Kildalton Cross

A fairly breezy day again, with the odd shower in the morning.  The winds were warm, and plenty of sunshine, clouding over this evening.  

Up early, and headed to work at Islay Airport.  Only one flight in and out today, so an early finish, and time for more exploring.  Rachel from the B&B told me to head south, so my first stop was at Kildalton kirk.  She then told me to head to Claggain Beach, with an old Islay saying "pick up a pebble at Claggain Bay, then you will return one day", my pebble is now in my bag . I stopped off at Ardbeg and Laphroaig distilleries. Headed to Mull of Oa and the American Monument, with stunning coastal scenery, then back to Port Ellen.  A quiet evening at the B&B tonight. I saw plenty of Highland coos (cows), various deers, even herds, a golden eagle, and strangely a flock of wild goats, mostly on the steep cliff edges.  

A hard choice for a main Blip today, but another day and another cross, this time I got to see it up close.  An absolutely stunning piece of history/art from the 8th century, with various biblical references carved into the stone.  It's one of Scotland's best examples of it's type, and has stood in it's original place for over 1,200 years.  When they restored it's foundations in the 1800s, they discovered an older cross had stood here before.  A place of worship for a long time, and the old kirk was an interesting building too.  The hard stone cross stands over 2.5 metres, and because it's a hard chlorite schist, that has help preserve the monument.  The Kildalton Cross, Islay.