Birds

Prior to the advent of Kilchoman Distillery (founded in 2005), Kilchoman parish received few travelers from afar.  Even now, it is little visited.  The Rinns of Islay (the west side of the island) remain relatively untrodden, certainly less than the tourist circle of Isaly's renowned distilleries.  Most tourists to Kilchoman do aim at the distillery--and greatly limit the scope of their interest, perhaps almost exclusively, to the bottom of a tasting glass.

We sought out Kilchoman...the place...and the spirit of the place.

March 22, 2017  The Rinns of Islay from Kilchoman fields; Scottish blackface sheep grazing

Following our windswept walk at Kilnave Chapel with its ethereal High Cross, we decided to venture toward Kilchoman Church in our tiny "car hire". 

March 22, 2017  The ruins of Kilchoman Church

Opting for a loop tour via Kilnave, we drove around the north side of Loch Gorm, a surprisingly large low-lying inland lake. 

March 22, 2017  Loch Gorm, center background; from Kilchoman Military Cemetery

The route we took probably rarely sees many tourists; it definitely highlighted the relative remoteness of Kilchoman.  From Kilnave, we drove through Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve on (allegedly) a "good" single track route, B8017.  Sometimes paved, sometimes...not so much.  And from there, onto an even lesser track around the north of Loch Gorm and then south to Kilchoman. 

Geographically, Kilchoman is somewhat separated from the rest of Islay--by Loch Gorm to its immediate north,  by the very rough terrain of The Rinns to the south and by that Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve to the northeast.

March 22, 2017  The Rinns coast immediate south of Kilchoman

Here, a word should be said about a curious passion in the United Kingdom for "birding".  We sort of understand it, but only in part.

For example, here in Idaho we do enjoy taking time out of the day to watch local wildlife during their seasons--like the great blue herons that find their perches in our pine, or the mallards in the pond below us, busy hummingbirds, and those cantankerous king bird "tyrants," or eloquent cedar waxwings, sociable robins, snow geese, redtail hawks, bald eagles and even great grey owls.  Yet our casual enjoyment pales in comparison.  Pales to "The British Birder".

This is only of importance because, as mentioned, our route took us through Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve.  Primarily a "bird" preserve, Loch Gruinart Reserve encompasses about a square mile of salt marsh and mudflats plus about four square miles of heather moorland. So for a Hebridean island, that is a substantial area.  Based on what we could see (unaided by optics) when we crossed through the Reserve, the majority of birds present were mostly geese--barnacle geese and some white-fronted geese.

It should be stated that the ONLY instance of pushing and shoving--"aggressive driving"--we experienced on Islay, strangely enough, was in this remote Nature Reserve.  Apparently, it is risky to get between a British "birder's" spotting scope and the local waterfowl.  A racing Land Rover sent gravel and pothole mud slurry all over us, only to abruptly stop a mere few hundred yards ahead, to get out a spotting scope...and this was repeated a couple times.

To an Idahoan's way of thinking, all that muddy rooster-tail "wake" made by speeding Land Rovers probably frightens off more wildlife than simply just taking it easy.  Now admittedly, we're not the professional birders.  And so we certainly don't sport all that professional birder attire.  Maybe they knew more than we did, and were in a hurry to prove it.
   

March 22, 2017  Machir Bay, view north of Islay's low ground from Kilchoman

As to the remoteness of Kilchoman Church, on the west coast of Islay, a north-south single track does parallel the Rinns from the fishing village of Portnahaven on the southern tip of the Rinns. But, that track turns inland at Kilkiaran Bay (locally this is called School House Road if memory serves).  It cuts over to Port Charlotte and the A847, the main trunk road (i.e. two lanes) along Loch Indaal, the great bay which nearly divides Islay in half.

No single tracks reach Kilchoman along the coast of the Rinns from the south.  Almost all traffic--which includes "lorries" to and from Kilchoman Distillery--take the single track road along the south of Loch Gorm.  And indeed, when we finished our tour of Kilchoman Church, that is the route we took back to Port Askaig at dusk.


Kilchoman, in a manner of thinking, is a "two f'er" tourist site, or a "three f'er" if one can include the Distillery.

March 22, 2017  Kilchoman Celtic Cross, (c. 1500 A.D.) 

Today, Kilchoman is a settlement of several whitewashed houses gathered around Kilchoman Church. We only presume that these are the dwelling of workers on the Kilchoman Farm or perhaps the Nature Reserve.

The churchyard at Kilchoman holds a spectacular medieval Celtic High Cross (which will be addressed in a separate post).  Standing over 8 feet in height, the Kilchoman Cross is quite literally covered with intricate Celtic carved designs...and in extremely good condition, even though lichen in places does mask some of the designs.

Of special interest to us is that the Kilchoman High Cross is said to be very similar in style and arrangement to the Market Cross in Campbeltown, which we will visit this year.  These presumably were crafted on Iona.

An aside, the Campbeltown Market Cross was also formerly a High Cross.  During the Reformation, however, it was moved (versus destroyed) from the Catholic churchyard, and was erected in the market place.  This was done in many places throughout what is today the United Kingdom...hence a familiar term "Market Cross".        


In the fields at Kilchoman, west toward the ocean, is an important war memorial--Kilchoman Military Cemetery--which we felt compelled to visit out of a sense of honor and respect.

On October 6, 1918, near the end of World War One, 351 American Doughboys perished off Machir Bay when the transport S.S. Otranto sank after colliding with a merchant vessel in heavy seas.  Lest we forget, 71 British crewmen also died in the tragedy, many of whom could not be identified.

In 1920, after Armistice, American dead at Kilchoman were repatriated...and this was the case for those Americans who died (February 5, 1918) in the torpedoing of the S.S. Tuscania off Islay.  Some remains were returned to the United States at the request of the families.  The greater number, however, were interred at the American Military Cemetery in Surrey England...which is American soil.  Bought at a dear price.  

March 22, 2017  Kilchoman Military Cemetery

The following photo of Kilchoman Military Cemetery, looks south along the rocky coast of The Rinns.  It shows numerous empty grave spaces in the rows.  These would have been where American dead from the Otranto were originally buried, before their remains were repatriated.     

March 22, 2017  Darla reading the information plaque at Kilchoman Military Cemetery

Our tour did swing through the Kilchoman Distillery Visitor Center...lot.  But arriving with only 10 minutes before closing, and with a worker clearly putting equipment away for the evening, we did not have an opportunity to visit.  We made due with the purchase of a gift bottle of Kilchoman Machir Bay, later in Bowmore, and with a few drams of Kilchoman Loch Gorm at the Islay Hotel Restaurant in Port Ellen.

We did not risk a return through the Loch Gruinart Nature Reserve, given the diminishing light at dusk.  Besides, there's no telling how many Land Rovers would have ridden over the top of us if we had.       

March 22, 2017  Kilchoman Military Cemetery Monument on Machir Bay, Isaly