Kilchoan () is a village on the Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

. It is the most westerly village in mainland

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, although several tiny hamlets lie further west on the peninsula (of these, the most westerly is called Portuairk). The western

linear In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a '' polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...

, coastal parts of the village are Ormsaigmore and Ormsaigbeg. Kilchoan has a population of about 150 people.

History

M.E.M. Donaldson equates "Buarblaig" (now Bourblaige about east of Kilchoan on the other side of the eastern mountain of Ben Hiant at , ) with Muribulg, where the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...

record a battle between the Picts and Dalriads in 731 AD. It may also be the 'Muirbole Paradisi' mentioned by

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (; , ''Adomnanus''; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and Christian saint, saint. He was the author of the ''Life ...

. For many years following the 1688 overthrow and exile of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

, the historic parish church at Kilchoan, which was dedicated to Saint Comgan and which is now in ruins, was a Non-juring Episcopal parish within the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...

native Mhaighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, 1st of Dalilea, was the rector of Kilchoan until his death around 1724. In addition to being well known locally as a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

, Maighstir Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill was the father of poet

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c. 1698–1770), legal name Alexander MacDonald, or, in Gaelic Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish war poet, satirist, lexicographer, and memoirist. He was born at Dalilea into the Noblesse, Scottish nobili ...

, who served as the Gaelic tutor to Prince Charles Edward Stuart during the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

and is one of the most important figures of Scottish Gaelic literature.

Landmarks

The ancient Mingary Castle is on the coast about 1 km east of the village. Examples of a type of

igneous rock Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

structure called a cone sheet are found at Kilchoan. Below the slope north-west of the village street is a chambered cairn, Greadal Fhinn. Ben Hiant is the highest point of the peninsula at 528 m and lies between the village and the coastal hamlet of Ardslignish.

Tourism and amenities

Transport

A regular CalMac ferry service runs from Kilchoan to Tobermory on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

. To and from the regional centre of Fort William, one bus per day Monday to Saturday connects with the ferry via Salen and the Corran Ferry

Kilchoan Bay

Kilchoan Bay has four visitor moorings, a ferry jetty, a shop with a post office, showers and a petrol station.

Hospitality

The Kilchoan House Hotel is now the most westerly bar/hotel on the mainland of the UK, after the closure of Sonachan Hotel. Ardnamurchan Campsite, Kilchoan.

Geology

The minerals kilchoanite, dellaite and rustumite were first found at Kilchoan. A natural history museum is adjacent to the hamlet to the east at the coastal hamlet of Glenmore.

Notable residents

* Hamza Yassin, cameraman and ''

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'' champion.

Notes and references

;References ;Notes

External links

{{Lochaber Populated places in Lochaber Ports and harbours of Scotland Ardnamurchan