Latest Fieldnotes

From the nearby Lochans cairn we headed east jumping a couple of fences on the way to the north of the small hill that houses the Cadhach cairn.

This cairn, is almost 8m wide and is about 0.5m tall. Some kerbs still occupy their original positions, some made visible with the aid of the local rabbits, and cairn material can be seen poking through the turf. This, like its near neighbour, is a very beautiful place.

After sampling the atmosphere and the view it was time to trek north to Torr Na Sithinn.

Visited 29/12/2016.

Belrorie, what a place to find although near a path these damned trees do get in the way and they certainly obscure the view. Alternatively they might be protecting the cairn, at the moment. Hopefully when it is the trees time to come down the forestry people will take care and look after what is a pretty decent site.

Further along the South Deeside Road, the B976, heading west from Dalwhing I parked at Burnroot just after the massive Sawmill. After asking permission to park I headed a short distance south, then follow the track as it veers east. At the next T junction start heading south, shortly after there is a meeting place of three tracks, head west for a short distance then head south following the better of the tracks. At this point there is a steepish slope, half way up this the cairn is situated to the east.

At this point the trees looked very dense so I headed further uphill and jumped the fence when the fir trees began to thin out. From here I battered, stumbled and crawled my way north, another battering for the legs. The cairn is covered in trees except for the northern section which is clear, a place to stand up hurrah!! I reckoned the cairn to be 10m wide and about 1m high. Stones, thanks to the forestry, have been strewn everywhere and trees are planted on top. As usual there has been an amount of houking but the remains of small rectangular structure sit near the centre of the site.

Once again there would have been tremendous views here in the past but sawmills have their needs. Interestingly if you follow the paths to Belrorie Farm, heading south west, there is another path that leads to Hillhead and Cairn More. Another route for another day.

Visited 15/12/2016.

Dalwhing appears to a series of small kerb cairns situated in a field just north of the B976, the South Deeside Road. This is just north of the Bridge O Ess and the Glentanar estates, which I knew well as a wee boy. Once up at the top of the hill after the bridge there is enough room to park a car at the side of the road.

Jump the fence and head downhill into the rough pasture and woods. If you head north west you will go straight to the biggest of the cairns, sitting at over 4m wide and approx. 0.5 high. Kerbs survive but another nearby large cairn has been trashed and isn’t pictured here. Out into the open there are several cairns and its worth taking a look at the surrounding scenery. On a sunnier day this is a beautiful place, on this day it was dark which only changed when I’d reached the top of Deecastle.

Nice place if passing. If visiting Bridge O Ess/Glentanar the superb Cairn More is high above the visitor centre.

Visited 15/12/2016.

This cairn is 60 meters to the south west of Tom Dubh 1. From the first cairn go back to the track and jump the fence into the wood to the south, then walk west.

This cairn has been very badly disturbed, houked and to add insult has had farm waste of a corrugated kind dumped at its side. The 14m wide cairn lies mostly hidden under pine needles, what pops thru is mostly small stones. On the south side a couple of stones/boulders/kerbs remain at the highest point of the site, 0.4m.

After a wee look round it was back to the track heading south west to Migvie Church (very beautiful interior) and a shock at Glack Farmhouse.

Visited 29/12/2016.

This fieldnote is really an update on the state of the cairn (I removed the snow covered photos as they hid the damage) and the nearby wind turbine site.

The cairn looks like it is still in much the same condition except for the new improved fence. I’m glad it wasn’t there a few years back when the Mad Man and myself did a huge walk on the Winter Solstice.

Now the turbines seem to have contented themselves by staying in the valley between the hills of Cairnborrow and Backtack. The no pedestrian signs I ignored. However Backtack being a rolling hill has a couple of turbines reasonably close on its western slopes.

On climbing the Both Hill I saw the western side of Cairnborrow had its lower slopes ‘evened out’ very recently. This side of the hill leads straight to the three fantastic cairns at Glenshee.

Every time I pass here I will now stop and keep an eye on what is going on.

Re-visited 2/1/2017.

