Forgotten Settlements of Mull
DRIVING ON THE ISLE OF MULL
If this is your first visit to Mull it may also be your first encounter with single track roads. They can be a bit daunting
at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it if you follow the code.
Passing places occur frequently. Most are marked by a black and white banded pole, although some have the newer
diamond shaped reflective sign which is easier to see at night.
Think of passing places as very short stretches of twin-track road, and you'll avoid most of the pitfalls. As per the
Highway Code, always KEEP LEFT and stop in a passing place on your left, or opposite a passing place on the right to
let approaching vehicles past (do not force your way past other drivers in between passing places - reverse if
necessary).
LET THE DRIVER BEHIND PASS! (again stopping on the left). They are probably experienced in driving on single track
roads and could be members of the emergency services, or have a ferry to catch. You are welcome to enjoy the
scenery at 30mph, but please allow others to get on. Show consideration to cyclists and horse riders. This will prevent
frustration on their part and make your time on Mull more pleasurable for all.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
From the time the last Ice Age retreated about 12,000 years ago until around 7,000 years ago, the human population
on Mull comprised very small or family groups of hunter gatherers. Flints have been found from the Neolithic period
and there are also dun sites or Iron Age forts on Mull. On-going excavations and research at Kildavie suggest very
early settlement on Mull.
The arrival of St Columba in 563 AD to Iona heralded the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland. The exciting
discovery of the remains of what is thought to be an early Celtic chapel at Baliscate date to around this period.
Viking colonisation of Mull led to tribal groupings and the clan system evolved very gradually. In the 14 th century
Mull came under the administration of the Lords of the Isles, subject to the Scottish Crown and the Clan MacDonald.
There was bitter feuding between clans resulting in success for the clan MacLean in 1493 followed in 1681 by
success of the clan Campbell.
From the early 1700s the land was worked communally using crop rotation; self-sufficient townships evolved. By the
end of the 18th century the landowners were dividing the land into individual crofts or smallholdings with shared
access to additional rough grazing for cattle and sheep. Although the crofters continued to help each other,
communal cultivation ceased. A system of ‘lazybeds’ was used to cultivate the land - the striped markings are clearly
visible during the winter and spring months though less so in the summer when they are hidden by the bracken. The
land was worked intensively and the crofters lived in very basic croft houses the earliest of which had no windows
and a door consisting only of boards to be propped against the opening.
During the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries the population fell from 10,000 to around 3,000. The
main reasons for this were the forced removal of crofters and their families by landlords who wanted to improve the
profitability of their estates with large sheep farms and the Potato Famine that began with crop failure in 1846.
Scattered deserted townships are visible across the island. Both Derrynaculen and McNiven’s Shieling are examples
of ancient farms.
Archaeology at Kildavie
Kildavie Township is situated in Langamull woodland in NW Mull. The car park is 4 miles from Dervaig on the Calgary
Road. The walk from the car park is 1 mile long but after logging of the woodland, there will be a car park at the end
of the logging road, only 200 metres from Kildavie.
Archaeology Scotland is working with
the Mull Historical and Archaeological
Society and Mull Archaeology Interest
Group to excavate the site and
research its history.
Interpretation boards will explain
what is found about the whole
township and of each individual
structure. This will include description
of one building across the Kildavie
River which at this stage of digging
appears to be a horizontal mill for
grinding the people’s vital corn
supplies.
A circle of stones on the hillside above
may be the burial ground written
about in the archives. The name
Kildavie which translated from the
Gaelic Cill da Bhidhe suggests a religious site – Cell or Church of St Bee – the different shapes of some structures
need to be explored and perhaps one might prove to have been the religious centre. Excavation work over 2012 and
2013 might hopefully answer such questions.
Pottery from outside one of the structure walls dates back to Mediaeval times – between 1200 and 1500 AD.
However, the site may well go far beyond this in time. There is evidence of an old structure being built upon a much
older one and this could have happened several times.
All finds must be sent to Treasure Trove but the official Accreditation designation of Mull Museum makes it much
more likely that at least some finds will be returned for all to see.
Within a radius of 1 to 2 miles of Kildavie are Duns, Corn Drying Kilns, Bronze Age Cairns, and other structures from
the past on Langamull, Penmore, Aird and Croig. A Bronze Age bracelet was found by Professor Steven Mithen and
Dr Karen Wicks of Reading University in Croig Cave. They have also found burned hazel nut debris at Creit Dubh
dated as 9080 +/- 40 years *, only about 1½ miles away as the crow flies.
Above all, Kildavie has a mystical air about it so why not come and see and feel it for yourself?
For further information on Archaeology in NW Mull, contact Bill Patterson and Mull Archaeology Interest Group at
[email protected]
(*The Hazelnut debris was dated 9080 +/- 40 years old as from 1950 (BP or before present) – this is the date from
when carbon-dated material is calculated – yes it really was from just after the ice cap receded – one of two or three
oldest at such a date!)
