Island 105 - Inchcolm, Firth of Forth, Scotland

Inchcolm is located to the south of the Fife coast between Aberdour and Dalgety Bay.  It is nearly a mile of shore and is about a kilometre long by 300 metres wide at its widest point. 

The island was named in the 12th Century in memory of St Columba.  It was previously called Aemonia or Emona. King Alexander I sheltered on the island during a storm in 1123 and resolved to build an abbey on it.  However he died in 1124 before it was built and it was his brother David I, who invited Augustinian canons to establish a priory on the island.  The priory was promoted to the status of an abbey in 1235.   In the 1400s a new church was built and a residence was created for the abbot above the old church.

 

The abbey ruins are well preserved, probably because its location on an island made it less accessible for plunderers looking for building stone after the dissolution of the monasteries.  The cloister is the best preserved one in Scotland and three of the four sides have survived.  There is also a wall painting of a funeral procession, which dates from the 1200s, as does the octagonal chapter house.  The stone screens separating the nave from the choir are also notable.  The other buildings which have survived and are roofed are the warming room, dormitory and refectory. 

 Inchcolm is mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth - Act 1, Scene 2:

"That now Sweno, the Norways’ king, craves composition;
Nor would we deign him burial of his men
Till he disbursed, at Saint Colme's Inch,
Ten thousand dollars to our general use."

The island is managed by Historic Scotland.  Various operators run trips to the island from South Queensferry, although the day I went it departed from North Queensferry, as there was a very large cruise ship lying off South Queensferry.  You get to sail under the Forth Road and Rail Bridges, which was interesting in itself. 

The island was fortified in 1795 during the Napoleonic Wars and again during the two World Wars to help defend Edinburgh, the Rosyth naval base and the Forth Bridge. 

 

Today Inchcolm is home to thousands of gulls.  I visited during nesting season, which meant that some of the island was inaccessible due to hostile gulls.

Inchcolm Abbey

Landing Quay on the north side of the island

Inchcolm Abbey from the south coast

Inchcolm Abbey and Quay

 

Inchcolm Abbey