Stanton Drew, located at 51.366997, -2.578645

For us this was not an easy place to find and we would recommend using a Sat Nav. The latitude and longitude given above will take you directly to the car park allocated for the circle. The narrow country lanes access make this a tricky place to drive to. Some of the roads marked as main A roads on the map were little more than country lanes and quite inadequate for the volume, speed, and size of today’s traffic.

The stone structure is of large rough stones irregularly positioned and standing in flattish farm land. It is a very peaceful spot though, and an inner city dweller (Bristol?) may find it very relaxing and effecting. The size of the rings and the stones are impressive (photo 5 and 6) and the rustic local village and pub, which contains the Cove, is well worth a stroll round.

From a more technical point of view there are interesting alignments to the sunrises via the causeways, and the numbers of stones in the two main circles which provide some indication for a sunrise weather/season forecaster.

Causeways –
The circles have Eastern causeways which, from their irregular positioning of their stones, appear to have been disrupted. The stones of the causeways seem to have been in pairs.
They point towards the sunrises of 15 August – the end of summer, and the 1 Oct – the end of Autumn – as can be seen in Diagram 1. These would be important dates for a rural community.

Circles –
The circles appear to have been disrupted with displacements having taken place along the circumference rather than the radius. However it can be seen that the Great Circle does not fit a circle too well; it fits two arcs, one East, one West, far better – as can be seen in Diagram 1 which shows a Plan diagram of the Great Circle and North East Circle and their sunrise orientation. This arrangement can be seen in other structures such as Blakeley Raise, England, and Loupin’ Stanes, Scotland. The centres of the circles and The Cove align with the midsummer sunrise, as can be seen in Diagram 1.

It is interesting to note that the smaller North-East circle appears to have 9 stones – which could give alignments for midsummer, spring/autumn, and midwinter if the stones were suitably placed, as for Nine Ladies in Stanton Moor, Derbyshire, England, and others circles – as can be seen in Diagram 2.

Apparently there are 27 stones present in the Great Circle (source Wikipedia). The stones seem intact although very weathered, and do not seem to have been broken up and left in pieces – although they differ in height – so the original number may have been 27. This, if the stones were placed equidistant from one another in circular shape and one aligned from a central observation point towards the midsummer sunrise, would provide alignments, like Stonehenge, for a 12 season annual cycle – as can be seen in Diagram 3. The Great Circle is so large that the centre would have to be marked in some way. The differing heights would be useful to indicate required alignments, such as midsummer.

Some of the stones in the North East circle – numbers 3 and 4 (photos 1 to 3) and The Cove (photo 4) appear to have been pushed over to lie flat, rather than sunken over with time to lie at an angle. The break lines of the stones are regular with the pieces not being displaced, indicating deliberate breakage after the stone were flat, perhaps using iron wedges and heavy hammers. Two damaged stones (3 and 4) lie together, indicating their displacement on the circle. It is recorded that the Romans destroyed the Druids and their sacred groves, and as it is highly likely that the Druids knew of and used the stone circles, it could be thought that Stanton Drew was disrupted and damaged by the Romans, perhaps to be partially restored by the British once they had left.

Please refer to the diagrams and photos.

For fuller information on sunrises weather/season forecasters please see:

sites.google.com/site/originsofstonehenge/

I parked to the immediate east of Windmill hill, just off the A4361, opposite East farm, leaving my weary daughter on car protection duties, then made my way up the white horse trail. You only have to follow the path across two or three fields and already it has taken me unseeingly close by three barrows, I did see a lady who looked like she spends a lot of time sitting around ancient places. I could slip into her shoes or wellies as they may be, quite easily. In short time I reach the top, a National trust sign informs me I am at Windmill hill, tell me something I don’t know, another more faded sign shows me there are more barrows up here than I had anticipated, something I didn’t know.

