Ballinskelligs Priory, Co. Kerry

The monks left Skellig Michael sometime in the 13th century. They'd spent hundreds of years on a rock eight miles out in the Atlantic, exposed to everything the ocean could throw at them, and they came ashore here. This gentle promontory on the Kerry coast, facing back towards the place they'd abandoned.

What struck me from directly above was the geometry. The S-curve of the beach sweeping around the headland, stone walls dividing the cemetery into neat compartments, gravestones scattered among the ruins. Overcast light, soft and even, which is exactly what you want. No harsh shadows competing with the shapes. Just the structure of the place, laid bare.

The sea is slowly eating it. You can see it clearly from this angle. Walls that once enclosed rooms now end at nothing. The ground just continues into the water. There are coastal defences in place, but the process is irreversible.

And then there's that water. Turquoise-green, the kind of colour you'd never believe was Kerry if you hadn't seen it yourself. Against the grey stone and the grass, it makes the whole image sing!

Monks, centuries of burials, a road still running along the eastern edge. Life carrying on while the Atlantic takes back what it wants. I find that quietly fascinating.

The story of the monks who left Skellig for this spot is part of my Skellig Michael history, with more in my complete guide to the island.