Dunlossit House Memorial Cross

We’d been told a story by a neighbour that there was an old grave near the roadside going down the brae to Port Askaig.  Legend had it, it was the grave of a mother and baby who had died.  Apparently there are times when the mother is said to be heard crying for her lost child.  Being someone who loves cemeteries, churches, the stories associated and the like I couldn’t resist going on a grave hunt…

View of the Sound of Islay & Paps of Jura from nearby the Memorial Cross

It turns out that the grave is actually a memorial cross in the grounds of Dunlossit House.  The cross was erected in remembrance of Isabella Buchanan Gilmour (1861-1900) who was the wife of Donald Turner Martin (1856-1922), the then owner of Dunlossit House.  A ‘Tottie Martin’ is also mentioned in the inscription – it’s not clear whether this was a pet name for Isabella or for their daughter,  Ila Gretchen Martin who was born in 1883.  The cross also remembers Allan Gilmour of Eaglesham (1820-1905), this was Isabella’s father who was living at Dunlossit at the time of his death.  There is a similar Gilmour family memorial cross in Eaglesham.  Allan Gilmour (1820-1905) is also remembered on that.

Sadly the top of the cross has broken off and now lies on the ground next to the base and main body of the cross. The inscription at the base is just readable as it’s fairly covered over with moss. The carvings on both sides of the cross are beautifully detailed still to this day.

Side 1

Side 2 (including inscription at base)

Top of Cross (broken off)

Inscription

The memorial cross from the roadside

All images unless otherwise stated belong to Leigh & Joseph Marshall.

 

 

 

Kilmeny Church

Kilmeny Church sits nestled in amongst it’s own little wooded idyll, known as the Church Plantation.  Built in 1828, it was adapted from Thomas Telford’s design by Walter Frederick Campbell.

Although not officially one of the Telford Parliamentary Kirks, visually Kilmeny Church is very obviously influenced. There are infact two official Telford Churches on Islay – Portnahaven, still currently in use and Risabus (Oa), now a ruin.

Kilmeny Church is but a stones throw from the road, but the drive up to the church through the Church Plantation means that on arrival you almost feel like you’re in another World.  The woodland offers a tranquility seldom found so close to a main thoroughfare.  It makes you pause and just take a breath.  Islay is famed for a much slower pace and simpler way of life to the mainland.  All great ‘medicine’ for the soul and mind.

All images unless otherwise stated belong to Leigh and Joseph Marshall.

Wild Treasure

We went for a walk to the Lily Loch the other day.  Just for a little leg stretch and because I was feeling like I hadn’t been out enjoying our beautiful surroundings for quite some time.  It was a day of frequent passing rain showers – we hoped to miss them but, as is ever the case we got soaked twice.  However, it didn’t dampen our spirits any…

If we open our eyes, it’s amazing what we find all around us – this was just a little walk on a route close to our cottage but, it was plentiful in treasure.  With many different types of wild flowers (bog violet, primrose, bluebells, cuckoo flower, whin, etc), birds (cuckoo, buzzards, swallow, chaffinch, yellowhammer, starlings, etc), lichen covered trees, stacks of logs, tadpoles in roadside drainage ditches, to name only a few.

All images unless otherwise stated belong to Leigh and Joseph Marshall.

Geocaching Adventure

The other day we went geocaching for the first time.  It’s something i’ve wanted to do for a while and Joe was pretty excited about the idea also.  Looking online we saw there was a cache just a short walk from our house, so decided to go try it all out.

We found it pretty easily and decided before we logged it, that we would bring the girls down after they came home from school.  That way we could do it as a family.  Megan and Erin didn’t take much persuading with the lure of a treasure hunt (well not actual treasure, but you get the idea).

Afterwards we carried on walking down to Caol Ila beach.  We collected some sea glass, admired the view (always beautiful not matter what the weather is doing) then strolled home.

The girls are excited to find more caches on Islay – there are a few we have ear marked to try to tackle next 🙂

 

All images unless otherwise stated belong to Leigh and Joseph Marshall.

Port na Seilich Walk

Another beautiful day, so we took the opportunity to go on another “doorstep adventure” this time to Port na Seilich.  A fairly hidden wee gem not far from Loch Allan.

We quite regularly walk to the Lily Loch and Loch Allan.  Looking on the ordinance survey map there seemed to be a path that carried on past the tower near Loch Allan that finished at Port na Seilich.