Once through the gate the first barrow is almost on top of you, naturally, I got on top of it and had a look around. Oh dear, there’s much more up here than I had thought. Close to me are more barrows, with ditches winding around and through and off away around the hill. I thought there may have been a couple of barrows at best, I’m not going to have enough time.
Then I make for a barrow shape, only to find it’s one of them funny reservoir thingies. Humph!
From there I make for the big barrow at the top of the hill, only to get beaten to it by a whole family, first on the scene was a little girl who had as much energy and enthusiasm as a football team made of modern antiquarians, she was dancing and spinning round, rolling down the barrow, poking her nose into rabbity holes and everything. Don’t see that very often.
Most of the family left quickly, leaving one adult overseeing the exuberant child, who was playing in the deep ditch of the barrow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a good ditch around a barrow before, reminds me places like Bryn Celli Ddu and Maes Howe.
Time had passed by like I was stuck in a time warp, making it time to get going, I left the hill top to the next generation of barrow rollers, and passed out of view. Then we went home, the motorway was crap.

Returned with LH and I’m glad to say the cairn doesn’t look any further damaged. In fact it looks a bit better than the previous visit. Lots of farm waste seems to have been moved from the nearby track making access much easier.

Re-visited 29/12/2016.

Les and I met at the Mossat Shop on the A97 and followed that road until it changes to the A944. Turn south at Bellabeg over the bridge over the River Don and go past Strathdon Parish Church. Head west and the minor road will sweep south. This will come to an odd shaped T junction but keep heading south. We parked near the entrance of Birkwood Farm but where later told that there was a car park just before the farm.

From here we headed south keeping to the farm track. After the second gate we jumped the fence and headed east. The cairn sits on top of a wee hillock at the end of Glencarvie. Lochans farmstead, well deserted, is to the north east.

This lovely cairn sits amongst the beautiful Strathdon countryside. Ca-dubh (west), Gallows Hill (north), Cnoc na H-lolaire (east) and Bad an Teahdaire are the nearby neighbouring hills. It is an enclosed area almost like a separate small country.

The cairn has several surviving kerbs in its 8 metre width. Animal damage allows to see more kerbs and structural composition. As usual the cairn has been houked into a circular bowl shape. It remains at 0.6 in height and provided a superb start to our day. Surviving drifts of snow added to the atmosphere.

Visited 29/12/2016.

This cairn is situated in the first clearing mentioned in the fieldnotes for Hill Of Trustach. It has been badly damaged but has more stone content and has almost retained its circular shape. As well as the forestry damage it has been houked. Still a kerb of sorts remains on the edge of a cairn about 6 metres wide, 0.6 metres tall.

Now instead of all this taking paths nonsense I headed north west through the trees, which fortunately aren’t close together. Flukily it led me straight back to where I had started.

Visited 8/12/2016.

This cairn has been badly damaged by forestry and now sits in a small clearing like its near neighbour to the west. It is surrounded by birches to the east/north and by the fir trees of encircling forest.

I parked on the A93 on a forestry track just west of the Backhill of Trustach farm then headed south climbing steadily along the edge of Trustach Hill. A type of crossroads will be reached, from here head east. After a few hundred metres another track heads north east. Take this track and the cairns are in two clearings, this cairn being the furthest east. The track by this time has deteriorated to a small walking path.

The cairn is over 6 metres in width and at its highest is no more than 0.5 metres high. What look likes a kerb has been battered, the stones on top of the cairn have suffered fate.

Even though a fair distance has been walked the A93 is only a short distance to the north. You wouldn’t know as this place is completely silent.

Visited 8/12/2016.

Sluie Hill has lovely views looking south over the Trustach to Gouach/Tillybath Hills. In between the southern hills is the River Dee, Sluie being to the north of the river.

This is the largest of the cairns situated on the hill being almost 4 metres wide and 0.5 metres at its highest. Kerbs partially surround the site which looks like it has the remains of a cist in its houked centre. Situated near masts, to the west, is fairly easy to find.

From Banchory/Inchmarlo head west on the A93 until a track heading north signposted Easter Sluie. Permission was given to park so I headed north and uphill towards the masts. A track winds its way up towards the site which can be found between to the two masts.

