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The ruins of St Blane's under a blue sky.
Argyll and Bute

St Blane's Chapel

The ruined church in a wooded hollow at the south end of Bute, on the site of St Blane's monastery of the 500s.

Welcome

St Blane's is a ruined church in a hollow among trees near the southern tip of Bute, and it is one of the most atmospheric places on the island.

Its roots are in a monastery founded here in the 500s, the home of St Blane, or Blaan, of Kingarth, who may be buried here. The early monks left after the Viking raids around 790.

A parish church was built on the site in the 1100s, and it was used until the Reformation of 1560; its walls and gables still stand on a raised platform within an old boundary wall, with gravestones scattered in the grass around it. The story goes that when the church was given up, its priest refused to leave and was allowed to stay on for years. It is open at any time, all year round.

A short drive awayKilchattan BayA Victorian village on a wide bay in the south of Bute, once a tile works and a steamer stop, where the West Island Way begins.7 min by roadSee itA bus on the shore road round the wide sandy bay, the village beyond.
Before you go

St Blane's is open all year, near the southern tip of Bute beyond Kilchattan Bay.

Open
All year; free.
Where
The south end of Bute, PA20 9LX.
Where it is

The south end of Bute.

Close byOn Bute.
  1. Mount Stuart's red sandstone front across the lawns.Mount StuartThe red sandstone Gothic mansion of the Marquesses of Bute, with a marble hall and chapel and 300 acres of gardens.6 miles11 min by road
  2. Scalpsie Bay's sand and the green fields behind, from above.Scalpsie BayA quiet red-sand bay on Bute's west coast, with a seal colony on its rocks and Arran across the water.6 miles9 min by road
  3. The roofless gable of St Mary's Chapel among the graves.St Mary’s ChapelThe roofless chancel of Rothesay's medieval church, with the canopied tombs of a Stewart knight and an unknown lady.8 miles12 min by road
  4. Display cases of birds and finds in Bute Museum's hall.Bute MuseumThe island's own museum on Stuart Street in Rothesay, by the castle, with the archaeology, history and wildlife of Bute.9 miles13 min by road
  5. Rothesay's seafront terraces rising above the bay.Rothesay TownBute's Victorian resort town on a wide bay, with a moated castle, a royal charter of 1401 and celebrated toilets on the pier.9 miles13 min by road
Directions
A bus on the shore road round the wide sandy bay, the village beyond.AttractionsKilchattan Bay1.0 miles over the water
The castle walls reflected in the moat.AttractionsRothesay Castle8.9 miles
The Kettledrum café on its corner in Rothesay, a red shopfront with CAFE in white letters above the door.CafeKettledrum Café9.0 miles
The white shopfront of Musicker on Rothesay's High Street, its name on a green sign above the windows.CafeMusicker9.1 miles
The front of Ambience on Victoria Street, Rothesay, under its blue awning.RestaurantsAmbience Café9.1 miles
Rothesay Castle's round walls behind its moat.AttractionsIsle of Bute10 miles
The wide sands of Ettrick Bay at low tide.AttractionsEttrick Bay15 miles
The low brick café at Ettrick Bay on a sunny day, with blue pillars and doors, benches and parasols along the front.CafeEttrick Bay Café15 miles
Stay nearby

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

The Hollies, Argyll and ButeThe Hollies
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 14 miles from St Blane's
Check datesA white harled house with crow-stepped gables catches the sunset glow above a loch, yellow flowering shrubs in the foreground.Glenstriven House
  • To stay
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 15 miles from St Blane's
Free 25–27 OctPlaces 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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