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Fang Circle

Stone Circle

<b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by greywetherImage © greywether
Also known as:
  • Loch Seaforth
  • Fangs
  • Sìdeval

Nearest Town:Stornoway (22km NNE)
OS Ref (GB):   NB278166 / Sheets: 13, 14
Latitude:58° 3' 17.42" N
Longitude:   6° 36' 53.06" W

Added by a23


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<b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Moth <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Moth <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Joolio Geordio <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Kammer <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Kammer <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by Kammer <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by greywether <b>Fang Circle</b>Posted by a23

Fieldnotes

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Visited 6th August 2004: We asked at the farm before going to see the stones (presumably this was M'Lellan's croft). The owner was very friendly and didn't seem to mind us taking a look. The route to the stones takes you across a rocky and seaweed strewn beach, so not recommended for anyone with limited mobility.

The site is relatively easy to find, but not quite so easy to interpret. In contrast to the experiences of some others we found Fang Circle to be a pretty inhospitable place, mainly because of the insects. It may have been the time of day that we visited (late afternoon) or the weather that made it bad, but the midges were a nightmare.
Kammer Posted by Kammer
18th July 2005ce
Edited 18th July 2005ce

Fang Circle is unique amongst the Callanish sites (ie those that take their basis from "sleeping beauty") in that it is sites at her "feet", looking up towards her belly. The name appears to be a corruption of [sheep] fank and indeed, a fank is what the circle has been converted into.

To reach the site, take the main road from Stornoway to Harris, pass through the strung out village of Baile Ailein and take a left turn down a narrow track. Continue for approx 5 miles until arriving at a farmstead on the right - you can park at the farm. The circle is then about half a mile along the loch shore, partly built into the walls of a disused sheep fank. At least 5 stones are identifiable, 2 standing free of the surrounding stonework.

The setting is one of the most peaceful in Lewis - we were fortunate to visit on a calm, bright morning. The waters of the nearby loch were still as glass and reflected Sleeping Beauty as she rose above. This is indeed a place for worship, reeking as it does of ancient atmosphere.
Posted by a23
25th August 2001ce
Edited 13th July 2005ce

Miscellaneous

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The National monument Record (available via Pastmap) describes the site in the following way:
The stone circle lies a short distance W of M'Lellan's croft, on a remnant of a raised beach and about 70ft from the high water mark, on the N shore of Loch Seaforth.
There are seven stones visible, set on the circumference of a circle about 54ft in diameter. Two stones, 4ft 3ins and 5ft 6ins high, are free-standing, one has been broken, and the others have been incorporated in walls.
The keeper, who has been on the place more than 50 years, thinks that there were at least 4 large flat stones lying near the centre. A stone, 4 1/2ins thick, built into a recent wall, may be one of them; there is another inside the sheep-pen.
This account is dated 1936. The eight figure grid reference given for 'Fangs' is NB27811662.
Kammer Posted by Kammer
14th July 2005ce
Edited 14th July 2005ce