Visited 8/12/2016.

From the village of Dinnet on the A93 head south on the B9158 which crosses the River Dee then head west on the B976, the South Deeside Road. I asked permission to park at the Deecastle Farm and was told it was “a cracking place to see the Northern Lights near the cairn” by the farmer. Head back east along the South Deeside Road and take the first forestry road heading north east. Only go a short distance before climbing the dyke to head south and uphill. This is quite a steep climb and underfoot conditions are not perfect. However once at the top the views are worth the effort.

Morven and its pals (Mulloch etc.) are clearly seen as is the River Dee as it meanders, today, from east to west eventually entering the North Sea at Aberdeen.

The cairn is over 20 metres wide and is easily 3 metres tall. Stones resembling kerbs are noticeable on the south side. It is very similar to the cairns on Morven, Mulloch (plus friends) and Cairn More, Glentanar. Also built into the cairn are a few wind shelters for shepherds. Canmore haven’t really studied these hills close enough as they have really missed quite a few cairns i.e. Pittenderrich. Luckily the locals still have a story or two to tell.

With the dark rapidly approaching it was time to head back down the hill to much the needed heat of the car. South of the Dee is a wonderful place.

Visited 15/12/2016.

Another cairn recycled for miss-use and most likely miss-trials.

Heading north-west from Tillybath the B993 is reached at the Potarch Hotel (a very good place). From here cross the River Dee and head west for a short distance on the A93 taking the first minor road north-west. This re-connects with the B993, keep going until the minor road heading north-east. This leads onto the A980, head slightly east then take the first minor road heading north. I parked near the aptly named Gallow Cairn cottage. Look north-east and the cairn is on top of the wee hill.

Well positioned the site has tremendous views looking onto Sluie, Tillybath to the south, the River Dee east and west. The site is over 20 metres wide and 1.5 metres tall according to the locals. Stones poke out all over the sides of the cairn which was put to different uses in medieval times.

1/12/2016.

December 22, 2016

The Migvie Cup-Marked Stone has been repositioned

After visiting the Tom Dubh Cairns 800 metres east of Migvie Church with Drew we stopped off at the site of the well-known Migvie Cup-Marked Stone—close by the west end of the neighbouring farmhouse at ‘The Glack‘.

But it wasn’t there!

The verge where this stone formerly stood has clearly been scooped away, the stone with it. It transpired that the stone had been repositioned in a safer location within Migvie Churchyard (details in report above).

I’ve been wanting to come here for simply years, it wasn’t until I finally decided upon a return to Avebury that I had a look exactly where it is, and well, blow me down, but I’ve only driven past it about a dozen times. Heaping upon the feeling of my inadequateness I spotted the stone from the road, it was there all the time, practically yelling at passers by to come over and have a look, but oh no, eyes are always well and truly glued upon the avenue stones.
Parking in the aforementioned layby by the avenue stones, cross over and follow the hedge to the site of the circle. As easy as the peasy.
Passing on the way, as you do, the hedge stone, a hefty stone that looks large enough to have once belonged to the very nearby circle, but it is part of an old wall, and is a completely different colour to all the Avebury stones, which are a decidedly pale white, the hedge stone is brown. What this means I can only guess at in an uneducated kind of way.

I can see how someone might just be a touch disappointed with Faulkner’s circle, there is after all only one stone, which may not be in it’s correct position. But not me though, I liked it a lot.
Firstly I was taken a back as to where it actually was, hardly equidistant, but between Ridgeway and the Avenue of stones, barrows crown the horizon on the Ridgeway. Secondly, why did they put a stone circle here, so close to the Avebury whopper, it doesn’t make much sense, it’s like building a church in a cathedral porch. But then nothing round here makes much sense, it’s a sensory overload, stoney saturation point was reached some time ago, about another dozen trips to Avebury and I might get to see it all.
Still haven’t walked along the Ridgeway to have a closer gander at them big barrows, nor have I been to East Kennett long barrow, the polisher or the spring. But there’s still time today to take in one more never been to, and it’s up hill.
Bye stone.

