Kilchoan ( gd, Cille Chòmhain) is a village on the Scottish peninsula of

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

, beside the Sound of Mull in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

. It is the most westerly village in mainland

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, although several tiny hamlets lie further west on the peninsula (of these, the most westerly is called Portuairk). The western

linear Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

, coastal parts of the village are Ormsaigmore and Ormsaigbeg. Kilchoan has a population of about 150 people altogether.

History

M.E.M. Donaldson equates "Buarblaig" (now Bourblaige about east of Kilchoan on the other side of the eastern mountain of Ben Hiant at , ) with Muribulg, where the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-centur ...

record a battle between the Picts and Dalriads in 731 AD. It may also be the 'Muirbole Paradisi' mentioned by

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of ...

. For many years following the 1688 overthrow and exile of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

, the historic parish church at Kilchoan, which was dedicated to Saint Comgan and which is now in ruins, was a Non-juring Episcopal parish within the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

native Mhaighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, 1st of Dalilea, was the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Kilchoan until his death around 1724. In addition to being well known locally as a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; a ...

, Maighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill was also the father of poet

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c. 1698–1770), legal name Alexander MacDonald, or, in Gaelic Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish war poet, satirist, lexicographer, political writer and memoirist. The poet's Gaelic name means "Alasdair, so ...

, who served as the Gaelic tutor to

Prince Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

during the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

and who remains, along with Sorley MacLean, one of the two most important writers in the whole history of

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Iri ...

Landmarks

The ancient

Mingary Castle Mingary Castle ( gd, Caisteal Mhìogharraidh), also known as Mingarry Castle, is a castle situated southeast of the small village of Kilchoan in Lochaber, Scotland. Nestled on ridge of rock overlooking the sea, it was considered a strategically ...

is on the coast about 1 km east of the village. Examples of a type of

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...

structure called a

cone sheet A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

are found at Kilchoan. Below the slope north-west of the village street is a chambered cairn, Greadal Fhinn. Ben Hiant is the highest point of the peninsula at 528 m and lies between the village and the coastal hamlet of Ardslignish.

Tourism and amenities

Transport

A regular

CalMac Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

ferry service runs from Kilchoan to Tobermory on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering ...

. To and from the regional centre of Fort William, one bus per day Monday to Saturday connects with the ferry via Salen and the

Corran Ferry The Corran Ferry crosses Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows, south of Fort William, Scotland. Description Operated by Highland Council, the Corran Ferry is one of few remaining scheduled mainland vehicle ferries in Scotland. The route crosses Lo ...

Kilchoan Bay

Kilchoan Bay has four visitor moorings, a ferry jetty, a shop with a post office, showers and a petrol station.

Hospitality

The Kilchoan House Hotel is now the most westerly bar/hotel on the mainland of the UK, after the closure of Sonachan Hotel. Ardnamurchan Campsite, Kilchoan.

Geology

The minerals kilchoanite, dellaite and rustumite were first found at Kilchoan. A natural history museum is adjacent to the hamlet to the east at the coastal hamlet of Glenmore.

Notes and references

;References ;Notes

External links

{{Lochaber Populated places in Lochaber Ports and harbours of Scotland Ardnamurchan