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An old wooden boat wreck on the Kerrera shore.
Argyll and Bute

Dail Righ

The King's Field on Kerrera, where Alexander II is said to have died in 1249 on his campaign for the Hebrides.

Welcome

Dail Righ, the King's Field, is an unremarkable fenced field on the Isle of Kerrera, across the water from Oban, usually full of sheep, and it would be easy to walk past it.

But it is said to be the place where one of Scotland's kings came ashore to die. In 1249 Alexander II, having failed to buy the Western Isles from Norway, gathered a fleet to take them by force, and he got as far as Kerrera.

The story goes that as the fleet lay at anchor in the bay, the king dreamed that three saints, Columba, Magnus and Olaf, came to warn him not to land. He ignored them, stepped ashore here, fell ill with a fever and died. He was buried at Melrose Abbey, far away in the Borders, and his son succeeded him as Alexander III. The field is a walk from the Kerrera ferry, and it is worth standing in it for a moment to think how differently things might have gone.

A short drive awayKerrera FerryThe little turn-up-and-go passenger ferry from Gallanach, south of Oban, across the Sound of Kerrera.1 min by roadSee itThe ferry's ramp and the island across the sound.
Before you go

Dail Righ is on Kerrera, reached by the passenger ferry from Gallanach, south of Oban.

It is a field, often with sheep in it; keep to the tracks and close gates.

Where
Isle of Kerrera, off Oban.
Getting there
Kerrera ferry from Gallanach.
Where it is

Kerrera, across the Sound from Oban.

Close byOn Kerrera.
  1. Kerrera Tea GardenKerrera Tea GardenUnder a mile1 min by road
  2. Isle of KerreraIsle of KerreraThe green island across the Sound from Oban, with a ten-kilometre walk, a tea garden and Gylen Castle at its southern tip.Under a mile1 min by road
  3. Gylen CastleGylen CastleThe MacDougalls' tower of 1582 on a headland at the south end of Kerrera, burned by the Covenanters in 1647.Under a mile4 min by road
  4. Blue wooden hut with bunting, flower baskets and open door, hills behindBalliemore Farm Shop, KerreraUnder a mile1 min by road
  5. The view across the Sound of Kerrera to Oban and the mainland.Kerrera Southern LoopThe favourite walk on Kerrera: round the Horseshoe bays to the tea garden and Gylen Castle, and back over the hill to the ferry.2 miles2 min by road
Directions
The ferry's ramp and the island across the sound.AttractionsKerrera Ferry1.0 miles
A CalMac ferry entering Oban Bay past a small lighthouse, seen from the hill.AttractionsPulpit Hill3.1 miles
Mussels and prawn cocktail with white wine on a restaurant tableRestaurantsThe Waterfront Fishouse, Oban3.1 miles
Alba the Artshop, Argyll and ButeShoppingAlba the Artshop, Oban3.1 miles
George Street Fish Restaurant & Chip Shop, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsGeorge Street Fish, Oban3.1 miles
The CalMac terminal on Oban's waterfront.AttractionsOban to Lismore Ferry3.2 miles
Whole lobsters on ice beside a chalkboard sign reading "lobsterRestaurantsOban Seafood Hut3.2 miles
Harbourfront buildings and a red-roofed pavilion along the bay.AttractionsOban Harbour3.2 miles
The Oban Inn, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsThe Oban Inn3.2 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the field, and when each is next free.

The Drury from the lawn below: a grey granite Victorian villa with sandstone bay windows, dormers in the slate roof and tall chimneys.The Drury
  • Sleeps 22
  • In Oban
  • 3 miles from Dail Righ
Free 18–20 OctGlencruitten House, Argyll and ButeGlencruitten House
  • To stay
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 4 miles from Dail Righ
Check datesTimber cabin with copper roof beside a loch, shaded by oak treesUisge Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 7 miles from Dail Righ
Check datesBlack timber-clad cabin with corrugated roof and stove flue, set among trees and long grassBeatha
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 7 miles from Dail Righ
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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