Today I covered many more miles on Islay – nothing you want to see if close to anything else you want to see!  First stop was Kilchiaran Chapel on the western side of the Rhinns of Islay.  It stands only a few yards off the road and I was able to find space to park without blocking the single track road. No one knows for sure but it is very likely the chapel was built in the 1200’s.

On to Kildalton, The Kildalton parish is medieval in origin. Early documentary records suggest that it dates from c. 1425, but the church building is older still, possibly late 12th or early 13th century. The famed stone cross which sits in the graveyard by the church was thought to have been carved around the first half of the eighth century.  Inside the chapel is a magnificent carved tomb slab with an effigy of  a medieval warrior.  This would have been an active parish during the reign of the Lords of the Isles.

Dunyvaig Castle was the last stop of the day – the weather is still not fully cooperating but there was a hint of sun on the landward side of the ruins.  I was able to wander up close but found that it is difficult to capture in a photograph what this castle could have looked like because of its dilapidated condition. There was clearly a gate from the bay where presumably the lords and their visitors would have beached their boats and entered the castle. One must really use their imagination here to see how this was a naval base for the MacDonalds Lords of the Isles.