25/12/2016 – We went for a walk at Hightown on Christmas Day, just down the coast from Formby and its famous footprints. The beach is quiet and it’s a nice stroll to where the River Alt meets the sea and then along the coast. An ancient trackway was discovered here in the 90s and radiocarbon dated to Early Neolithic. Don’t think there is much to see of it now. Still worth the trip to see the ancient submerged forest in a fine layer of peat. Trees (mainly birch I think) and plants (Royal ferns?) lay in the peat, still soft to the touch. Such beautiful shapes and I did find the place quite moving. Great views out to sea. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

I haven’t been here for years, it was even before I had a digital camera, my memories of the site are kind of dulled by time but I distinctly remember being underwhelmed. Seeing as we’ve taken lunch from Greggs of Marlborough this would be the optimum moment to revisit and see if my memories are reliable.

Parking is a problem, there is no where to do it.
I tried on the main road, but that didn’t feel safe at all, so I opted to park in the same place as Carl despite the sign saying park here and we’ll tow you away, like Carl I left backup in the car in case of emergency.
The walk up the track is very muddy, but the sun was shining, the birds were flying and I was ready for some stones. As you get to the barn you can see the dolmen, I pause a while here and ponder the barns use as viewing platform up the valley, decide i’m being silly and keep on splashing through the mud.

I enter the enclosure of the Den and approach the stones, much is made of the fact that you’re allowed to go to the stones any time you like, permission is already given. But, if there’s no where to park your motor it’s just a bit of a laugh isn’t it, probably best to get Scotty to beam you straight to the site, walking? who needs it.
A big chunk of concrete helps support the stones, no one seems to mention it much, but there you go. They also call it a dolmen, is it really a dolmen? a portal dolmen maybe? I don’t think it is, yes it’s a stone lifted upwards by other stones, but that doesn’t make it a dolmen does it?
If you like dolmens go to Wales.

But none of this means I don’t like it, I do, very much, what it does mean is that a place as famous as this should have a little car park, just a simple one will do, one without fear of being towed away. And I’d like to know exactly what it is that remains of what, is it really a dolmen, is it all that remains of another big chambered cairn, or is it a mad folly, were any burials found, what do we really know about it.
My ponderings were then rudely broken by my daughter in the car saying that a tractor with a big spikey thing on the back was there, so I said I was on my way, waved cheerfully to the stones and left readying myself for yet another confrontation with the farming fraternity. But it didn’t happen, he just passed me by on the track.

Still, not hard to understand my slight disappointment with the place last time. Stones, it’s not you, it’s me.

The site was cleared of gorse and shrubbery in 1986 and excavated and restored in 2005 -6 . Worth having a look at it on Google Earth to get a better idea of the aerial view . Even better , use the timeline to see what it looked like in 2004 .
Unlike all the dolmens in area ,most of which are oriented in the other direction i.e. easterly , the axis of the monument and entrance is close enough to be considered as oriented on the mid winter solstice sunset . It doesn’t “work” in the other direction i.e. to the mid summer solstice due to the height of the hills impacting on the resulting declination . The enclosures around the main monument had later Iron Age burials with the earlier monument providing Chalcolithic Bell Beaker ceramics from beneath the menhirs .

Backhill of Drachlaw, West Circle

Fred Coles referred to Backhill of Drachlaw, West Circle in his Report on the Stone Circles of Northeast Scotland in 1903. Although this circle still appeared on the 1905 Ordnance Survey map as a Circle of six stones, it was dismantled during the 19th century. Coles stated that:

“... many years ago one of these six stones, then forming a Circle, close to which the farm-steadings came to be built, was removed by a neighbouring farmer who ‘required’ a block of good stone out of which to make lintels ... the remaining five stones were subsequently removed from their original positions and placed in the line of two dikes.”

