I spent a couple of days at Rowan Cottage this week,
attending to a few jobs and a bit of painting. All my tasks were complete by
mid-afternoon yesterday, so I took myself off for a bit of a walk. I walked the
‘old road’ between Stollamus and Luib – still a reasonable track, but it was
left to disappear back into the moor when the motor car came to Skye and new
routes were created – probably in about the 1920s.
I started from the Luib end. I have not walked the full length of the track before. It
affords some lovely views into Strath Mor and over Loch na Cairidh and Caolas Scalpay.
But the big surprise was to
come across a ruined church… How did I not know of this before? In a straight line, it stands only a mile or so from Rowan Cottage, though the shape of the land hides it from view from the modern road. The only
approach to the ruin is by a rough path, ankle-deep in bog in places. The
church bears a build date of 1906, so it is not all that old, but even so, I
cannot find anything about it from my usual sources on the web.
Architecturally, it is attractive, but not a remarkable building, and there
is no evidence of an associated burial ground, but I am still surprised that there
appears to be no information available as to its history. I will have to make
some local enquiries!
Here are a few of my photos of my visit…
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| Allt na Luibe |
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| View towards Strath Mor |
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| A lonely ruin |
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| A closer view of the ruined church |
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| Inside the church - the altar end |
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| Caolas Scalpay from the track |
