Dunadd, and Cup Shaped Depressions

First, a closeup of Dunadd's "cup":

South of Kilmartin Valley, and of the Crinan Canal there is a township (now a B&B, White Rock Bed and Breakfast), known by the Gaelic name "Leacnabaan". Mr Hamilton, the proprietor, is an enthusiastic historian (as is his wife), and he has noticed several things about this place. When he looks north through a notch in the hills, Dunadd is clearly in sight. In fact, he believes that a small rise next to his home would have been ideal for placing signal fires (ie, like in the Lord of the Rings movie).

And then, close to a fallen standing stone at Leacnabaan, there is ANOTHER cup shaped depression:

Finally, there is a very similar cup shape inside St Columba's Cave on Loch Caolisport!

Interesting, No?? If anyone has archaeological/historical notes relating to these 'cups', let me know.

Dunadd Fort (Kilmartin Valley)

Dunadd is a rocky outcrop a few miles north of Lochgilphead. There is little left of its past now. But back in the day, when the Scottish tribes came from Ireland and settled in the West Highlands (about 500AD), they fortified it ("Dun" means "fort"), and made it the capital of their country, which they called "Dal Riata."

This hill sits in the middle of a very large bog, Mòine Mhòr (Great Moss) now largely drained through the efforts of the Malcolms of Poltalloch, but through most of time, an excellent part of Dunadd's defensive system. From its height, you can look down on the Kilmartin Valley and the River Add... quite a lovely scene!

There is every reason to believe that men were anointed as kings on Dunadd's summit. You can still see a large, worn, stone which features a foot-shaped depression, as well a cup-shaped depression. At one time, the stone also displayed a carving of a boar (very kingly beast), and I suppose with a lot of imagination, its shadow still remains. I am sure I saw the drawing a few years ago on a previous visit, but time goes by and events happen, I guess.

The Vikings, on their longships, arrived on Britain's horizon in 791, and changed everything in the Western Highlands. Dunadd was no longer tenable as a capital. By 850 AD, around the time of King Kenneth McAlpine, the Scottish leaders had moved their headquarters east, away from the coast, to Scone, near Perth.

Kilmartin Glen and Carnasserie Castle

Carnasserie Castle sits on a hill a couple of kilometers north of Kilmartin Village. It was built for the 5th Earl of Argyll about 1565, by the then Bishop of the Isles, John Carswell. This Earl was one of the foremost leaders of the Protestant Reformation; and John Carswell (an excellent Gaelic scholar) is famous for translating John Knox's prayer book into Gaelic, so that it could be read by the people of the West Highlands.

Above the main door, there is an oblong panel with a carving of a shield commemorating one of the (probably) most rancorous marriages of that century: the 5th Earl of Argyll, Archibald Campbell, and Jean Stewart (a half sister of Mary Queen of Scots.) On the left, there is the Campbell galley and the 'gyronny' of eight; on the right, a lion rampant for the royal arms of Scotland. Along the bottom, in Gaelic script, there is carved, "Dia Le Ua N Dubh(n)e" (God be with the O Duibhne). The Campbells were, in Gaelic terms, the "O'Duibhne". The couple managed to divorce in 1573, the year of Archibald's death.

During the terrible wars of the 1600s, Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchenbreck garrisoned the castle as a supporter of the 9th Earl of Argyll's uprising against James II (Stewart) of England. The MacLeans of Torloisk, etc. successfully besieged the castle, blew part of it up, and murdered Auchenbreck's uncle. Good times.

Kilmartin Gala and the Mid Argyll Bagpipe Band

Luck was with us in Kilmartin, because we happened upon a Gala put on by the local people. There was a lot going on, of course, including a peregrine falcon...

