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Hillfort
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Visited: May 21, 2017
The fort of Dun Beag lies just over a kilometre due south of Dun Vallerain, and likewise on a steep conical hill. Park beside the cemetery 800 metres west of Brodaig from the A855 (blue marker), walk back up to the Brodaig-Uig road, then turn left and continue for around 400 metres till a gate comes into view on your right. Dun Beag now rears steeply above you and looks impregnable, but a path from the gate heads northwards and contours all of the way round to the west of the hill then leads up easy grassy slopes to the summit (red marker). The ascent is about 100 metres.
The upper slopes of the hill are covered in tumbled stones that were once the dun's defensive western wall. The summit is basically a level grassy plain (measuring 37 × 15 metres ) with few redeeming features other than the superb views it provides towards both the sea and the precipices of the Cuiraing. There is a well defined entrance passage bordered by large squared blocks in its upper reaches. To the east and north, the hill falls almost precipitously to the moorlands below and there is little evidence of walling. On the easier western slopes, traces of walling two courses deep can still be identified amongst the tumble. Judging from the quantity of tumbled stones on the western slopes, there must once have been a substantial defensive wall here. In a few places, on the southern and western slopes, intermittent stetches of the foundation course can still be found in situ.
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Posted by LesHamilton
22nd June 2017ce
Edited 11th March 2023ce
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