Erosion threatens medieval Scottish church and resting place of Macleod clan chiefs

St Columba’s Ui Church (Eaglais na h-Aoidhe) is a 14th Century ruin located on a sandy isthmus near Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh) on the Isle of Lewis (Leòdhas) in the Scottish Outer Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan Siar). An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger landmasses and separates two bodies of water. The church stands within a cemetery and is just above the high water mark. It is a burial place for the Macleod chiefs and the Mackenzies who later controlled the island.

The church is in a very exposed position and it is increasingly under threat from coastal erosion. The situation has worsened over recent years with an increase in the severity of winter storms.  As pointed out by The Ui Church Trust (Urras Eaglais Na H-Aoidhe) there is a a real danger of it being lost to the sea. On their website they say: "at one time, the cemetery around the Church extended at least 10 metres further than it does now, providing an invaluable buffer for storm force wind and wave but, through time, this portion of the Cemetery has been claimed by the sea, along with the human remains which it once held. Now, the waves of Broad Bay lap at the very foundations of the Church."