Auchendrain Outdoor Museum

Auchendrain Museum lies between Inveraray and Lochgilphead. It was a working village, and was donated by the Duke of Argyll for purposes of study and tourism. It is beautifully presented, with everything from a pauper's house to a tacksman's home.

I have used a number of my photos from previous visits to illustrate 'everyday life' in the early 1800s.

One item of real interest to me, on this visit was this handloom. It was very probably built and used by a family of weavers, the McTaggarts. They lived and worked at Kilmory Knap through the 1800s.

Auchnabreck Hill Walk

On a hill overlooking Lochgilphead and Loch Fyne, there is an "Auchnabreac Walk." We got lost a couple of times, but made it out to civilization finally.

It is a 'nature' walk, and has along it some very old and outstanding stone 'squiggles'. No one knows what exactly these carvings mean, but they are definitely of interest to those who study the prehistoric aspects of Argyll.

This is Mary, at one of these prehistoric centres:
"Auchnabreck" is of course, a reference to the Campbells of Auchenbreac. Apparently, the Castle in this area is long gone.

Gairloch, and Auchnabreac

One of my interests is the last Campbell of Auchenbreac. Back in the 1600s, he was the foremost Knapdale landowner. He was the 2d in command to Campbell of Argyll. One of these Auchenbreacs led the Campbells at the Battle Inverlochy, and was killed by Alasdair (Colkitto) MacDonald at its conclusion. Going into the 1700s, the Auchenbreacs were very close to bankruptcy. This could be why (unlike the Duke of Argyll), they fought with the Jacobites in 1746. Official bankruptcy followed, and the last home of this unfortunate man was at Gairloch by Loch Fyne.

Gairloch Castle Marion Campbell dates the building to the late 17th century or early 18th century. It was probably intended as a lookout post.

Recently, it has been completely renovated, and made into a modern home.

Lochgilphead has a Golf Course!

This is within the town, and walking distance from the shopping area.

Really, Lochgilphead is a very attractive town!

Keills

Keills lies south of Tayvallich and faces Jura Sound. It is here that the a pier was built in the early 1800s. Cattle from Islay and Jura were conveyed across the Sound to this part of Knapdale. The pier, build with Thomas Telford's guidance, is, like its twin at Lagg on Jura, is gradually disappearing into the water. To refresh your memory, this is the pier on Jura:












This area was once part of the Clan McNeill territories However, by the early 1800s, this part of the clan had either moved to Colonsay, or become bankrupt. Obviously, ownership of this section of Knapdale was a valuable source of income, given the large cattle industry of the 1700s. But after Waterloo, there was a post-war depression that particularly affected the Highland's droving business. In 1831, John MacNeill Esq, "formerly of Oakfield, now of Gigha", gave up Keills, Keilmore and Keilbeg, and the Ferry and privilege of Ferrying, and the Mill built back in the day of Sir James Campbell of Auchinbreck, etc etc to his major creditor, the Renfrewshire Banking Company. By 1837, the latter bank had sold the estate of Neill Malcolm of Poltalloch.

On the other side of a ridge from the Keills farm, there is a very old, historical Keills Chapel, dating from the 8th century. Knapdale People site has along with its cemetery inscriptions, an archaeological description of this building. The very large cross inside the chapel shows St Michael trampling on the dragon, above a nest with three eggs symbolizing the Trinity, and a cleric holding a book. A copy of this cross has been erected outside, up the hill from the chapel.

Carsaig near Tayvallich

Carsaig Bay faces Jura across the Jura Sound. The earliest Free Church congregation built a church at Carsaig. As far as I know, it has been demolished, although the Manse remains, as a private home. I'm very interested in the Free Church in Knapdale, and so was disappointed that the building has disappeared!

However, the cemetery is there. Alison Dawson did a fine job in recording the inscriptions in the old part of this cemetery. There was a puzzle, though: a stone enclosure with no entrance, and no inscription that I could see. However, Ms Dawson found her way inside, and notes that inside this ruin there is a mural:

This is erected over the remains of ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL OF STRONDOUR who died on Novr ye 13th 1719 in the 42nd year of his age, by the direction of DANIEL CAMPBELL OF CARSAIG and ALEXANDER CAMPBELL JUNR Mercht in Glasgow, his sons 1748.
(followed by inscription in Latin)

On the outside wall of this ruin, there is a memorial to John Campbell an Innkeeper and Sheriff Officer, with his wife, Agnes McNab. It has been erected in by his descendants in the year 2000. This particular John Campbell appears a multitude of times in my people data base. He was a merchant as well as an innkeeper, and as such did a lot of business with the Inverneill Estate. In 1803, he appears on a list of men eligible to be balloted for membership in the Argyll Militia. Also, he and his wife had a number of children. When you go to the data base, go to the 'advanced search' and enter his name and "Tayvallich".