Baliscate Chapel near Tobermory
The Baliscate Chapel site was described as one of the more remote
and romantic sites visited by Time Team in 2009. Baliscate is located
on the outskirts Tobermory. The site is on the outcrop (Coille Creag
A’Chait) in woodland owned by the Forestry Commission. Amongst
the trees are the tumbled remains of two stone-built enclosures, one
containing a rectangular building thought to be the remains of an
early Celtic Christian chapel.
Trenches excavated were able to confirm that this was indeed a
chapel, which originated as a timber building. A burial associated with this first phase gave us a radiocarbon date in
the 7th century AD. To set this against the historical background, the arrival of Christianity
in Scotland is traditionally associated with St. Ninian of Whithorn whom Bede recorded as
having converted the southern Picts, perhaps as early as 397 AD, with a second mission by
St. Columba to the northern Picts around 565 AD.
The timber chapel was later rebuilt in stone. Exactly when is uncertain, but part of a stone
cross recovered from demolition material overlying the chapel was thought to date to the
8th century AD. The chapel sat within a larger monastic complex containing at least one
other building; the surrounding enclosure covers an area of just under 1.5 hectares.
Baliscate cross fragment
The artefacts found during the excavation were awarded to the Mull Museum
some of which will be on display in the Museum in Tobermory.
The latest news is that further funding will be made available for further archaeological investigation at the site
Both Heritage Lottery Fund and LEADER (Argyll & the Islands) have agreed to award grants towards the costs of
bringing a team of expert archaeologists to work at the site in summer 2012.
Visitors wishing to visit the site are advised to park in the car park behind the small retail outlet on the approach to
Tobermory, there are Forestry Commission signposts with the cross symbol that take you up the lane to the
Baliscate standing stones, a well preserved corn drying kiln and the chapel site.
Derrynaculen Farm near Pennyghael
Derrynaculen Farm lies at the foot of a ravine on the N-facing slopes of Cruach nan Cuilean and on the southern edge
of the wide alluvial valley of the Coladoir river. It is approached by a track from Rossal Farm. It lies on the line of the
old road from Kinloch to Craig, now lost in the forestry.
There is a short stretch of the old road immediately east of the first/last
house in Kinloch settlement where a vehicle may be parked.
Take the track leading to Rossal Farm, and when the track divides, take
the left hand fork. (The right fork takes you up to Rossal House) The track
runs roughly parallel with the Coladoir river and to begin with, passes
through open fields. The next kilometre is through forestry and when the
track emerges into the open again, the ravine can be seen and the ruined
farmhouse and barn soon come into view.
Besides the house and
barn, there is an old fank
(sheepfold) at the foot of
the ravine, two enclosures, and the remains of various structures
which date from before the building of the existing farmhouse.
The poet Keats breakfasted in this house in 1818 when he was
journeying through Glen More. He had stayed the previous night in
a shepherd’s hut in the Glen and describes Derrynaculen as a
‘mansion’ in comparison. In those days, it must have been a very
new building. The house was lived in until the 1940s.
Airigh Mhic Cribhain (McNiven’s Shieling) west of Pennyghael
This site is on the edge of a wide valley on the ancient farm of Beinn an Aoinidh, which takes its name from the hill at
the top of the cliffs immediately above Carsaig Arches.
Parking
Leave your car in the car park on the A849 almost opposite Beach Bridge Cottage, where the Beach river flows into
Loch Scridain.
Cross over the river, and take the track by the side of Beach Bridge Cottage. This track takes you through the old
lands of Beach Farm. For the first 2 kilometres, either side of the track you will see the remains of old stone and turf
field dykes, now bracken or turf covered mounds. These were in use when the farm had several tenants and each
tenant had his own fields. During the winter and Spring, you
may notice the remains of old cultivation strips (lazy beds).
Much more noticeable are the fine dry-stone dykes which snake
their way across the land. These were erected once the
multiple tenants had gone and the farm became a sheep walk.
After crossing a ford over Abhainn an Easa Mhoir (the river of
the Great Waterfall), the track enters an area of forestry. After
approx. 1.3 k the forestry track ends and a footpath continues
to the end of the afforested area.
You will find yourself at the Western edge of a wide valley, and
ahead of you, the cliffs running eastwards towards Gorrie’s
Leap and Carsaig Arches and westwards towards Aoineadh
Beag.
Keep to the side of this valley, as the central area is boggy, and gradually make your way towards the cliffs. First you
will come to the remains of a square cornered shepherd’s house. The house was occupied until the 1930s. Nearby
are various byres, and enclosures, mostly associated with this later use of the land.
A little further on, you cross a march (boundary) into Ross of Mull land, and there are the remains of former
farmstead buildings, of an earlier date than the shepherd’s
house. On early maps this settlement was called Cuness.
However, these remains are hidden by bracken during the
summer months.
If you are visiting in the winter, or early spring, you may
also spot the shieling mounds a little further in the
direction of the cliffs. This was probably McNiven’s
shieling.
Cross the stream close to the cliff edge to admire the
dramatic views of the cliffs, or scramble up the lower
slopes of Beinn an Aoinidh to Gorrie’s Leap.