Kilneuair Church and Oratory
Kilneuair Chapel is billed, in the few online blogs that detail its existence, as hard to find. So, between an already elusive location and the sea of neon green bracken concealing everything below shoulder height, we weren’t sure we would be successful in our search.
Around ten minutes into our walk up the hill, we rounded a corner in the path and a moss covered drystone wall made itself known among the bracken. Following the wall it became clear this was some kind of boundary and further ahead a flash of colour caught our attention.
Only the very top of the oratory was visible among the greenery. The lichen growing on it had coloured the stone a brilliant white.
Thought to be built around the 18th century re-using some ancient, carved stones probably from an older chapel, it is an exceptional building even in its state of severe ruin. Beautiful, triangular windows still exist on two sides of the structure, each carved with notches. On two corners, engraved angle-quoins are decorated with different designs.
I highly recommend heading over to Canmore to see photos of the blind archway (that is now propped up with some makeshift scaffolding) in its once former glory.
St. Columba’s Church sits just a few metres away from the oratory and is also in a severe state of ruin.
Still, within its crumbling walls are some beautiful features. A font (medieval like the church) can be found at the side of the building closest to the oratory as well as two still-standing gravestones and a small set of steps.
At the east end of the church on the wall, are an aumbry and a piscina which indicate where the altar would have been. The aumbry would have once held artefacts important to the church and the trefoil shape indicates where a piscina would have enabled priests to empty water.
Some carved gravestones also sit at the east end of the church and beneath my feet, under moss, grass and bracken, were other stones with some engraving visible through the greenery. Summer is a wonderful time to travel in Scotland, the only downside is the ocean of lush growth making it hard to access certain areas as well as concealing many features that we may have found interesting. I think this site would be much easier to access and enjoy fully in winter.
Kilneuair is a really special place, the oratory especially (I have never seen such beautiful, intricate drystone building in Scotland). Very happy to have found this hidden gem and to have seen it while it still stands.