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A weathered carved cross stands behind a stone wall beside an information sign.
Isle of Islay

Kildalton Cross

A ring-headed high cross of the 700s, still standing where it was raised, in a chapel yard in south-east Islay.

Welcome

The Kildalton Cross stands in the churchyard of a roofless chapel in the fields and woods of south-east Islay, west of Ardmore, and it is one of the finest carved stones of medieval Scotland.

It was carved in the 700s and still stands where it was first raised more than 1,200 years ago, one of very few early Christian crosses left in their original place. It is a ring-headed high cross, 2.65 metres tall, cut from grey-green chlorite schist, a stone so hard it must have been difficult to work, which is why its carving is still so crisp.

One face carries roundels of snake-and-boss work and four lions; the other has spirals, what seem to be peacocks feeding on grapes, the Virgin and Child on the head, and on the arms Cain slaying Abel and Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. The chapel beside it was built some time after 1200 and was out of use by 1700. The site is open all year.

Before you go

The cross is west of Ardmore in the south-east of Islay, on the single-track road that runs on along the coast past Ardbeg, about six kilometres beyond the distillery.

It is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, free and open all year.

Getting there
CalMac ferry from Kennacraig to Port Ellen or Port Askaig, or fly from Glasgow to Islay Airport.
Where
West of Ardmore, beyond Ardbeg.
Open
All year; free.

Did you know

A carved stone cross stands before the ruined gable of a stone chapel.
Did you know

Where it was raised.

The cross has stood in the same spot for more than 1,200 years, which makes it one of very few early Christian crosses still in their first place.

A weathered carved cross with a ringed head stands in a grassy churchyard.
Did you know

Peacocks, as in the Book of Kells.

On the east face, what seem to be peacocks feeding on grapes match a detail in the Book of Kells, the gospel book made on Iona.

Carved medieval grave slabs lie flat in the grass of a ruined churchyard.
Did you know

An earlier cross beneath.

Repairs to the foundations in the 1800s found signs of an earlier cross-slab on the spot, and human bones beneath the cross.

A weathered carved cross stands in a churchyard beside a low stone wall and distant hill.
Did you know

Stones in the museum.

Early Christian carved stones from this graveyard are on show in the Museum of Islay Life at Port Charlotte.

A close-up shows the lichen-covered carving on the ringed head of a stone cross.
What is on

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New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on on Islay
01 / 05
Where it is

West of Ardmore, south-east Islay, PA42 7EE.

Close byIn south-east Islay.
  1. Ardbeg DistilleryArdbeg DistilleryThe peated malt distillery on its own small bay east of Port Ellen, making whisky since 1815.4 miles11 min by road
  2. The broken tower of Dunyvaig Castle on its rocky point, the sea grey beyond.Dunyvaig CastleThe ruined sea fortress of the Lords of the Isles on a rocky point in Lagavulin Bay.5 miles13 min by road
  3. The white front of Lagavulin with its name on the wall and the red chimney behind.Lagavulin DistilleryThe distillery of 1816 on Lagavulin Bay, beside the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, making deeply peated malt.5 miles12 min by road
  4. Laphroaig's white warehouses with the name in black across the bay, waves on the stony shore.Laphroaig DistilleryThe Kildalton distillery of 1815 on a rocky bay east of Port Ellen, with its own malting floor.6 miles15 min by road
  5. Port EllenPort EllenA white ferry village in the south of Islay, founded in 1821, with three famous distilleries along the road east.8 miles17 min by road
  6. White cottages line a clifftop row with a lighthouse in the distanceIsle of Islay (pronounced Eye-la)The most southerly of the Hebrides, famous for its whisky, with white villages, great beaches and the Lords of the Isles.8 miles16 min by road
Directions
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The Singing Sands, a curve of pale sand below a brown headland, waves washing in.AttractionsThe Singing Sands10 miles
The crown and the words THE SHOP on the red telephone box.ShoppingShop in the Box11 miles
Surf breaking on dark rocks at Laggan Bay, the dunes and white farmhouses beyond.AttractionsLaggan Bay11 miles
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