We were lucky (again), in that the weather was very fine and sunny. This is a photo of the cemetery on our day in Carsaig:

Tayvallich

Tayvallich surrounds a harbour facing east towards Loch Sween. When we were there, a ferry operated from this harbour to Jura.
The village's website is a good one, informative, with a listing of 'things to do' when you are visiting.

In the bad old days, it's geographical setting meant it needed plenty of 'duns' on the surrounding hills. "Tayvallich" is an English form of the Gaelic, "Tigh Bheallich", meaning "House of the Pass". It sits on the east end of a narrow piece of land that almost divides its peninsula in half. On the other side of this neck, less than a mile away, is Carsaig.

Marion Campbell's booklet, Mid Argyll, an Archaeological Guide includes a splendid description of the route from Bellanoch on the Crinan Canal south to Keills. She notes on page 21, that Tayvallich village is covered by 2 forts on the west, and one on the south. They are hard to find, but she said that Dun a'Chogaidh ('Fort of War' or a'Chrocaidh, 'of hanging' ) can be reached by scrambling up from a caravan-site at the north of the bay. I would say that if Marion Campbell found it difficult to find that dun, then it is REALLY difficult!

St Columba's Cave on Loch Caolisport

On the south western side of Loch Caolisport, there is a ruined Chapel and behind that, a cave. This is known as "St Columba's Cave"

St Columba (c520 to c600) was an aristocrat who founded Celtic Christianity in, among other places on the Irish Sea, Iona. This particular Cave is on the shore of that sea, and it is not ridiculous to think that, indeed, it was first used by that Saint.

Inside the cave there is still the remains of an altar. The cross scratched onto the wall a very long time ago has been emphasized with white colour in modern times.

Marion Campbell of Kilberry produced a lovely booklet in which (on page 13) there is a description of this site. I have reproduced her "Mid Argyll Archaeological Guide" in pdf form in Knapdale People. Before the Reformation, this Cave and its Chapel would have been a major pilgrims' destination.

Ormsary Estate on Loch Caolisport

Because a branch of my ancestors left Ormsary Estate for Canada (in 1853), I have a special interest in this place on the east side of Loch Caolisport. If you check the 1694 "Hearth Tax Records" on my site (page 6) you will see that there are a number of McNeills living along that Loch.

Donald McNeill is noted as living at Drumnamuckloch in Kilberry Estate in 1694. In 1672, this gentleman had acquired Crear Estate by Charter from the 9th Earl of Argyll. Crear is south of Ormsary, on the coast, with (one presumes) access via the adjacent Crear Burn to the uplands behind Ormsary. On our visit to Ormsary, Lord Lithgow very kindly drove us up into that area. To me, it looked grim, especially as compared to the lush green along the coast. And the McNeills were known as a primarily sea faring clan.

Looking on the bright side, there is, a loch up there, Loch Nan Torran. And the Landranger map shows that the place is actually laced with burns. Former habitations were probably in those green areas you can see in the photo. At the time, the clansmen made their homes out of turf, not stone.

During Argyll's failed rebellion against James II of England in 1685, this Donald McNeill supported Argyll. Perhaps this is why we see him living in a one-hearth home in 1695.

Donald McNeill was the son of Neill McNeill of Arichonan. His eldest son, Malcolm, is also known as being "of Arichonan". It would seem that Donald spent the last years of his life working to move his clansmen from the Crear uplands. With the triumphant return of the Campbells of Argyll, he exchanged Crear for Colonsay Island. It was, however, his son Malcolm (of Arichonan) who actually led the McNeill Clansmen to Colonsay and Oronsay.

Arichonan

Like Leac Na Baan, Arichonan was built at the top of a hill, presumably because you could see any approaching ship coming up the Loch. The buildings are now in ruins and empty of people. A study of Arichonan has been one of my own major projects, and you can see the results of all that here, in KnapdalePeople.

When I visited Arichonan in 2002, there was a large plaque on site recounting the story of the Clearance that occurred here in 1848. This time, in 2010, there was no sign, except one warning against falling stones (!). Further, there is no longer any sign on the road indicating that up that hill there is a ruined township. We found the trail, though. It is still obvious and mowed. On the other hand, there is a modern house farther down the road to the south, with a sign identifying it as "Arichonan Farm". Since my 2010 visit, I have wondered if we are now meant to use that path up to the ruins?

Castle Sween

This is an impressive castle which dominates the sea approaches to Loch Sween. It was known as the "Key to Knapdale", and at Knapdale People, there is a whole section devoted to this fort. It was destroyed when the MacDonalds invaded Argyll in the 1640's, and never rebuilt. As you can see in the above photo, directly across Loch Sween is Taynish. Castle Sween is now a major centre for tourism. A flourishing trailer court lies next to it, and when we visited, there was lots of little boats in the water.

Road to Castle Sween

On the way to Castle Sween, south from Leac Na Baan, there was a gate with a pair of coats of arms. They interested me because they were so fresh and new, and the portcullis reminds me of the one for the city of Westminster in England.