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Argyll and Bute

Finlaggan

The loch where the MacDonald Lords of the Isles ruled the western seaboard, with a walkway to their island and its chapel.

Welcome

Finlaggan, a quiet loch in the hills a few miles south-west of Port Askaig on Islay, was once the heart of a great sea kingdom.

From the 1300s to the 1400s it was the centre of the Lordship of the Isles, where the MacDonald Lords, descendants of Somerled, governed a large part of the western seaboard of Scotland, and it is still called the cradle of Clan Donald.

The loch holds two small islands. On Eilean Mòr, the big island, are the grassy footings of the Lords' halls and houses and the roofless gables of their chapel; on Eilean na Comhairle, the council island, the Lords met their councillors to rule, grant land and settle disputes. A wooden walkway crosses the reeds to Eilean Mòr, where medieval grave slabs carved with swords and a galley lie in the chapel. A small visitor centre by the shore holds finds from the excavations. The Lordship ended in 1493, when John MacDonald II was stripped of his titles by the Crown.

Before you go

The island is reached by a wooden walkway across the reeds and can be visited at any time.

The visitor centre by the shore opens in season; check before you go.

Where
Loch Finlaggan, south-west of Port Askaig, Islay.
Access
A walkway to Eilean Mòr.

Did you know

A carved stone Celtic cross stands on a plinth beside a window overlooking open land.
Did you know

The end of the Lordship.

In 1493 John MacDonald II was stripped of his titles, and the Lordship of the Isles came to an end.

A museum display case holds several carved stone fragments beside descriptive cards.
Did you know

Somerled, King of the Isles.

The Lords descended from Somerled, of mixed Norse and Gaelic blood, who declared himself King of Man and of the Isles and was killed in 1164.

A small grassy islet with scattered ruins sits within a reed-fringed loch.
Did you know

The council island.

The smaller island, Eilean na Comhairle, was the council island, where the Lords met to govern.

Glass-covered grave slabs sit among the ruined chapel walls at Finlaggan, overlooking the loch.
Did you know

A sword and a galley.

Medieval grave slabs found here, carved with a sword and a birlinn, the Lords' galley, now lie in the ruined chapel.

Information panels titled 'The Finlaggan Research Project' and 'Finlaggan, Home of the MacDonalds' line a wood-panelled wall.
Did you know

A chapel on an older site.

The chapel on Eilean Mòr may stand on the site of a monastery founded six centuries earlier.

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Where it is

Loch Finlaggan, Islay.

Close byOn Islay.
  1. Two crumbling stone gables of a ruined castle rise beside a lochFinlaggan CastleUnder a mile1 min by road
  2. The long bar at the Ballygrant Inn, stools along the counter and shelves of whisky behind.Ballygrant InnA family-run inn near Port Askaig with rooms, home cooking and an award-winning whisky bar.2 miles6 min by road
  3. Masked woman packs boxes in a pottery studio lined with unglazed ceramics and paint bottlesPersabus Pottery, Ceramics and ArtA pottery and art studio on a working farm near Port Askaig, where you can paint your own pot.3 miles7 min by road
  4. Port AskaigPort AskaigIslay's northern ferry port, a tiny white village on the Sound of Islay, half a mile across the water from Jura.3 miles8 min by road
  5. Caol Ila DistilleryCaol Ila DistilleryThe distillery on the Sound of Islay near Port Askaig, the Islay Home of Johnnie Walker, looking across to Jura.4 miles10 min by road
  6. Bunnahabhain DistilleryBunnahabhain DistilleryIslay's unpeated exception, at the end of a long road on the Sound of Islay, looking across to the Paps of Jura.6 miles20 min by road
Directions
Camus an Staca standing alone on the moor above the Sound of Jura.AttractionsCamus an Staca8.8 miles
Peatzeria's whitewashed building on Shore Street, Bowmore, with its belfry and pointed windows.RestaurantsPeatzeria9.4 miles
The Harbour Inn and its neighbours by the harbour in Bowmore, the loch beyond.RestaurantsHarbour Inn9.5 miles
The whitewashed front of the Bowmore Hotel on Jamieson Street, its name across the gable.RestaurantsBowmore Hotel9.5 miles
The long white building of the Celtic House on the corner, its windows along two streets.ShoppingThe Celtic House9.5 miles
Bowmore, Isle of IslayAttractionsBowmore9.5 miles
Bowmore Distillery, Isle of IslayAttractionsBowmore Distillery9.5 miles
Shelves of Jura whisky bottles in the distillery shop.AttractionsIsle of Jura Distillery12 miles
ToursJura Guided12 miles
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