Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 03.06.25

Cairnholy 15 Carved Panel is located c. 6 feet SE of Cairnholy 13 Carved Panel on a rocky knoll c. 0.5 miles NNW of Cairnholy Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. The panel measures c. 2 feet ENE-WSW and 2.5 feet NNW-SSE. There are two eroded carvings on the central portion of the W half: a cup and ring carving measuring c. 4 inches in diameter and 0.25 inches deep and a cup carving measuring c. 1.5 inches in diameter and 0.1 inches deep. The cup carving is obscured by a white patch of lichen but a slight depression can be felt.

Visited 04.05.25

Cairnholy 13 Carved Panel is located c. 12 feet SE of Cairnholy 4 Carved Panel on a rocky knoll c. 0.5 miles NNW of Cairnholy Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. The rock art is carved on a sub rectangular panel measuring c. 5 feet ENE-WSW and 5.5 feet transversely, split in two by a grassy ravine. There are 7 cup carving right of the ravine on the N edge: a group consisting of 2 parallel lines of 3 cup carvings and a single carved cup. On the left of the ravine there are 2 central cup carvings and a cluster of carvings in the SW. The SW cluster has an eroded central cup and ring carving surrounded by several cup carvings. Canmore ID 368423 has further details of Cairnholy 13 Carved Panel.

On the SW corner of the panel there are two parallel deep grooves, measuring c. 6 inches and 1 foot respectively, which may be natural depressions smoothed and extended by domestic activity.

Visited 05.04.25

Cairnholy 14 Carved Panel is located c. 6 feet E of Cairnholy 4 Carved Panel on a rocky knoll c. 0.5 miles NNW of Cairnholy Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Cairnholy 14 is a flat panel, shaped like South America, on the N edge of the ridge. There is a line of natural hollows running E-W on the S side of the panel. There are 2 carved cup markings in the centre of this alignment. The carved cups are c. 1.5 inches in diameter and 0.25 inches deep, adjacent to 2 deep natural hollows. Further details of Cairnholy 11 are available in Canmore ID 368424.

There are 6 carved panels on the knoll: Cairnholy 4,11,12,13,14&15.

As we walked along Stolinskie and myself talked about sites that could have easily avoided being damaged with a bit of care. Within minutes the Cambuscurrie Wood cairn would provide the, sadly, the perfect example of our conversation.

The cairn is quite literally next to the track, the south side of the cairn looks that it has been completely removed. They speak of large stones on the north side, they maybe are there but are now completely covered in vegetation and dumping of excess earth. The south side has been cleared of vegetation – to allow better views of the track.

A bit of a tragedy, a ‘what if’.

Still, good fun heading back down to the road, washed away paths, steep banks, head high vegetation, the much awaited appearance of ‘jabby stuff’ and paths on the maps that didn’t exist. As usual, eventually a track was found ironically leading us straight to where I had parked.

Visited 31/03/2025.

Heading east through woods and clearings we found the forestry track that would lead straight to the long cairn on Edderton Hill.

It has taken quite a battering. A lot of walls have been built using stones from the cairn, even worse a 2 meter gap has been chopped through to allow a track, now overgrown, to the woods nearby to the north. Plenty of space to go round – baffles me.

What remains is a cairn that stretches over 60m in length, some of it turf and heather covered with the width being 14m in places especially in the east. Other parts are reduced to 7m in width, its height no more than 1.5m.

Easy to spot on the north side of the track.

Visited 31/03/2025.

After the Morangie visit we headed west leaving the A9 at the Dornoch Firth Bridge roundabout to follow the A836 heading further west. We parked at the first available place that resembled a lay-by next to the beginnings of an old forestry track. From here we headed uphill and south west, reasonably steep and plenty of vegetation, cutting through marked and unmarked tracks to reach a track of sorts which seemed to find a way through small gorges to eventually reach a clearing. At the southern end of the clearing is the impressive Red Burn Cairn.

