Head south from Suidh' An Eoin Mor until you are just south of Knocklearoch Farm. In a square fenced are are two jaunty angled standing stones.
The west stone, nearest the road, is 1.5m tall and east stone is nearly 2m tall. Further to the east is stunning views of the Paps Of Jura. No sign of any hanging clergy today and all markings are natural
Directions:
Head south out of Port Askaig along the A846. When you reach Ballygrant take the minor road south. The stones are easy to spot, near the road, next to a farm. This road gets progressively rougher the further south you drive.
Due o problems with the ferries it was with great relief that we (eventually) managed to reach Islay - a place I had wanted to visit for a long time.
This was my first 'old stone' site to visit and not a bad one to start with. The stones are approximately 4ft high, both leaning to the south. The stones have been fenced in within the field to protect them. The stones look well weathered and suitably old.
Well worth a look when in the area.
CANMORE states:
Two standing stones of local limestone, situated 2.4m apart. The west stone is triangular at the base, measuring 0.65m by 0.9m by 1.5m.
The east stone is also triangular and measures 0.8m by 0.8m by 1.7m. A pronounced natural fissure has caused part of the stone to break off.
Knocklearoch, in Islay, stands for Cnoc-Cleireach - i.e., the Hill of the Clerics. The following tradition regarding the locality, as told by Mr Hector MacLean of Ballygrant, Islay, is cited by Captain Thomas: "There is a tradition that two clerics were hanged, and that the day on which they were hanged was remarkably stormy. So it has been a byword in Islay ever since I remember, when a cold and stormy day came on, 'This day is worse than the day on which the clerics were hanged.' At Knocklearoch are two monoliths called Na Cleirich, 'The Clerics,' and under these, tradition relates, the two clerics were buried. (PSAS vol. xvi, p267).
Log in |
Register
0 discussions
Show map (inline Google Map)
Add an image 
Posted by drewbhoy
Posted by Rhiannon
Top of page