ST PATRICK’S CHAPEL – TEAMPALL PHÀRAIG
THE REMAINS OF A MEDIEVAL CHAPEL ON THE SITE OF A 6TH-CENTURY MONASTERY
The small ruins of St Patrick’s Chapel are set in an ancient enclosure. Its dramatic coastal setting overlooks Balephuil Bay (Tràigh Bhi) and has long made the site a place of reflection, folklore and local memory. The chapel stands at the foot of Kenavara (Ceann a’ Mhara), a headland on the west side of the Bay. The site likely originated as an early Christian monastic settlement dating from around the 7th–8th century AD, in the period of early Celtic Christianity influenced by Iona. The nearby Uamh Chaluim Chèaird (cave of Calum the tinker) is thought to be a late Neolithic or Bronze Age burial chamber … or is it just a natural perched rock?
Start / End: Balephuil Bay / Tràigh Bhi
Park and Meet: Balephuil Bay Beach (Tràigh Bhi). At the car park near the west end of Balephuil Bay.
Walking Distance: ~4km (out-and-back) – 1.5 hours.
Terrain: Mostly flat tracks, beach sand and grassland — be prepared for some soft ground near the shore and mud towards the chapel.