It’s measurements are impressive as well – 23m wide and 4m high with superb views to north over the Dornoch Firth. Canmore suggests a cist on the north side but a lot of the stones could suggest that. On the west side a stone that might possibly have stood seems to be having a rest. Elsewhere some serious houking or a possible trench has taken place. As with a lot of these places tracks have clipped the sides of the track – you’d think there would be plenty of room to get round. Much worse examples were soon to appear as we headed east.

However, this is a superb site, damage is restricted so plenty to admire. Also, fair play to the people re-building the the old ‘but and ben’. Great to see such restoration.

Visited 31/03/2025.

It’s not everyday you drive through Cullen, stop at the town’s Square and meet a new TMA’er with a pole and a copy of the The Modern Antiquarian stuck to the top of it. With Stolinskie safely on board we headed towards Inverness, north over the Kessock Bridge to stop slightly north of Tain.

We parked in a lay-by just to north of the famous Morangie Distillery, walked, west, past a huge stone with engravings (see Folklore) to the junction of two fields, next to the A9. Over the gate, follow the fence and dyke, jump over another fence then over a wee burn, the dun is straight ahead to the south. The dun can be seen from the A9 which in turn has superb views north over the Dornoch Firth and Edderton Sands.

The walls of the dun still stand at over 2m wide and in some places the turf covered walls reach 1.5m. As usual field clearance has dumped on the site, however this doesn’t hide the site’s 15m internal width. Sadly, a lot of stonework has been removed to build ‘dry stane dykes’, there are plenty marking nearby fields.

A nice and easy way to start the day. That would slightly change later on. :-)

Visited 31/03/2025.

This stone is about 50m uphill from and in full view of the abandoned cemetery and ruined chapel that stand on the high ground between Balnahard and Balnahard Bay. Just follow the fenceline from the graveyard. It has mistakenly been called a stone of penance for the nuns who once lived hereabouts but it is millennia earlier than the date ascribed. I felt that it was on an track to possible sites on the higher ground beyond and on examination of satellite imagery has now revealed a wealth of old rig and furrow that starts about 600ft north of the stone and extends for a wide area on the hidden uplands here and I was therefore right. There is also a dun on the OS East of this area of cultivation. At time of writing I have yet to cross reference with Canmore and give that its correct name and add to this site.

As for the Balnahard area, it is a hard slog along the track from above Kiloran Bay, the nearest place to park: an hour and a half walk each way. If you want to do any more exploration of the archaeology on the hills around then be fit or bring a tent. I hope to return next year – there is so much to see….

The following is quoted from Gregory, Donald., Country Churchyards In Wales, (2002); (2015), pp. 223-224:
“There is no churchyard in Wales where there is a longer history of burial or where there is so obvious an example of the continuity of the religious use of one particular site. … All the churches built in this place, from the earliest religious settlement in the llan to the present early nineteenth century edifice, have stood inside a Bronze Age alignment of stones. This calculated choice of sites by early Christians adds weight to the arguments of those who believe that in former times great importance was attached to the magic powers associated with circles. … the present-day churchyard wall at Ysbyty Cynfyn contains five stones that belonged to a Bronze Age circle, of which probably three are still in their original positions, the other two having at some time been moved to act as gate posts. There are no ifs or buts about Ysbyty Cynfyn, which provides an impressive example of the continuity of religious association in a burial ground.”

