📌 Isle of Whithorn, Dumfries & Galloway
★★
The name of St Ninian appears freqeuntly on the Machars peninsula. St Ninian’s Cave, St Ninian’s Well, St Ninian’s Bridge… it’d be reasonable to suggest past locals have milked the reputation of Scotland’s first saint a little. But by the sea on the Isle of Whithorn is St Ninian’s Chapel, possibly where St Ninian first landed on Scottish soil before founding nearby Whithorn Priory, bringing Christianity to Scotland for the first time. It’s more likely, though, that the chapel was simply sited where pilgrims came ashore on their journeys to Whithorn over the following centuries. Truth be told, the building itself isn’t much, built around 1300 and missing its roof. It gains an extra star in our ratings thanks to the gorgeous setting overlooking both village and coastline. Wander over to the headland’s high point for the best views.
🌍 Location
📌 Immediately south of Isle of Whithorn village
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 480362
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 54.698050,-4.360698
🚌 Bus to Isle of Whithorn
🚗 Car park at 🧭 NX 477362 / 🛰️ 54.697792,-4.362333
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 5-min walk to the chapel (left) & headland (right) on mostly grassy paths. Both are just visible from the car park.
