Although today’s main objective was to head to Oronsay, I made a quick morning visit to Finlaggan to do some more photographing of this most important site. The Paps of Jura are quite visible from this ancient location so I attempted to create some photos with the Paps and the ruins. While many things have changed in the past 1000 years, the Paps were surely just as visible to the Lords of the Isles when visiting Finlaggan as they are today. The pine forests around the loch would not have been here back then so one has to imagine what the landscape would have looked like. Today Finlaggan is surrounded by fields of sheep including this beautiful ram that I passed on my walk back to the parking lot.
In the afternoon a friend and I boarded the boat from Islay Sea Adventures and headed to Oronsay and the Oronsay Priory built by John of Islay, first Lord of the Isles. My first attempt to visit Oronsay had been thwarted by bad weather when I stayed on Colonsay and attempted to cross the strand. Thankfully I had met Gus, our captain on another adventure and he had said he could take me to Oronsay by boat. So here I was, back on Islay for the main purpose of going to Oronsay. Gus brought us in as close as he could to shore and then helped us climb out onto the rocks and over to the beach. It was about a 40 minute hike over to the Augustinian priory founded sometime between 1325 and 1353 with later works added in the early 1500’s. What greets you as you come around the bend in the gravel road is a magnificent cluster of ruins just begging for exploration. We wandered around the complex for quite some time and from each angle it became more fascinating. The photos don’t really do it justice – it must be experienced.
