Overview
Due to access restrictions in place as a precautionary measure while we undertake high level masonry inspections, there is currently no visitor access to this site.
Walk in the footsteps of countless others to reach St Ninian’s shrine. As one of Scotland’s earliest Christian sites, it brought travellers, traders, pilgrims and royalty to Whithorn for more than 1,000 years.
The priory built here in the 1100s for Premonstratensian monks later became the cathedral church of Galloway. Little of the priory survives today, but you can still follow the route taken by medieval pilgrims to visit St Ninian’s shrine at the east end of the church.
What to see and do
- See faith carved out in stone in the Whithorn Priory Museum – on display are intricately carved stones, including towering crosses
- Look out for the Latinus Stone – Scotland’s earliest Christian monument can also be seen in the museum
- Imagine finally reaching St Ninian’s shrine as a pilgrim who arrived here by ship from England, Ireland or the Isle of Man
- View remarkable remnants of the early church for a glimpse of the lavish decoration that once adorned the great cathedral
- Go to the Whithorn Story Visitor Centre to see some treasures of the early church, plus finds from excavations at Whithorn
- Stop by St Ninian’s Chapel, St Ninian’s Cave and Chapel Finian, sites also visited by pilgrims on the way to the shrine