I was recently contacted by Bob Seddon, who currently occupies the steading at the Backhill of Drachlaw, who believes that he has located seven of the original stones, four of which have been incorporated into walls around the steading (as noted below by Drew) and another three which were buried in the ground. These three stones (identified as nos 5, 6 and 7) had been incorporated into a culvert which is thought to have been constructed in the late 19th century: they only came to light during the past year when a neighbour recovered them whilst he was undertaking some fieldwork and water course improvement works.
Bob states that it is his intention to return these three stones to the approximate position of the original Drachlaw West stone circle, but to retain the existing stones (which are embedded in the north perimeter wall of the steading) in their current positions, as it is believed they are at, or close to, their original location. Sadly, no detailed records or plans of the original site can be found.

As the name suggests, the Backhill of Drachlaw West site is approximately 200 metres to the west of the main Backhill of Drachlaw stone circle.

Popularity is relative; however it’s nevertheless probably fair to say that the environs of The Kyle of Durness feature pretty highly upon the itineraries of most visitors to far north-western Scotland. And not without good reason: the coastal scenery is exquisite, particularly striking when a low, late Spring sun blurs demarcation between hillside, sandbank and water with washes of golden light bordering upon sheer ostentation.

What might not be so obvious to passing motorists restricted to widescreen panoramas is the fact that such scenic splendour was (or so it would appear to me) specifically chosen as the necessary backdrop to a myriad funerary cairns erected by the first peoples to call the locale ‘home’, monuments which still remain, in varying degrees of preservation, clustered either side of the A838 coastal road. Unlike assemblages of similar cairns – cemeteries, if you will – to be found in many other areas of these Isles, gaunt stone piles standing in enigmatic profile against the skyline... those to the south-west of Durness are seemingly shy to the point of reclusion. Even when in plain sight. Some, I like to think, offer a sublime, harmonious juxtaposition of monument and landscape, a glorious summation of just why I do what I do.

One such was only discovered... or rather ‘re-discovered’... by those wondrous OS people during field investigations as recently as 1960, obscured by peat upon the low rise of Cnoc na Moine. Following a 1972 visit, the indefatigable Audrey Henshall classified the monument as “The heavily robbed remains of an Orkney-Cromarty round cairn with a polygonal chamber”. The description is succinct since not a great deal of cairn material remains in situ, it being the substantial orthostats of the surviving chamber which impress, their squat solidity evoking a notion of timelessness, a reference point, perhaps, in a world seemingly accelerating uncontrollably toward cyber information overload. (Although no doubt some pioneers of The Industrial Revolution had similar concerns about their own ‘Great Leap Forward’). I was expecting a lot less ‘chamber’ and more ‘cairn’, to be honest; but happily settle for the inverse. Happily.

The chambered cairn doesn’t sit at the modest outcropping summit of Cnoc na Moine, rather a little way below to the approx west. The summit itself is crowned by a ring – perhaps ‘stone arrangement’ is a more apt descriptor – not depicted upon the map, but clearly of human agency (Canmore cites this as a ‘Kerbed Cairn’). The splendid profiling as seen from the chambered cairn is perhaps instructive? Furthermore another Kerbed Cairn is located beside the southern shore of Loch Caladail to the east, this furnished with a similar aspect of the summit. The assumption that both monuments were in some way subsidiary to – or at least associated with – the summit is arguably pretty cohesive.

So... the archaeology to be found secreted away upon and around Cnoc na Moine is somewhat extensive, not to mention impressive. The same can be said about the fabulous, contrasting views. The brutally rugged heights of Beinn Ceannabeinne and Meall Meadhonach dominate the near eastern horizon, despite relatively modest elevations, but it is the aforementioned, magnificent seaward vista – particularly when viewed from the chambered cairn – which, for me, is the crowning glory here, the gaze irrevocably drawn across the shining waters of the Kyle of Durness... toward Cape Wrath itself. A timeless view worthy of a timeless viewpoint.

I don’t believe the chambered cairn of Cnoc na Moine can be readily seen from roadside. Consequently travellers willing to ascend the short distance for a personal audience should pretty much be guaranteed just that. A spot to hang out in solitude for a while without, as George Eliot memorably said “feeling obligated to look serious”.

