The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Dun Borve

Broch

Fieldnotes

Now if this had have been one of my beloved upland cairns... this particular Citizen Cairn'd would have been performing cart-wheels of un-restrained physical abandonment... metaphoric cart-wheels, of course. Jeez. Give me a break. But no. Sadly the massive cairn which now surmounts this hilltop, boasting an equally monumental vista towards Portree and The Red Cuillin, represents the totally shattered debris of what was apparently once a great broch. Yeah, let's not beat about the bush.... it is totally wrecked, only the additional, outer defence line betraying the defensive nature of the site.

What a pity. In such a wondrous location even a hint of a surviving broch would have been, well.... I'll leave the adjective up to you. However, having said that, and to paraphrase the great Eric Morecambe, most of the constituent parts of the broch are still here. Just not necessarily in the right order! Hence a substantial degree of vibe still lingers, like the ghostly spirit loathe to stop frequenting the favourite 'haunt'. And of course there are the exquisite views. Yeah, I'd recommend a visit.

I approach from the mind-blowing, seemingly totally forgotten chambered cairn at Kensaleyre; however since I'm not exactly 'structured' in my wanderings, I guess most will probably venture out from Portree; if so, take the first turning to Borve on the A850 (to the right) - that is before the junction with the A856. Follow the road uphill to the right and park in the farmyard. I met the rather tough looking farmer here... as you might expect... who was only too happy for me to visit as long as I moved my Sassenach arse so he could move his tractor around unhindered. In short, I reckon he shares the vibe, you know? The indefinable love of what makes this land what it is. Told me he would love to see the broch excavated and restored to give some impression of what once stood here. Anyway, if he's not around a stile allows access uphill... then trend right and the shattered broch is impossible to miss.

Oh, and don't forget the pretty decent stone row 'in town'.
GLADMAN Posted by GLADMAN
9th July 2012ce
Edited 9th July 2012ce

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