  Given that there are numerous sites from the Neolithic period on Oronsay and Colonsay, it may be that the first Christian site itself overlaid or subsumed a place of significance or worship.

It seems probable at least that some form of religious site predated the building of what can be seen today - an Augustinian priory endowed (possibly) by John, Lord of the Isles, in the 14th century.

 The ground plan is slightly unusual in that the monastic and domestic buildings lay to the north of the simple rectangular church.

 On the eastern side of the site is a cloister yard with two types of arcading - this angular type and the older, rounded type seen at the left of this image.  This probably indicates restoration of the site at some point.

 Three crosses are associated with Oronsay Priory, the most striking of them is this one at the SW end of the church.  A tall "Celtic" cross bearing a cruxifiction scene and ornate interlacing pattern, it bears an inscription which identifies it as the cross of Prior Colin who died in 1510.

A simple stone cross is said to have stood on the Strand, the area of sand and mud between Oronsay and Colonsay.  This was a "sanctuary cross", which denoted the bounds of the Priory and offered protection from the law to fugitives who could reach it.

Colonsay and Oronsay were MacNeill lands - the clan were Norse-Gaels, the name being related to the Scandinavian Neilsen or Nilsson.  A family mausoleum and many MacNeill graves testify to the family's long association with the island and the priory.

 Two war graves, one from each of the two World Wars are located in the churchyard, erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The first is of Engine Room Artificer A. Fisher of the Royal Naval Reserve who was lost in the sinking of HMS Viknor, a 5386 ton former Blue Star steamship requisitioned by the Admiralty as an Armed Merchant Cruiser.

HMS Viknor was lost in heavy weather off Tory Island on 13th January 1915, and was believed to have struck a mine.  All 291 of her crew plus seven other men were lost, with some bodies later being washed up on the Irish and Scottish coasts; the body of ERA Fisher was found on Oronsay and buried at the churchyard. 

                                                                               Image downloaded from CWGC website

 It's testament to the work of the CWGC that the grave registration document still exists......

 No personal records exist for the other war grave, that of an unidentified Merchant Navy sailor who was washed up on 10th July 1946 - some time after the end of hostilities in European waters.  Each grave administered by the War Graves Commission bears, wherever possible, either a regimental or organisational emblem - in this case that of the Merchant Navy.  At the base of the grave stone there's the simple inscription "Known unto God".

We missed out on visiting the many mediaeval grave-slabs displayed within a roofed building at the priory - reason enough to visit this special place again in the future.

 The last of the three crosses associated with Oronsay is the oldest.  A broken cross base and head are clamped together on a stone plinth - though the two parts may not necessarily be from the same cross.  Simple interlacing on the shaft surmounted by a smiling figure, the cross is marvellously situated......

....looking out over the machair of Oronsay to the distinctive Paps across the Sound of Jura.

There's a sense of peace and great continuity here, similar to other sites with long religious tradition.  Whether you're a Christian, religious or not, this is a special and precious place - I think we all felt calmed and a little humbled by our visit.

Stones, bones and clear tones on the island of Finan the Leper

We were up and about early at our camp on the shore of Loch Shiel, the cool air of post dawn a reminder that the season was turning.  It was cool rather than cold though and there was no sense of needing to get moving to warm up.

 The morning sun was beginning to rise above the hills on the east shore of the loch as we finished packing, though our beach remained in deep shade. 

 By the time we were about ready the morning clouds were beginning to burn off....

 ....and it looked set to be a fine autumn day. 

 After a short distance we came to the narrow twist which marks the end of Loch Shiel proper, and a distinct change in scenery.  We'd been journeying through rugged and wild mountain scenery, ahead lay lower ground with wider views towards the sea.  The narrow bend as the loch finds its way from the mountains is almost blocked by a small island - the terminal moraine of the glacier which ground out Loch Shiel.

Eilean Fhianain (Finan's Island) may be small and unspectacular from a distance, but it has a wealth of interest and history and there was no way we were going to pass by without exploring a little of it.  Finan was an early Celtic saint who is believed to have lived from around 520 to 600AD.  Details of his life are uncertain but he seems to have followed Columba from Ireland and became Abbot of a small monastery on the island now named after him.  He is believed to have evangelised much of Argyllshire, but considering that his name crops up all over Scotland - as well as the obvious Glenfinnan and Kilfinnan, there is a St Finzean's Fair in Perth and a Finzean as far away as Aberdeenshire, he must have travelled extensively

Known as "Finan the Leper" from the disease which afflicted him, he seems to have favoured small islands on lochs; he is also recorded as the founder of at Inisfallen on Lough Leane in Ireland's County Kerry.  Finan died, it is thought, at Clonmore in his native Ireland.

 We'd visited Eilean Fhianain on our winter trip in 2014 and found it to be a gem of a place.  That visit had been made in brilliant sunshine, this one in quite different lighting, but the place still had an air of peace.  We passed the gravestones which appear very old but in fact are probably 18th century......

 ....and stopped to admire the cross commemorating Rev Charles McDonald, priest of the diocese of Argyll and the Isles.  I hadn't noticed on our previous visit, but many of the trees on the island are Rowans, the tree of protection. 

 The sides of the column bear fine sculptures in the distinctive Celtic style, and there's a clear difference between the weathering on the western side of the cross which faces the prevailing weather.....

 ....and those on the more sheltered eastern face, these tail-chasing beasts and intertwined snakes are still in sharp relief. 

Note: Our friend Leif  has pointed out that the bodies of the snakes seem to form the letters "V" and "M" - it would be fascinating to know whether this was deliberate or a coincidence of pattern; and if deliberate what the letters represent.

 The ruined chapel near to the highest point of the island has an intact altar slab, behind which a very old stone cross occupies the niche, and a wooden boat-shaped object upon which small offerings of coins had been left.  A rummage in our pockets produced some coins to add to the amount.

But it is the bell which captures the imagination -  seamlessly cast in bronze, it has lain here for almost eleven centuries.  It takes a moment for that to sink in....produced in the 10th century, it has survived all the long tumult of history intact.  Nowadays secured by a small chain, one can clearly see the marks on the altar slab where the bell has rested.

Not only is the bell still intact, it remains fully functional -  Douglas' video of it being rung catches the clear tone.

 If St Finan's bell is the jewel of the island, nature has provided a few of her own.  It's amazing how often the walls of ruined churches are studded with the blue flowers of Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), here growing intertwined with a fern.

We continued over the island from the ruined chapel and Lorna found a remarkable grave-slab half concealed below the grass.   We cleared the grass a little to find......

 ...a very definite image of mortality carved in stone.  It seems that our predecessors were altogether less reticent about portraying death in this way - it's a fascinating grave if a little startling to the modern eye.

 As we made our way back to the boats we passed a much more recent grave, well tended and laid with flowers, backed with a bush fired with intense autumn colour.

This small island had proved well worth a second exploration - and on future visits we'll stop here again without doubt.

We got back on the water as a breeze sprang up, clearing the cloud quickly.  The mountains lay behind us, and ahead lay a river and the sea.....