Like most visitors to the far north-west of mainland Scotland, I guess, the great Loch Eriboll – arguably one of Scotland’s most enigmatic sea lochs – has erstwhile featured as a rather extensive (c10 mile long) watery backdrop to the approach to Durness, the town (in season at least) a bustling focal point for those enjoying the superb coastal scenery this exquisite corner of Sutherland has to offer. In abundance.

This year, however, I manage to infuse a degree of structure to my wide-eyed wanderings, somehow finding myself in the position to allocate a full day to traverse the A838 between Tongue and the southern extremity of The Kyle of Durness... the proviso that I camp at the latter notwithstanding. Furthermore, in stark contrast to my last venture two years back, the generally inclement Scottish weather is anything but, a golden glow announcing a more-or-less cloudless dawn at my camp near Loch Hakel, what vapour there is smothering Ben Loyal, the mountain appearing as if immersed in whipped cream. So, following a glorious diversion along the eastern shore of Loch Hope, an almost impossibly blue Loch Eriboll beckons beyond Ard Neackie as the A838 swings south. Hey, it would be rude not to stop this time, particularly seeing as the chances of encountering such conditions again are pretty slim, it has to be said.

Passing Eilean Choraidh – apparently used by the Norse of yore as a burial ground (it appears ‘Loch Eriboll’ is derived from the Norse meaning “home on a gravely beach”) – I park beneath the imposingly rocky flank of Creag na Faoilinn overlooking the loch to the south. Unlike eagle-eyed TMA-er Carl, I can’t positively identify the cairn from roadside, so head for the eastern side of Lochan Havurn, before veering to the right. The going is rough – very much so – with intermittent bog to make things more, er, interesting. In retrospect it’s no doubt easier to approach via the house at Foulin (there’s a souterrain to see nearby as well, if that’s your bag). But there you are... whatever route is taken the cairn, upon arrival, will be found to be a beauty of the type.

Small, but perfectly formed... and, as far I could tell, apparently inviolate (?)... this is an excellent, unassuming monument. The setting is exquisite for a lowland cairn (let’s face it, it can’t really get any lower), the vast expanse of Loch Eriboll, stretching away to the northern horizon, contrasting vividly with the towering crags of Creag na Faoilinn to landward. Hey, if visiting punters can manage to vacate their Bronze Age perch there’s even a personal beach close at hand. As it is I prefer the former, an ideal spot to relax, drink coffee and chuckle at the antics of the numerous ‘themed tourer groups’ (Porsches, Harley Davidsons, brand new, shiny 4x4s etc) passing by in convoy upon the A838, the relative proximity of the road somewhat paradoxically accentuating the splendid isolation of the monument. Such is the idyllic perfection of the scene it almost beggars belief to recall that Eilean Choraidh was used as a target practice proxy for the infamous German battleship Tirpitz during the war... and that Loch Eriboll has been a surrogate home for Royal Navy – as well as Merchant Navy – groups on numerous occasions, thanks to the deepness of its water.

Such is the vibe I could’ve stayed all day... but there is so much more to see beyond Durness. Yeah, tell me about it.

A very overdue visit on 17.12.2016.

It’s the best part of 7 years since I added this site to TMA, so really about time I made the effort to come here. Heeding the warnings of Carl’s approach, I come at the site from Little Dean to the south, via the edge of the woods below Chestnut Inclosures. It’s been a claggy, misty December day and the light is dull, tendrils of mist rising from the Severn a couple of miles or so to the east.

Where the path Carl was on gets to the southern edge of the hill, a narrower footpath heads north up the hill – it might be easy to miss this in summer as the vegetation seeks to strangle it, so look out for a stile into a field on the south, which is opposite the entrance to the footpath. Coming from this direction the ascent is at its most gentle, the steeper slopes of the hill are on the north and east sides.

