Kilnave Chapel & Cross

📌 Gruinart, Isle of Islay
★★

Kilnave Chapel sits at the northwest corner of the island of Islay, near the end of a narrow and potholed road along the west side of Loch Gruinart. It’s worth the drive: there can’t be many more splendid settings for a chapel than this, with the Paps of Jura visible in the distance across the wildfowl-rich sea loch. The chapel probably dates from the late 1300s or soon after, with its name a corruption of “kil-Naomh”, or holy church. There are great views out of the jagged east window, while in the other direction the profile of the 3 metre-high Kilnave Cross fills the doorway. This has somehow survived whatever the weather’s thrown at it since the 8th century, though any carvings are heavily weathered or covered in lichen. A sombre tale finishes setting the scene: in 1598, dozens of Macleans were burned alive inside the chapel by the MacDonalds during the battle of Traigh Gruinart – the result of a land dispute between the two clans.