Once past the tower, the path takes you through forestry past a waterfall and out to the coastline (Port na Seilich) where it ends.  Giving stunning views of Jura and the Sound of Islay.

We walked home via Loch Allan and the Lily Loch savouring every second of the sun on our backs.

Here’s a link to my Strava activity for the walk – https://www.strava.com/activities/517680552

All images unless otherwise stated belong to Leigh and Joseph Marshall.

Bunnahabhain Woods Walk

 

We went on another “doorstep adventure” today.  Up to Bunnahabhain, through the woods coming out at Balulive.  Then down past Finlaggan and back up the road to Keills.  A rather enjoyable 15.9km (yes I could have walked on past my house till I hit 16km, but tbh I had no inclination and I was gagging for a cup of tea).

It will definitely be a good route for either our cyclocross bikes or for a trail run once it dries up a bit.  Most of the route was ok, but just before Balulive we were above our ankles in cow sh*t for approx 200 metres.  Fun times.  I may have squealed a bit when it breached my socks!

Here’s a link to my Strava activity for the walk – https://www.strava.com/activities/513240063

All images unless otherwise stated belong to me (Leigh Marshall).

Kilslevan – The Abandoned Village

 

On another beaut of a day we decided to try to find the long forgotten, abandoned settlement of Kilslevan.  It was another ‘doorstep adventure’ – there are so many interesting places to see within a few km of where we live.

It is claimed that Kilslevan was an old plague village.  I’m not sure how true that is, as there’s not that much on the interweb about Kilslevan.  However, there are certainly other documented lost villages & settlements on Islay, thought to be due to the plague.  For example, Solam.

I’ve been told that Kilslevan was the Keills before there was Keills, if that makes any sense?!  Which I think may be attributed to one of those tales that is passed down from generation to generation, but only rather loosely based around fact.  I have found a document on the net which lists Islay tenants in 1836.  Kilslevan and Kiells (as it was then known) are both listed.  There are seven tenants listed for Kilslevan, which suggests that it was still very much inhabited at that time.

Keills was populated with weavers from Glasgow in around 1820, in eight weavers cottages.  Until the 1960s when council houses were built in Keills, the village remained virtually unchanged consisting of the original eight weavers cottages, the farm house, school and St Columba’s Chapel (Cill Chaluim Chille) including graveyard.  I actually live in one of the original weavers cottages.  I often think of those that have lived in my wee house over the last 200 years and the history and stories the cottage could tell (that’s another project in the making…)

Kilslevan today comprises of the ruins and footprints of seven or eight dwellings with associated outbuildings.  A little way from the settlement you can also find the ruins of Kilslevan Chapel.  The chapel ruins haven’t faired well.  There is really just a circular footprint left of the building.  Literally 50cm high, overgrown and covered in moss and grass.  It was fascinating looking back over to Keills from the ruined Kilslevan Chapel.  Really gave us another perspective of where we live.

I haven’t given up researching the history of Kilslevan – a lot of history gets passed down through generations verbally here on Islay.  There are a few people known to be sort of local oracles that I’ll ply with tea and cakes and listen to what tales they can tell me.

Here’s a link to my Strava activities for the walk – https://www.strava.com/activities/501169956

All images unless otherwise stated belong to me (Leigh Marshall).

The East Tower (Bridgend)

 

I’ve cycled past the East Tower in Bridgend many times on my way to Debbie’s for coffee.  It’s set back a little off the road, but you can see it rise above the trees and the roof top of the cottage in front of it.

However, much to my embarrassment i’ve never actually stopped and taken that 2 minute walk along the path to it.  The other day while we were in Bridgend we decided to remedy that.  I’m glad we did.  It’s really quite handsome.

There is also a West Tower a little farther along the road heading towards Cross House.  We plan on visiting that soon.  Both towers were built in the late 18th century to defend Islay House along with a third no longer standing tower on the Battery in Bowmore.

All images unless otherwise stated belong to me (Leigh Marshall).

 

Bridgend Woods & Loch Skerrols Walk

It’s half term here for the kids and on looking at the weather forecast for the week, it was going to be a mixed bag on the weather front.  Monday looked like the best day of the week with dry chilly weather predicted.

We decided to take a walk in Bridgend Woods and then onto Loch Skerrols.  A wee change of scenery to the walks around our house.  With clear sunny skies it was a grand day for a stroll.  We even managed to have some fun on a tree swing!

Here’s a link to my Strava activities for the walk –https://www.strava.com/activities/494212538

All images unless otherwise stated belong to me (Leigh Marshall).