St. Columba’s Isle: The Secret Cemetery Most Visitors to Skye Never See
Some of the best places on the Isle of Skye and in Scotland are the ones you would probably never find on your own.
On the Isle of Skye, most visitors arrive with a familiar list: the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing, Dunvegan Castle, the Fairy Pools and the colorful harbor at Portree.
They are all worth seeing.
But on one of our Traveling Professor small group tours to Scotland, our longtime Skye guide and photographer Cailean MacLean decided it was time to “break out the good stuff.”
He took us somewhere we had never been before.
St. Columba’s Isle, a tiny, historic burial island near Skeabost that most visitors to the Isle of Skye never see.
What we found was an ancient cemetery, medieval church ruins, centuries-old carved grave slabs and one of those wonderfully atmospheric places where Scotland’s history suddenly feels very real.
And there were no crowds.
Where Is St. Columba’s Isle?
St. Columba’s Isle is located in the River Snizort near Skeabost, about six miles from Portree on the Isle of Skye.
Its Gaelic name is Eilean Chaluim Chille, referring to Columba and his church.
Today, it is an ancient burial ground containing the remains of two churches, including the ruins of Old Snizort Parish Church and the smaller Chapel of St. Columba.
Historic Environment Scotland describes the site as an ancient burial ground and notes that the parish church here probably served as a cathedral church for the Bishops of the Isles during the medieval period.
Yet despite its historical importance, St. Columba’s Isle remains far off the normal tourist trail.
Who Was St. Columba?
To understand why St. Columba’s Isle is significant, it helps to know something about the man whose name it bears.
St. Columba, known in Gaelic as Colum Cille, was an Irish monk and missionary born around A.D. 521.
In A.D. 563, Columba traveled from Ireland to Scotland and established his famous monastery on the island of Iona, off Scotland’s west coast.
Iona became one of the great religious centers of early medieval Scotland, and Columba became one of the most influential figures in the spread of Christianity through western Scotland and the islands.
He died on Iona in A.D. 597.
Over the centuries, Columba's name became associated with churches and religious communities throughout western Scotland.
The site at Skeabost carries his name, although—as is often the case with places this old—the precise origins of the religious settlement are difficult to establish.
Historic Environment Scotland cautions that the history and dating of St. Columba’s Isle are complicated and that further archaeological research would be needed to settle some of the questions surrounding its earliest history.
In other words, the connection to Columba reaches deep into Skye tradition, but you should not assume the church ruins standing there today date from Columba's own lifetime.
They are much later.
One of the Most Important Religious Sites on Medieval Skye
It is difficult to imagine today, but this quiet little island was once an important religious center.
The remains of Old Snizort Parish Church are believed to be late medieval, and an earlier church on the site was associated with the Bishops of the Isles.
Historical accounts have even described Snizort as having once been regarded as the principal church on Skye.
The smaller building known as the Chapel of St. Columba, or Nicolson's Aisle, may date to around the 11th to 13th centuries.
Historic Environment Scotland notes that architectural evidence may point toward an early 13th-century date.
That means visitors walking across this little patch of land today are standing at a religious site with a history stretching back many centuries.
Why Is There an Ancient Cemetery on St. Columba’s Isle?
Churches and burial grounds have been closely connected for centuries.
Being buried near an important church was considered desirable, and over generations St. Columba’s Isle became an extensive cemetery.
This is not a cemetery created as a tourist attraction or historical reconstruction.
People were actually buried here generation after generation.
An extraordinary description from 1865 already portrayed St. Columba's Isle as a crowded burial ground filled with tombs, broken stones and ancient grave slabs. The writer Alexander Smith described wandering among old stones bearing carved figures of men holding swords.
More than 150 years later, visitors can still see evidence of those centuries of burials.
The Medieval Warrior Grave Slabs
For us, some of the most fascinating things on St. Columba’s Isle were the old carved grave slabs.
