Undiscovered Scotland

 

A minor single track road turns off the B8025 to Tayvallich at the head of Loch Sween, and then follows the south-east shore of the loch to Castle Sween, and beyond it to Kilmory Knap Chapel. This is a glorious excursion into the remote part of mid-Argyll known as Knapdale.

The observant mapreader will notice that the Ordnance Survey show the presence of two crosses close to the road. The first is shown in woodland near a building shown as Daltote Cottage. We've not been able to find this on the ground.

The second is shown in a field beside the road a mile north-east of Castle Sween. It is possible to park (carefully) at one end of the passing place opposite the gate into the field, and from there it is only a short stroll across the field to the cross itself. What you find is a stone standing to about waist height with a crudely carved cross on one face. There are traces of other stones flat on the ground around the stone, and these appear to be packing intended to ensure the cross remains upright. The location of the stone is superb, with views that extend north-east along Loch Sween.

As a rule it is possible to find out something about just about any feature you stumble across in Scotland. This cross slab appears to be an exception. It seems to go unmentioned in the usual catalogues of ancient monuments, though the fact that there is nothing close to it that can be used to give it an obvious name doesn't help in the search. The nearest feature is a building called Kilbride, a short distance to the north-east, but while the name suggests the presence at one time of a church, this doesn't help tie things down.

So, a cross slab with no name and no recorded history standing in a field beside the road. Was it originally intended to serve as a waymarker for pilgrims en route to or from Kilmory Knap Chapel? Or did it denote the nearby presence of an early place of worship? Your guess is, as they say, as good as ours. But the fact that so little seems to be known about this cross only serves to add to the attraction of paying it a visit. Unless, of course, you know more than we do about it: in which case we'd love to hear from you.