Chapel and Jackdaw Islands are located on the northeast coast of Ireland within Strangford Lough and are the first islands encountered on the southern shore after exiting The Narrows. The island anchoring location is a deep tidal pool located between the uninhabited Chapel Island and the shore, around which the surrounding area dries so that it may only be accessed or exited at high water.

Chapel Island is a good anchorage that is best used in settled weather. But if the wind were to come up from the northeast it would be exposed, and once entered a vessel has to await a sufficient rise over the surrounding drying area to exit. The pool required a sufficient rise for access but the Lough's enclosed body of water provides sheltered sailing in all weather, all tides and ample marks to make daylight navigation straightforward.

Keyfacts for Chapel Island

Position and approaches

Haven position

54° 23.035' N, 005° 35.646' W

This is in the centre of the tidal pool situated between Chapel Island and the mainland.

What is the initial fix?

On the small 8.8 metre contour patch approximately 300 metres north of Chapel Island.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

The small uninhabited island of Chapel Island is the easternmost island on the southern shore of Strangford Lough. It lies 400 metres off the shoreline and is an almost circular islet that is about 180 metres wide. It rises, almost wedge-shaped to 12 metres at the highest point on its northwest end. The shoreline dries out to the island and out to about 25 metres from the shoreline of the island itself. The one exception is a deep pool that has 3.7 metres of water in it between the islet and the shoreline.




The deep pool offers a remarkable deep water anchorage that at low water can be virtually landlocked.

How to get in?

Details of the approaches, tidal timings, the run up The Narrows and onward to Killyleagh, on the Lough's western shore, are covered in the Entering and exiting Strangford Lough route description. Chapel Island, on the south shore of the Lough, is a little under a mile northwestward of Audley Point.



From the initial fix, 300 metres north of Chapel Island, with a sufficient rise of the tide, proceed either west about or east about depending on conditions. MHWS are 3.6 metres here, MHWN 3.1 metres and MLWN 0.9 metres.




The eastern approach to the pool has better water as it dries to 1.2 metres LAT whereas the western approach between Jackdaw Island and Chapel Island dries to 1.8 metres LAT. Expect a small counter-current that can reach up to two knots between the island and the shore.




Monitor the sounder to find the perimeter of the tidal pool which is about 150 metres wide. Anchor as central as possible to maximise the swing room. Holding is excellent in shale with some rock. Land on the island's gravelly shoreline.

Why visit here?

Chapel Island is of two Chapel Islands within Strangford Lough. The other is the more famous and larger of the uninhabited islands situated in the north end of Strangford Lough, about 700 metres off the west coast of the Ards Peninsula and 1.5 km west of the town of Greyabbey. This however was originally recorded in the 1656-1658 Down Survey of Ireland as Church Island only becoming Chapel Island in the 1835 Ordnance Survey 1st Edition. It acquired its name on account of the ruined early Christian/Medieval chapel, once attached to Movilla monastery of which today there are scant remains today.




Likewise, this must have been the case for this southern namesake island 8 miles south of it. But there are no traces of any chapel on this small island and any chapel could only have been a hermitage that monks would go to for meditation and seclusion. Such a hermitage would have been sustained by fish traps and shellfish and with some means of trapping freshwater to enable some short-term self-sufficiency.




Today Chapel Island is part of the National Trust's fully controlled lease area from the Crown Estate Commission. The National Trust formed its Strangford Lough Wildlife Scheme in 1966 in response to the growing demands and pressures made by people on the natural resources of the Lough. It is committed to the protection of the Lough and surrounding area with an overall aim to help care for its wildlife, natural environment and historic interests.




From a boating point of view, this is an interesting anchoring experience. When at low water the vessel will be landlocked for a large amount of time. It is also an area with beautiful scenery with an interesting island to explore.

What facilities are available?

There are no facilities on Chapel and Jackdaw Islands or in the surrounding area.

Any security concerns?

Never a problem known to have occurred at Chapel and Jackdaw Islands.

With thanks to:

Brian Crawford, local Strangford Lough boatman of many decades. eOceanic would like to thank Quoile Yacht Club for hosting our survey boat during the survey of Strangford Lough.