Kilnave Chapel and Cross

This chapel, overlooking Loch Gruinart was built in the late 1300s or early 1400s on the site of an earlier church. It has a bloodthirsty history. In 1598, in a battle near here, the Macleans of Mull were defeated by the Macdonalds of Islay. After the battle some of the surviving Macleans sought sanctuary in the chapel, only to be burnt to death when the Macdonalds set fire to the thatch.The thin free-standing cross, once beautifully carved on one side, but now badly weathered, is far older than the present chapel. It is thought that it was erected in the 5th century.