Before reaching the fort, there is a meeting with a remarkable tree, a massive beech of huge height and girth, and great age for the species. The woods here are a lovely mix of deciduous trees, birch and beech, oak and chestnut. The footpath arrives at the southern tip of the fort, where a bank rises on the right but nothing on the left, making it a little difficult to gain bearings of the layout at first. In fact the fort is an irregular shape, like a “q” with this bank being the western side of the short tail (in fact it’s very similar in layout to Midsummer Camp on the Malverns). It’s immediately apparent that the banks here are stone-built, plentiful mossy stones protruding through the winter cover of dying vegetation.

Because of this disorientation I initially keep heading north rather than following the bank around. The ground is still rising slightly, with a big drop now becoming apparent on the right (east). Soon I reach a confused junction of banks and ditches, which resolve themselves into the point where the tail of the “q” meets the body. The drop the east is now quite severe, with any view curtailed by the heavy tree cover and mist rising from the river valley beyond. Without the trees I imagine I might be standing in the thin upper reach of a temperature inversion.

Deep leaf litter muffles my footfalls. Towards the north I come to a clearer circle, a fairy ring among the trees. This is the only clear and relatively flat spot within the fort interior, and makes a good place to stop and take in the quiet of the woods on this somewhat eerie day.

At the northern end the ground drops very abruptly, a 5 metre drop from the top of the rampart to the next level down. It seems that this has been created by terracing the naturally steep slope rather than needing to create a wholly artificial defence, but it would certainly be a formidable obstacle and provides an excellent vantage over the valley below.

The killer construction though is on the west. Here a massive inner bank towers above two further lines of bank and ditch. There is a wide space between inner and middle defences, which gives the impression that the outer ditches are slight and shallow in comparison. This impression is quickly dispelled by dropping down the slippery slope for a closer look, which reveals the middle ditch to be a good 6 feet deep.

Near the southwestern corner, the lines of ramparts are crossed by a slightly raised causeway, but it’s not clear whether this represents an original feature or a later intrusion. Either way it’s a pretty steep climb back up to the inner rampart.

Disembodied voices and the bark of a dog rising from the valley settlement below to the west, the screech of an irate squirrel somewhere in the trees above me and seagull cries from the Severn are the only noises to interrupt the quiet. No boars today, although grubbings and scrapings in the soft earth at the top of the hill appear to indicate their occasional presence.

The day has been grey throughout, and this close to Midwinter the light fails early. By the time I’ve walked around the site and its defences, it’s getting towards 4 o’clock and already darkening. Although it’s a fairly compact fort, the multiple lines to explore make it feel bigger and it’s taken me a good hour to get round it. It’s an atmospheric place, and one that would repay a visit on a sunny spring day before the canopy refills and the brambles entwine the accesses.

This cairn is hard to find as it is covered in all sorts of horrible and jabby vegetation. However not wanting to give in I flung myself thru the narrowest section to land on a small clearing which is the north section of the cairn. With all the vegetation it is difficult to measure the width. Canmore says 17 metres which seems about right, the height being 0.5 metres. The centre of the cairn can be found by crawling under the whins/furze etc. It has been houked or possibly it is a cist. Kerbs are visible in the south but impossible to reach.

Like all the nearby sites maybe one day the vegetation will be cleared and we’ll be able to see them. As for me it was back to the car for plasters and bandages as these cairns had taken their toll on my legs.

Visited 24/11/2016.

Rabbits and badgers have had a real go at this artificial mound which might possibly double up as a ring cairn. Sadly vegetation made taking photos of the ring stones impossible but they are there. Some are also on the west side but have been incorporated into a wall (optimistic use of this word) The west is actually a wee valley which the mound looks on to.

The oval shaped monument is 11 meters long by 6 metres wide, the height being 0.5 metres. Canmore says the site is aligned north west/south east. Whilst this site isn’t much to see it felt to me that it was central to something as it sits in the middle of a circular area made up of small hills. One bigger hill to the west is Cairn Mon Earn.

I parked at East Brachmont and walked north back up the minor road until the first corner. Jump the fence and head west. Some of the ground is boggy but if lucky a path (of sorts) can be found which almost leads straight to the site.

Visited 24/11/2016.