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    Lochailort Chapel (Lochailort, UK)

    Built in 1872 as a Roman Catholic chapel, Our Lady of the Braes occupies a spectacular setting on a hillside in the Scottish Highlands. Having fallen into disuse in the 1980s, the church caught the eye of the team behind the 1983 feature LOCAL HERO who needed a church for the fictional coastal village of “Ferness”. Using the Polnish chapel as their model, the team built a replica facade and constructed it over a cottage at the edge of nearby Camusdarach beach, while reserving the real church for the filming of interior scenes.

    photo of a white chapel
    Our Lady of the Braes

    The church was again chosen as a location for the 1996 feature BREAKING THE WAVES by Lars von Trier. Although much of the film was shot elsewhere in Scotland (notably on the Isle of Skye, and at nearby Mallaig and Morar), many of the film’s pivotal scenes take place in the church.

    Following a major restoration, the church has recently been converted to serve as a private home. In its stunning setting overlooking Loch Ailort and the West Highland Railway Line (also a location for the HARRY POTTER movies), Our Lady of the Braes can best be viewed from the nearby old road.

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