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St Mary's Chapel, Crosskirk

Near Thurso, Caithness
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Open all year round
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Discover one of the oldest ecclesiastical buildings in Caithness in an isolated spot on the rugged north coast.

St Mary’s Chapel was probably built in the 1100s, though the religious significance of the site may date back further. Two long-cist burials were found on its grounds during excavation, and a Pictish symbol-stone is said to have been found nearby.

St Mary’s was a dependant chapel of the church at Reay. It has a plain, rectangular design, sharing a lot in common with contemporary Norse churches of Orkney.

A view of the ruined stone chapel from an angle that includes gravestones in the surrounding churchyard. The building’s rough stone walls rise unevenly, showing age and weathering. Several upright and leaning headstones of various shapes and materials stand on the grassy ground around it. The sea is faintly visible beyond the far wall, beneath streaked white clouds.
A rugged coastal landscape with a tall, conical cairn made of stacked flat stones standing on a grassy headland. To the left, sharply layered rock formations descend toward the sea, where waves break against the cliffs. The coastline curves into the distance, with low cliffs and open moorland under a pale, cloud‑covered sky. Faint outlines of distant islands appear on the horizon.

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