Gladman poses the question as to whether this is the most remote of all stone circles, even more so than its northerly counterpart White Moor. I made the trek to the latter 12 years ago and was inspired to write my first (self-congratulatory) fieldnote. Amongst the responses was one from The Sweetcheat suggesting Stall Moor as my next serious quest and four years ago I finally got round to making the attempt. Alas my companion at the time was in the process of recovery from Long Covid so had run out of puff by the time we’d made it to Stalldown stone row so continuing on to the circle was out of the question.
I’d been promising myself another go ever since and it finally came about yesterday with my daughter and her partner volunteering to accompany me on the expectedly lengthy but massively worthwhile expedition. The notes about suggested walks on The Cornwood Inn website indicated that parking between the village and the gate to the water treatment plant was a no-no; four years ago I’d been able to park the other side of the gate but this time I didn’t want to risk driving up there and finding it padlocked (as it was) so we parked in the village and walked the lanes which added a good couple of miles to what turned out to be at least 3/3 and a half from the gate to the circle.
That bit was relatively easy, a gravel path following the river all the way to the weir then picking our way steadily uphill until with the aid of my trusty binoculars I spotted what had to be the circle on the horizon to the north. We crossed the Bledge Brook and trudged through the tussocky grass, giving a Dartmoor pony and her foal a decently wide berth, and there it was.
OK, it’s not the prettiest of circles and bar one the stones are on the small side but for its setting with a tremendous sightline all the way down the Erme Valley it’s second to none. The Sweetcheat says it better than I can in his fieldnote; its very remoteness and the majesty of the surrounding landscape give it a presence that belies its appearance. Yes, the sense of achievement in getting to it – I still can’t decide if it’s technically more remote than White Moor but there can’t be much in it – undoubtedly amplified the exhilaration I experienced in my final few steps. To think it’s been here for 4.000 years, largely undisturbed and unvisited for probably at least three quarters of that timespan.........it’s a special place and I feel privileged to have briefly intruded on its solitude. A big thankyou to my distinguished TMA forerunners for pointing me in its direction.

Visited 26.04.12

It was 13 years ago so I don’t have good recall of my visit to Carn Liath (Morangie Forest). I used OS Mapping to plot a route to the cairn. It is 2.2 miles from Aldie Burn Car Park with c. 95 yards total ascent. Walking and cycling are permitted. The main unknown is access from the forest track to the forest clearing due to fallen trees obscuring the forest rides.

Directions to Carn Liath (Morangie Forest): Take the Scotsburn turn off the A9 Tain Bypass. Follow the road for c. 1.8 miles to the right turn for Aldie Burn Car Park. Turn left into the car park after 50 yards. You can proceed from here on foot or by mountain bike. Take along a forest track heading NW which winds W along forest tracks for c. 2.2 miles to reach NH 7296 7969. Look for a forest ride heading NW then turn N towards a stony cairn in a large clearing. My walking route is viewable on Carn Liath (Morangie Forest).

A glorious day, filling in time waiting for the Colonsay ferry departure from Oban, with the great Dun Chathach already under our belts. I was only using an old OS49 map and hadn’t referred to Canmore so it wasn’t initially easy to spot.. but once you do you can’t miss it. Just look for the only tree in the field to your left when you take the Achaleven road. It is atop it. In May this wild apple(?) was a delight. A fine sight. And a damn sight more easy to find than all those cairns and sites around North Connel which defeated me, being behind housing. A better map needed for those…

I drove my car right up to the The Bothy and parked beside plenty of other cars. In the distance I could hear shooting so it was reasonable to assume another ‘pheasant shoot’ was finishing.

The gathering clouds I’d spied in the North East on the Hill of Edzell had ventured south to add the perfect covering of snow at the stone circle. It must have been thirty years since my last visit, another winter’s day, it was good to be back – almost nothing had changed including the snow.

No going over the Cairn O’ Mount for me on the way home, the snow gates had been closed.

Visited 04/01/2025.

Trantlemore is an isolated crofting township in the far N of the Scottish mainland. It is accessed via the A897 running 40 miles from Helmsdale to Melvich. The A897 is a single track road with passing places. It is a scenic route up to the N coast of Scotland with 16 Brochs included in the 32 sites on or near the A897 listed in TMA. That is 0.8 sites per mile!



Directions to Carn Liath (Trantlemore): Take the A897 Melvich turn off the A9 in Helmsdale. Follow Dunrobin St for c. 0.2 mile to a roundabout. Take a right turn onto the A897 Melvich. Follow this narrow road for 31.6 miles to a sharp cut-back left turn signed for Trantlemore. Follow the narrow lane for c. 0.1 miles to a car park beside Trantlemore Cemetery. Walk c. 100 yards W then turn right up a grassy bank to a gateway into rough pasture. Carn Liath (Trantlemore) is c. 50 yards NW of the gateway. My walking route is viewable on Carn Liath (Trantlemore).

