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Isle of Whithorn

Castles in Dumfries and GallowayFormer islands of ScotlandVillages in Dumfries and Galloway
Isle of Whithorn geograph.org.uk 1537838
Isle of Whithorn geograph.org.uk 1537838

Isle of Whithorn (Port Rosnait in Gaelic) is one of the most southerly villages and seaports in Scotland, lying on the coast north east of Burrow Head, about three miles from Whithorn and about thirteen miles south of Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway. Whithorn, (Taigh Mhàrtainn in Gaelic), is a former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, with which Isle of Whithorn is frequently incorrectly amalgamated or confused. It is referred to locally as 'The Isle' - never 'the Isle of Whithorn'. The village is the location of the long ruined 13th-century Saint Ninian's Chapel, previously a chapel linked to Whithorn Priory and a stopping off point for pilgrims landing on Isle Head and making their way to Whithorn. Although no longer a true island, John Ainslie's maps as late as 1782 and 1821 show the Isle as an island. The main street was originally a causeway, with the harbour located on what was then the true Isle. The Isle has a long history of habitation: for example, a survey of the ground between the Isle village and Saint Ninian's Chapel revealed Clearance cairns and cultivation furrows, as well as the remains of a rectangular building occupying the crest of the low hill immediately to the west of the chapel, with possible steps leading downhill towards the east.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Isle of Whithorn (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Isle of Whithorn
Harbour Row,

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Wikipedia: Isle of WhithornContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 54.697 ° E -4.36 °
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Address

Harbour Row
DG8 8LL
Scotland, United Kingdom
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Isle of Whithorn geograph.org.uk 1537838
Isle of Whithorn geograph.org.uk 1537838
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Nearby Places

Rispain Camp

Rispain Camp is the remains of a fortified farmstead 1 mile west of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is one of the major Iron Age archaeological sites in Scotland. The property is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. Access is through a farm off the A746 South of Whithorn. The name Rispain may derive from a local equivalent of the Old Welsh word rhwospen meaning 'the chief of the cultivated country', a name certainly appropriate to as prestigious a farm as this. Today it consists of two broad earth banks separated by a ditch, originally almost six metres deep surrounding an enclosure of almost half a hectare. Its defences are so well preserved that until the mid-1970s archaeologists believed the site to be either a Roman fort or mediaeval farmstead. However excavations in the early 1980s provided evidence that it was inhabited between the 100 BC and 200 AD by local Celtic farmers. Radiocarbon dating has provided evidence that the site was definitely occupied around 60 BC.Excavation revealed traces of a timber gateway to the north east, which would probably have been connected to a timber stockade running along the top of the inner rampart. There was also evidence of large timber roundhouses inside the enclosure, one of which is thirteen and a half metres in diameter. In the ditch's south eastern corner excavation uncovered a square pit, possibly a cistern. Cattle, sheep and pigs were kept and hunting in the surrounding countryside provided venison. Barley and wheat may not just have been used as foodstuffs but also, in the case of barley, used in the brewing of alcohol.