Trumpan (Scottish Gaelic: Trumpan) is a hamlet located on the Vaternish peninsula in the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish council area of the Highland. Trumpan church, which is now a ruin, was the focus of a particularly brutal incident in 1578, when the Clan MacDonald of Uist travelled to Trumpan in eight boats and, under cover of a thick mist, burnt alive all the worshipping church-goers, with only one member managing to escape. This led to instant retribution by Clan MacLeod who killed all the invaders, before they had time to flee the island. This skirmish is known as the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke.

Trumpan churchyard is the burial ground of Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange whose husband had her kidnapped and incarcerated on various Hebridean islands.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trumpan

Assisipilger

July 30, 2019

A beautiful place with a great view of the Outer Hebrides. We were there in the evening and ate at the small picnic area. From the small parking lot next to it you can make a hike over the cliffs to Waternish Point.
But the now so lonely and peaceful place has a very bloody story telling a plaque at the picnic spot:
Today's wind-swept ruins of Trumpan's old church are one of the bloodiest episodes in Scottish history.
During the winter of 1577, the McLeods of Dunvegan murdered 395 McDonalds who had captured them in St. Francis Cave on the island of Eigg. They lit a fire at the entrance to the cave, and suffocated all the prisoners. In turn, Clanranald the chief of the McDonalds of Uist planned his revenge.
This happened on the first Sunday in May of the following year, on a day with heavy fog. The McLeods of the area had gathered for worship at the Trumpan church, and as they sang, the McDonalds sailed the headland of Dunvegan Head and rowed their galleys to nearby Ardmore Bay. Quietly they surrounded the church, barricaded the gate and lit the thatched roof. Everyone in the church burned except for a young girl who escaped through the narrow window and seriously injured herself on one of her breasts.
The girl ran back to Dunvegan and sounded the castle alarm. Under the famous Flag Fairy Flag of the McLeod clan, they rushed angrily at the McDonalds and slaughtered them all. The dead were buried under a dyke made of dry stones and peat, and it is therefore probably still remembered as the "ruin of the dike".

Translated by Google •

AlfonsL

May 30, 2020

Church ruin with a terrible past.

Translated by Google •

Details

Informations

Elevation 50 m

Weather

Today

Monday 22 December

11°C

8°C

98 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 28.0 km/h

Most visited during

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Location: Waternish, Isle of Skye, Highlands, Scotland, United Kingdom

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