And then there was the Mid Argyll Bag Pipe Band! This was a real treat as they put on a particularly energetic show. The Drummer girls were incredible. And the music was so well done. This band has been in existence in Mid Argyll (and Lochgilphead) for most of the 20th century and given the relatively small population of the area, is very conscious of the necessity to encourage young people to take part. This is absolutely evident in this video, which I totally recommend (it combines hip hop dancing with piping!!). Anyway, I purchased the CD and here is the cover:

Kilmartin Church and the Campbells of Duntroon

Inside the Church there are a number of plaques on the walls, some remembering the Malcolms of Poltalloch who purchased Duntroon Castle in the late 1700s, and a couple remembering the previous Campbell Lairds. This one is particularly interesting, I think, evocative of the Scottish aristocracy of the 1700s, and their attempts to make their fortune within the British Empire:

Kilmartin Church & Poltalloch Graveslabs

The church at Kilmartin is host to a Poltalloch enclosure with a display of medieval gravestones.

Notice the mention of the Loch Awe school of sculptures. The Campbells were strong supporters of indigenous art and music, and were fully at home within the West Highland Gaelic world. The Malcolms of Poltalloch are an extremely old family, and even during the MacDonald invasion of the mid 1600s, continued to support the Campbell clan.

Kilmartin Glen and Archaeology

Kilmartin Glen is one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe. Super-ancient items are scattered from one end to the other of the valley. More than 350 prehistoric sites lie within 6 miles of Kilmartin Village. We walked almost the entire length of this place, taking photos throughout. There are plenty of photos on the 'net, so I will show you only 2 of ours: First, finding a 'henge' was a problem, since they tend to lie flat on the landscape. They were popular in neolithic times, and are dough-nut shaped. Being keen of eye, I found one, in a field not far from a much more outstanding group of standing stones. Here it is:

And here are a nearby group of Standing Stones. The resident cattle were using them as scratching posts and windbreaks. Given that the stones are VERY old, whoever set them up were serious builders!

Ford, and a Standing Stone

Across the road from the Alpaca herd was a Standing Stone. The entire Kilmartin Glen is festooned with such stones (and cairns).

This particular one is broken. According to local information, it was broken at the same time (1879) as the collapse of the Tay Bridge, over the Firth of Dundee, on the other side of Scotland.

Amazing things, those stones.

Ford and the Alpaca Baby

No, we did not go over to Oban this trip. Instead, we concentrated on Kilmartin Glen, Lochgilphead, and south of the Crinan Canal. This meant that we travelled a number of times on the road between Ford and Lochgilphead.

And, the highlight turned out to be an Alpaca farm!

We managed to time our travels with the birth of this little alpaca.

Ford, south end of Loch Awe and a Cairn

After Jura, we found lodgings in the Ford Hotel, 12 miles north of Lochgilphead.

Ford lies at the south end of Loch Awe, a long narrow lake which lies parallel to Loch Fyne.

It was from Loch Awe and surrounding area that Clan Campbell established itself as a powerful family. In 1308, Robert the Bruce defeated the Clan MacDougall at the Battle of the Pass of Brander downstream from the loch.

Across the road from the Hotel is a genuineancient cairn! Yes! The kind that archaeologists love to excavate because they are often burial mounds. However, as far as I can gather, there has been no attempt to dig this up. Really.

Jura and the Sea

It becomes obvious, as one travels around these islands, that in the old times, the West Highlands was a sea faring area. Today, aside from ferries, there are plenty of yachts, but no birlinns.

The Celtic Galley Association exists to encourage the skills of the sea, "including traditional boatbuilding, sailing, rowing, and seamanship. It also seeks to promote knowledge of the maritime history of the Celtic Seas and to enable a wide range of people to have access to their cultural heritage."

And, of course, there is a book written by Denis Rixson, about this maritime galley. It seems to me that there is, potentially, a really excellent team sport in birlinn racing.

Jura: Standing Stones

Of course, there are standing stones on Jura. Jura, Island of Deer, by Peter Youngson, proved to be an invaluable guide for this part of the trip. We tracked down the one at Knockrome. There are TWO of them, according to Youngson, but we only found the one, and compared to the others, it was a very small standing stone (we were becoming jaded and picky by this time, I know.) There is a story that when passing between the 2 stones, local people of Jura speak of passing between 'the Two Juras' an act which would bring good luck.


