Ancient Ileach company on Mother's Day
Feeling a little sorry for myself as it was my first Mother's Day on my own - not that we had ever made much of a fuss about it in our family - I decided to pack a picnic and gain some more Islay gridsquares. After all, that was my favourite thing to do and I didn't mind doing it on my own so would be less likely to indulge in a bout of self-pity.
Perhaps my least visited area of the island is the Rhinns peninsula. I'm not sure why. But I had long ago noticed on the map the curious name of Olistadh situated off the Kilchiaran road near Gearach. I decided to make this my destination and, if the weather (and my spirits) improved, I would extend the walk to the other side of the road and attempt to find one of the duns marked east of Kilchiaran.
Parking at Gearach 
, I got out of the car and it started snowing. Knowing it was only a half mile walk to Olistadh I decided to carry on and immediately entered new territory - shameful really as this is a mere stone's throw off the 'main' road. Perhaps that's why actually; I've always preferred locations which lie well off the beaten track! Still, I never fail to get excited about entering new territory so I walked up to the gate at the beginning of the forest track 
. About ten minutes later I emerged into open countryside through an open gate 
.
From here it wasn't far to my destination. Olistadh is Old Norse for Olafr's Steading. It is one of the minority of place-names on Islay which can be traced to the Viking Age. The settlement consists of six unroofed buildings. One is now separated from the others by a deer fence 
Although still accessible through a gate, I did not visit this particular building on this occasion. The other buildings are relatively close together, nestled below the massif of Beinn Tart a' Mhill. 
, 
and 
with a distant view of the Paps of Jura 
. An extensive wall surrounds the settlement 
. This latter photo shows the distant, isolated farm of Bolsay and the more distant Oa peninsula. It's on occasions like this that I'm reminded again of the size of Islay. Visitors often ask 'What's that land there in the distance?' and are always surprised when I reply, 'Still Islay!'
By the time I left Olafr's steading, the sun was making more of an appearance. So much so in fact that I not only decided to continue my walk on the other side of the road, but I decided to change to my polariser filter as well - a sure sign that I had faith in the emergence of the sun. I was familiar with Loch Gearach only through goose-counting when we used to have to walk to the Loch to see if there were any geese nearby (usually only Greylags). Today I viewed the Loch from a more elevated position with the attractive addition of an old ruin in the foreground 
. I headed almost directly north across a welcome, albeit faint farm track west of the Gearach plantation. Then one of my favourite things happened. I noticed in the distance a whole bunch of ruins. 
Now where were they and why weren't they marked on the map? Another glance at the map showed that they were in fact marked on the map, just not named, so I would have to do my homework upon my return (something else I love!)
I decided I'd head up to the settlement and so extend my walk even more. I was feeling quite elated; the day was turning out far better than I'd thought. There was even a 'board walk' across to the dłn 
which stood prominently above the boggy moorland. Dłn Glas an Lņin Ghuirm translates from Gaelic as 'The Grey Fort of the Blue Marsh (or Meal)'. I'd say it was more brown than either grey or blue but I suspect something is lost in the translation! 
. From the summit of this fortified eminence I looked north towards Greamsay 
and south towards Loch Gearach 
.
Descending from those dizzy heights, I skirted the dłn to find Outcome 3 - the Standing Stone which is the guardian of Greamsay Village. It is visible from some distance and I sat here beneath this lichen-encrusted antiquity for a brief rest and cup of hot water 
, looking towards Greamsay and musing on its origins.
It is in fact of Old Norse derivation once again, translating as Grim's Steading, a name which hopefully did not have the same negative connotations as it does today. Would the Brothers Grimm have written such 'grim' tales if they'd been called 'cheerful' instead? of course they would, but trains of thought do tend to run away with you when you're on your own in open moorland. With the sun now out for the rest of the day I strode elatedly to this old settlement and spent ages photographing its various buildings and structures. 
, 
, 
, 
, 
and 
. I was intrigued to find a massive piece of quartz beneath one of the buildings 
. I'm not sure I've seen such a massive piece before.
I hadn't intended doing so, but I now decided to extend my walk yet again and walk to the east side of Loch Gearach. That way I could look for the recumbent standing stone and take in another grid square. This proved to be the most difficult part of the walk as there is nothing like a path across the sometimes boggy moorland, intersected by rivulets 
. An old wall was evidence of previous habitation, suggesting it was once a less strenuous walk. 
. Old iron fence posts were the last feature in this gridsquare before I set foot into the next 
.
With very few features to aid navigation and thick heather underfoot, it was a while before I found the fallen standing stone (by definition it was not going to be THAT easy to find!) 
. It was situated next to a curious pile of stones (this time they are DEFINITELY not marked on the map in any shape or form 
. I used one of these to sit on and eat my picnic, whilst looking across to Cnoc Thornasaig 
.
A very faint track leads from here back to Gearach 
. For 'faint' read 'indecipherable' - at least in places. But it does become more distinct 
and leads to a gate 
at the dammed southern end of the Loch 
. A ford across the Abhainn Gearach was my last feature of the day. 
Despite extending my walk several times, I was still home for around 2.30 pm that day after a glorious day out in the hills with so many unexpected pleasant surprises. Isn't that what Mother's Day is all about? Oh, and I also got to talk to my kids later on that day!
*Ileach is an Islay native
- When
- Tue, 19 Mar 2013 at 05:57
- Grid Square
NR2260
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