Regional sacred-site guide
Sacred sites in Scotland
Explore 134 sacred places in Scotland, United Kingdom, with a regional map and links to detailed site guides.
Explore Scotland, United Kingdom by facet
Traditions
Showing 97-134 of 134 sites in this regional guide
Pobull Fhinn
Lochmaddy, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the southern slope of Ben Langass, overlooking Loch Langass and the mountain Eaval, an oval of standing stones occupies a platform that Bronze Age hands carved from the...
Praying Hands of Mary
Fortingall, Scotland, United Kingdom
Deep in Glen Lyon, Scotland's longest and most storied glen, two weathered stones rise from the hillside like hands pressed together in prayer....
Quoyness Chambered Cairn
Sanday, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the Elsness peninsula of Sanday, one of Orkney's northern isles, a chambered cairn of exceptional preservation stands near the shore....
Reineval Chambered Cairn
Lochboisdale, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the northern slope of Beinn Reineabhal, overlooking the valley that descends to Mingarry and the Atlantic beyond, a massive stone mound rises from the moorland....
Ri Cruin Cairn
Kilmartin, Scotland, United Kingdom
Ri Cruin Cairn stands at the southern end of Kilmartin Glen's linear cemetery, a two-kilometre alignment of Bronze Age burial cairns running through the floor of an Argyll...
Ring of Bookan
Stromness, Scotland, United Kingdom
On a windswept rise northwest of the Ring of Brodgar, a broad ditch and raised platform mark where Neolithic people placed a monument at the boundary between the everyday...
Ring of Brodgar
Stromness, Scotland, United Kingdom
On a windswept isthmus between two lochs in Orkney, thirty-six ancient stones stand in an almost perfect circle, remnants of sixty that once marked one of Britain's most...
Ronas Hill Chambered Cairn
North Roe, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the summit of Shetland's highest hill, Neolithic builders placed a chambered cairn for their dead....
Rosslyn
Roslin, Scotland, United Kingdom
Rosslyn Chapel rises from the Scottish landscape like a vision carved in stone. Every surface of this small fifteenth-century building carries carvings of extraordinary...
Skara Brae Prehistoric Village
Sandwick, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the western shore of Orkney's Mainland, the Bay of Skaill opens to the Atlantic....
St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow belongs among the significant cathedral places of Scotland....
St Andrews Cathedral
St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Andrews Cathedral is a nationally or regionally important cathedral place in Scotland....
St Giles' Cathedral
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Giles' Cathedral stands in Scotland as a major cathedral site. At St Giles' Cathedral, Anglican or historic Western Christian tradition provides the public sacred...
St Kilda, Scotland
Scotland, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Kilda, Scotland stands in Scotland as a major sacred landscape site. At St Kilda, Scotland, Layered local, Christian, and contemporary land-based traditions provides...
St Machar's Cathedral
Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Machar's Cathedral belongs among the significant cathedral places of Scotland....
St Magnus Cathedral
Kirkwall, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Magnus Cathedral stands in Scotland as a major cathedral site. At St Magnus Cathedral, Anglican or historic Western Christian tradition provides the public sacred...
St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal)
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Episcopal) stands in Scotland as a major cathedral site....
St Ninian's Cave
Whithorn, Scotland, United Kingdom
St Ninian's Cave belongs among the significant pilgrimage places of Scotland. The sacred frame at St Ninian's Cave comes from Christian pilgrimage tradition....
St. Fillan’s Cave, Pittenweem, Scotland
Pittenweem, Scotland, United Kingdom
Beneath the fishing village of Pittenweem lies a cave where the Irish missionary Fillan once prayed in solitude, his glowing arm said to illuminate the scriptures in...
St. Mary’s Church, Haddington, Scotland
Haddington, Scotland, United Kingdom
Known as the Lamp of Lothian, St Mary's has held worship since the twelfth century....
Standing Stone of Hollandstoun
North Ronaldsay, Scotland, United Kingdom
On North Ronaldsay, the most northerly of Orkney's inhabited islands, a standing stone known as the Stan Stane rises approximately four metres from the ground....