Several depict medieval warriors.
Historic records identify at least three grave slabs with carved figures of knights in the churchyard.
One shows a warrior lying in relief with his hands holding a sword.
These aren't polished museum exhibits sitting behind glass.
They are there among the grass, ruined stonework and graves on this tiny island in Skye.
That is what makes the experience so remarkable.
You are not looking at Scottish history in a display case.
You are standing in it.
The Burial Place of Clan Nicolson Chiefs
St. Columba’s Isle is also closely associated with Clan Nicolson, sometimes spelled Nicholson.
The smaller chapel is known as Nicolson's Aisle, and tradition holds that 28 chiefs of Clan Nicolson were buried there. Historic Environment Scotland records that tradition while noting the uncertainty surrounding some of the site's earliest history.
It adds another layer to the story of the island.
This was not simply a local parish cemetery.
It became a burial place connected with generations of Highland families and clan history.
Why Don't More Tourists Visit St. Columba’s Isle?
That was one of the first questions that occurred to us.
The Isle of Skye is hardly undiscovered.
During the summer, its famous attractions can be filled with visitors.
Yet St. Columba’s Isle receives only a fraction of that attention.
Why?
One reason is simple:
Most people don't know it is there.
It doesn't have the immediate visual drama of the Quiraing or Old Man of Storr.
There isn't a huge visitor center.
There aren't rows of tour buses.
And it rarely appears near the top of lists of the “10 Best Things to Do on the Isle of Skye.”
You also need someone to explain what you are looking at.
Without knowing its history, it might appear to be nothing more than an old cemetery with some ruined stone walls.
Once you understand what happened here, it becomes something very different.
That is why having a knowledgeable local guide can completely change the way you experience a destination.
Our Guide Cailean MacLean “Broke Out the Good Stuff”
We have been using Cailean MacLean as our guide on the Isle of Skye for many years.
And that's important to this story.
When you return to a destination repeatedly with the same excellent local guide, eventually you get beyond simply checking off famous attractions.
You start discovering the places that the locals know.
This time, Cailean decided to “break out the good stuff.”
He brought our Traveling Professor group to St. Columba’s Isle.
It was exactly the kind of experience we hope to find when we travel.
Not because it was grand.
Not because everyone on social media is talking about it.
And not because there was a gift shop waiting at the end.
It was memorable because we were seeing something most travelers to Skye never see.
This Is Why We Travel in Small Groups
St. Columba’s Isle is also a good example of why we have always preferred traveling in small groups.
There are places that work beautifully with 12 or 14 travelers that simply don't work the same way with a motorcoach full of 50 people.
With a small group, a knowledgeable local guide can say:
“I know somewhere I'd like to take you.”
And you can go.
You can turn down the smaller road.
Cross the bridge.
Walk through an ancient cemetery.
Study a medieval grave slab.
And hear the stories behind a place that you probably would have driven past if you were traveling on your own.
Those moments rarely appear on a standard sightseeing checklist.
But very often, they are the moments people remember most.
Hidden Gems on the Isle of Skye Beyond the Famous Sights
If you are visiting Scotland and the Isle of Skye for the first time, by all means see the famous places.
Stand beneath the Old Man of Storr.
Drive through the Quiraing.
Visit Dunvegan Castle.
Walk around Portree.
They are famous for a reason.
But leave some room for the unexpected.
Because sometimes the best travel experiences happen when you get away from the places everyone else has been told to visit.
For us, St. Columba’s Isle near Skeabost was one of those places.
A tiny island.
An ancient cemetery.
Ruined medieval churches.
Graves of Highland clan chiefs.
Centuries-old stones carved with warriors carrying swords.
And hardly another tourist around.
We probably never would have discovered it without Cailean.
Sometimes having a great local guide isn't simply about knowing more facts.
It's knowing when to break out the good stuff.
And on this visit to the Isle of Skye, Cailean certainly did.