The stone was in a boggy field, beside an airstrip, which itself lies beside an outstanding white sandy beach known as 'Corran Sand'.

Jura: the Telford Pier

My principal aim on going to Jura was to see and photograph the pier at Lagg, across from Kiells, Knapdale. This was part of a drovers' "road", by which cattle were transported across the Jura Sound from the Western Islands to Knapdale, and thence to the Kilmartin tryst, the Falkirk tryst, and into England.

Thomas Telford, a very capable and famous Scottish civil engineer, designed this pier in the early 1800s. He was also involved in the building of the Crinan Canal.

Jura Landscape

Aside from coastal 'microclimates', Jura looks like this:

Dominating the skyline are the "Paps of Jura". "Paps" mean "breasts." While we were there, we met a large retinue of athletes who were going to run up and over the Paps. They all looked very fit. In my opinion, the distillery tourists looked jollier.

Jura: the Hotel, and etc

We stayed at the Jura Hotel in Craighouse, right beside the Jura Scotch Distillery. The latter produces "Superstition" Single Malt Whiskey which is one of my favourite kinds.


These are some of the trees outside of the Jura Hotel, by the way.

Jura: The Hotel, and its landscape

I really enjoyed our stay on this island. It has a very small human population (apparently some 200 people), and a very large deer population. "Jura" means "Isle of the Deer". The people live on the east side of the island (the west is too rocky). On the north end is the Corryvrecken, an outrageously dangerous whirlpool between Jura and the Isle of Scarba. Apparently, it is in full roar during the winter months. Roads up in this part of the Island are rare and difficult. They advise four wheel drive, etc. So, Mary and I did not even try to go that far north. One person who did go up there, and spent the last years of his life in that part of the world, at "Barnhill", was GEORGE ORWELL. While there, he wrote "1984." Given the description of this isolated place, one has to agree that George was a hair shirt kind of guy.

Jura

There is a small ferry that travels across the Islay Sound to Feolin on Jura.

The Feolin Centre is a nascent information centre for Jura. It is part of the Inver Estate, the southernmost estate on Jura.

Islay: Kildalton Cross

Kildalton Cross is the only complete, unbroken, early Christian wheel cross to survive in Scotland. It was carved in the late 700s.

The Cross stands beside a roofless church (probably 13th century). Along an interior wall, there is a very imposing and large carving of a warrior. I don't know whether this was once a burial slab, on top of a grave, or was originally a wall decoration.

Kildalton Church is on the east side of Islay.

Islay: a Standing Stone!

And here is another Standing Stone, north of Loch Finlaggan, beside the road to the Finlaggan Visitor Centre, in a field. Apparently, it was one of two standing stones, observed back in 1695 by Marin Martin (an early tourist who wrote a book of his travels through darkest Scotland). Two large boulders to the east may be the missing second stone. Caldwell thinks these stones may have once been a part of a neolithic monument, now buried. There is a mound behind the visiting centre, which was excavated in 1994/95. A burial chamber (or underground store associated with Iron Age houses) was found here, lined with boulders. (That holding up that stone is me!)

Islay: Finlaggan

Finlaggan, an inland freshwater lake, was the administrative centre of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. As can be seen by the air photo on the left, the nerve centre consisted of 2 islands: the larger with a chapel, etc., and the smaller, sort of an 'executive suite' for the very important leaders. "Finlaggan" is named after St Columba's contemporary, St. Findlugan. It is probable that the larger island, was, in Celtic times, a Christian centre.

The last of the MacDonald chieftains were executed in 1493 in Edinburgh, and there are only a few remains of what must have once been a bustling and wealthy community. The Lords of the Isles were a seafaring folk, so it is of interest that Finlaggan is inland, on a freshwater loch.

The Chapel was built in the 1300s by John I Lord of the Isles. It is ruinous now, but there are some well preserved grave slabs in the accompanying burial ground. The photo on the right is the grave slab of Donald MacGillispie.