NO 57808 70052 – Edzell 5

This cairn is south west of the trig and slightly downhill. At one time this must have been impressive, sadly like most of the sites on the hill it has taken some severe punishment, it has been houked and field clearance dumped on top. Like the cairns nearer Laurencekirk the majority of stones appear to be pebbles. Still, it survives at almost 7m wide and is 0.3m high.

NO57863 69957 – Edzell 4

Continuing south west to the next cairn. Weirdly the next three cairns all appear to very similar in size being over 8m and 0.3m high. More pebbles are mixed in with the cairn material which also has seen field clearance dropped on top.

NO57575 69845 – Edzell 3

Similar in size to its near neighbour, Edzell 4, it is 8m wide 0.3m high. It might have been larger going by the size of the footprint. Canmore says irregular shape, perhaps for a square, it looks reasonably circular to me and seems to have less field clearance thrown on top. Stunning views north, to the north east many miles away cloud was building up.

NO57520 67696 – Edzell 2

Several kerbs remain in place, at the this the furthest south west of the cairns. I normally have a go at people who put fences through the middle of sites, here they deserve some applause as the fence is at least a couple of metres away from the west side – so fair play. These ancient people must have only had a tape measure that went to 8m, as yet again the site is that width and is 0.3m, as usual, high. Look closely and small ditch marks the east edge.

There appears to nothing be ‘that special’ about any of these sites but given the location and the fact that there are quite a few sites on the ridge that has superb all round views perhaps it was a significant place.

On my way down I headed back up to the trig then followed a track on the east side of a Christmas Tree wood that would head, south, back to the road near Edzell Castle. I’d also hoped to have a look at the ground north of the castle to see if there were any hints or remains of a fort. A good idea – except the people with red flags and their pals with guns were shooting at birds in the area.

Back to the car, time to go visit an old friend.

Visited 04/01/2025.

This was to prove an interesting and exciting climb. Parking at Edzell’s Old Parish Church I headed uphill, north, in the field to the west of Drummore Hill. A beautiful day, very little snow and no wind – very decent hill walking conditions. Keep going until clear of the trees and a track will be found. Follow this north until it ends, jump the fence and keep going.

All of a sudden I heard shouts in the wind, a saw a row of people in the field behind all carrying red flags along with two small tractors heading up and down the field, then I heard shooting – a pheasant shoot was following me up the hill. That ensured I sped up over the last field, jumped the fence and headed straight north via couple of fences to the trig.

The trig sits on top of fantastically positioned but ruined cairn. They couldn’t take away the views which today – absolutely stunning. There is earthfast kerb on the south and bits of cairn material – the remains of the 6m wide by 0.5 high site.

There’s a lot to see on this hill, better head south west.

Visited 04/01/2025.

Visited 25.06.14

Carn Liath, Trantlemore is the site of a ruined broch on the S edge of Trantlemore, an isolated settlement adjacent to the A897 in Sutherland. It is located on a natural knoll. There are remains of an outer wall up to c. 1.2m high on the NE Arc. Canmore ID 6824 estimates that the outer wall had an outer diameter of 17.6m and a thickness of 4.2m. There is a trench on the NE Arc c. 4.5m long, 3m wide and 1.2m deep which may been the original entrance. Remnants of parallel walls defining the entrance are visible.

There are two ruined brochs in Trantlemore: Carn Liath, Trantlemore Broch and Trantlemore which is located c. 0.7 mile N of Carn Liath, Trantlemore in the township.

This site is unrecorded… it is the Achamore Gardens Viewpoint, the gardens highest point, looking out from a conifer shelter belt to the western side of the island, several other sites in view. I noticed a 60’+ wide domed boulder spread which is enmeshed by tree roots and worn down by visitors. There is a distinct, shaped ‘drop off’ on the northern side. I met the island’s Ranger at the gardens – oh, what a sleeping giant of a place is waking here, they’ll be stunning when fully restored after years of neglect – and when I mentioned what I’d found and my conclusion as to what it was she said I was by no means the first to think so. On that basis I’m adding it here as a site. See accompanying photos.