Standing Stones of Stenness
Stenness, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the narrow isthmus between the salt Loch of Stenness and the freshwater Loch of Harray, four surviving megaliths stand where perhaps twelve once formed an ellipse....
Stanydale Temple
Bixter, Scotland, United Kingdom
On a treeless hillside in western Shetland, a heel-shaped stone structure stands open to the sky....
Stone 'O Quoybune
Birsay, Scotland, United Kingdom
The Stone 'O Quoybune rises three and a half metres from a field beside the Loch of Boardhouse in the parish of Birsay, on Mainland Orkney....
Sweetheart Abbey
New Abbey, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sweetheart Abbey belongs among the significant monastic places of Scotland. The sacred frame at Sweetheart Abbey comes from Christian monastic tradition....
Taversoe Tuick Chambered Cairn
Rousay, Scotland, United Kingdom
Near the pier at Trumland, on a hillside above Rousay's southern coast, Taversoe Tuick conceals an architectural anomaly....
Temple Wood Stone Circle
Kilmartin, Scotland, United Kingdom
In the heart of Kilmartin Glen, where western Scotland gathers its ancient monuments into one of Europe's densest prehistoric landscapes, Temple Wood Stone Circle stands...
The Setter Stone
Eday, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the island of Eday, one of Orkney's less-visited northern isles, a single standing stone rises approximately four and a half metres from the moorland....
The Street of the Dead
Iona, Scotland, United Kingdom
The Street of the Dead is a cobbled medieval processional way on the Isle of Iona, running from Martyrs Bay to the ancient burial ground of Reilig Odhrain beside Iona...
Tomb of Eagles
South Ronaldsay, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the southeastern tip of South Ronaldsay, where Orkney meets the open sea, a Neolithic chambered cairn stands near the cliff edge....
Tomnaverie stone circle
Tarland, Scotland, United Kingdom
Tomnaverie stone circle is a nationally or regionally important prehistoric place in Scotland....
Torrylin Cairn
Kilmory, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the south coast of Arran, beside the quiet waters of Kilmory Water, a low arrangement of stones marks where Neolithic communities brought their dead....
Underhoull Longhouse
Baltasound, Scotland, United Kingdom
On a windswept slope above Lunda Wick on the island of Unst, the ruins of an Iron Age broch and three Norse longhouses occupy the same ground....
Unstan Chambered Cairn
Stenness, Scotland, United Kingdom
Unstan Chambered Cairn stands on a promontory reaching into the Loch of Stenness, where Neolithic communities placed their dead between land and water for over a thousand...
Upper Borgue Broch
Dunbeath, Scotland, United Kingdom
Behind the farm of Upper Borgue in the Caithness countryside near Dunbeath, a large mound rises between three and four metres high....
Vinquoy Chambered Cairn
Eday, Scotland, United Kingdom
On the summit of Vinquoy Hill, the highest point on the island of Eday in Orkney, a Neolithic chambered cairn commands views across Calf Sound and the northern isles....
Whithorn Priory
Whithorn, Scotland, United Kingdom
Whithorn Priory belongs among the significant pilgrimage places of Scotland. The sacred frame at Whithorn Priory comes from Christian pilgrimage tradition....
Yarrows Broch
Thrumster, Scotland, United Kingdom
On a promontory jutting into the Loch of Yarrows, a broch stands at the centre of one of the richest archaeological landscapes in northern Scotland....
Showing 97-134 of 134 sites
Previous pageKey questions
Scotland sacred-site questions
How many sacred sites are listed in Scotland?
This regional guide currently includes 134 sacred sites in Scotland, United Kingdom.
Which traditions are represented in Scotland?
The most represented traditions in the current guide include Celtic and Prehistoric, Christianity, Anglican or historic Western Christian tradition, Christian monastic tradition, Prehistoric ritual and funerary traditions, Christian pilgrimage tradition, Buddhism, Gaelic Folklore / Christian Heritage.
Can I view Scotland sacred sites on a map?
Yes. Switch to map view to compare the listed places, then open a site page for coordinates and visiting context.