Drive north a short distance from Carragh an Tarbert stone and you will come to a sharp left bend in the road. If you can force yourself to look left towards the Paps of Jura you will see these in the foreground. As with so many of the sites on Gigha if you visit the island later than the start of May you will find them already covered with the annual vegetation.

Not hard to spot, this… on the other side of the road from near the entrance drive to the delightful Achamore Gardens, a ‘must see’ if you visit the island. That description can hardly be applied to the dun though. According to Canmore very little remains… a low stretch of what was the north wall and a little bit on the west side. I didn’t wander over and my life doesn’t feel the poorer. Interesting stones at a mound north of it though… perhaps I’ll look next time, touch wood. Yes, this is an island to return to. The sides of the knoll on which the dun sits are thought by the most recent surveyor to have been shaped… I thought so too.

I’d been meaning to visit the Auchmull cairn many times having gone past the site on numerous occasions.

As usual Mr Sheriff’s notes in Canmore don’t give much away, the four small cairns he mentions are at best field clearance cairns but more likely just to be dumped stones.

However, the main cairn remains despite some bad treatment. It still sits at over 12m wide. One kerb appears to remain in place with, perhaps, others scattered all over the place.

The winter weather makes the shape of the cairn easy to spot, it still reaches over 0.5m in height, thankfully no wintry showers at this point.

Nice way to start 2025.

Visited 04/01/2025

The weather remained cloudy and the wind had picked up for the last visit to a prehistoric site on the this trip Colonsay. Follow the track as it heads south west from Dun Tealtaig. Uragaig is easy to spot with its distinctive shape.

Apart from the entrance on the east, a natural causeway some of which has collapsed, the rest of the fort is surrounded by steep cliffs and guarded by some sheep.

It seems to be a fort of extensions, nature had been kind to the builders providing them with what looks like spare rooms, to me at least. They also made use of the ridge on the east side and built a wall – 60m in length and survives, still standing at just over 0.5m and 2m wide. Inside this wall there are several hut circles and other traces of buildings, probably built at a later date.

So that was Colonsay, guess we’ll be back.

Visited 15/08/2024.

Visited 01.12.13

It is ironic that so many antiquarians have driven past this stony cairn crossing the Ballachulish Bridge to and from Fort William, yet so few have stopped to visit it. The cairn is not particularly impressive but it has good southern views.

North Ballachulish Cairn is a stony mound on the N side of Ballachulish Bridge, c. 150 yards W of the A82 passing North Ballachulish. Take the unsigned dead-end right turn onto Old Ferry Road c. 100 yards after the N end of Ballachulish Bridge. Park up in a lay-by c. 110 yards down the road. Walk c. 110 yards back to the junction then walk 30 yards S towards the bridge. A tarmac path heads W into a field. Follow the path through a gate then head SSW across the field towards 2 mature trees on the edge of the cairn. My walking route is viewable on North Ballachulish Cairn.

Once again we parked at car park at Kiloran Bay, this time walking uphill along the minor road heading west until the road ends at the cottage with the same name as the fort.

At the farm follow the fence north east, jump the gate and a small climb takes you to the site. Nature has provided the defence except on the south / south-west which must have provided the entrance.

A wall, best preserved on the south, surrounds the 46m by 48m site which also contains some hut circles.

A windy place with good all round views especially to the north and Kiloran Bay.

Visited 15/08/2024.

This crannog wasn’t on my OS map.. I was heading towards Ford and the awesome Loch Awe beyond while heading home at the end of our stunning visits to Colonsay and Gigha when I caught a glimpse of it through the dense roadside foliage. ‘A crannog!!’ Screeched to halt in nearby passing place. It’s a real swine to get a picture of, I had to descend a steep bank to the lochside and fight my way along through undergrowth and sallows. Succeeded in the end.. A small affair above water, plenty below doubtless.

As for Loch Awe, we drove W along it at the start of our holiday and once was not enough. The B840 is an amazing, beautiful drive in May. I cannot recommend it highly enough. And there’s all those crannogs… next time, touch wood.