Glasserton Mains rock art panel takes a little bit of finding, as it is one rocky outcrop among many, in a landscape covered in gorse, but it offers wonderful coastal views to the Fell of Carleton.
In the intervening years since Brian’s visit here in 2006, the gorse and grass has encroached upon the outcrop quite a lot, to the point it has covered up a fair bit of the rock art. Maybe not a bad thing, as it will offer it some protection. Still very much worth hunting out though.
10/4/25 – Well… what can I say? This was truly a life changing experience. I had been meaning to visit this stone for months and I nearly fell to my knees at the sight of it. The way to it from Millport is fairly easy don’t get me wrong, but for me it was a struggle, but then again most things are. Me and a couple of friends were biking from White Bay to the stone. The journey is around 10 minutes by bike, but I still managed to fall into barbed wire – also my recently broken toe didn’t help the uphill battle (going on both physically and mentally) that was the road to Gouklan Woods.
I want to thank everyone here for introducing this beautiful piece of history to me. I came out of this journey a changed woman and learned what it means to persevere.
Also, the descriptive thing was broken off when we got there which we didn’t appreciate.
Visited 05.04.25
Cairnholy 12 Carved Panel is located c. 6 feet ESE of Cairnholy 4 Carved Panel on a rocky knoll c. 0.5 miles NNW of Cairnholy Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. Cairnholy 12 is a flat subrectangular rock panel measuring 10 feet E-W and 4 feet N-S. The most prominent motif is a double cup and ring carving on the W end. The large cup is c. 2.5 inches in diameter and 0.5 inches deep, the small cup c. 1 inch in diameter and 0.25 inches deep. The outside diameter of the rings is c. 6 inches. There are also multiple carved cups on the panel. The dimensions of the carved cups vary from 1- 2 inches in diameter and 0.25-0.5 inches deep. Further details of Cairnholy 12 are available in Canmore ID 368422.
There are 6 carved panels on the knoll: Cairnholy 4,11,12,13,14&15.
Visited 05.04.25
Cairnholy 11 Carved Panel is located c. 9 feet SSW of Cairnholy 4 Carved Panel on a rocky knoll c. 0.5 miles NNW of Cairnholy Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. It consists of 8 equally spaced cup carvings arranged in 2 parallel lines. The carved cups are c. 1-1.5 inches in diameter and 0.25-0.5 inches deep. The lines are orientated ENE-WSW, measuring c. 9 inches long and 3 inches apart. Further details of Cairnholy 11 are available in Canmore ID 368421.
There are 6 carved panels on the knoll: Cairnholy 4,11,12,13,14&15.
Visited 07.04.25
Cairnholy 6 Carved Panel is located c. 0.6 miles N of Cairnholy Farm in a drainage ditch running WSW-ESE, parallel to a stone wall. The flat stone in the bottom of the ditch has two wide striations probably caused by drainage equipment. The carvings are on the N side of the panel. They consist of a W Cup Carving , a Central Cup Carving c. 1 feet E and an irregular E Cup Carving. The W Cup Carving has peck markings on the surface and measures c. 3.5 inches in diameter and 0.25 inches deep. The Central Cup Carving is conical, measuring c. 1.5 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. The E Cup Carving appears to be unfinished, an oval hollow measuring c. 4.5 inches long.
Canmore ID 63737 has further details of Cairnholy 6 Carved Panel.
Visited 05.04.25
Cairnholy 04 Carved Panel is located c. 0.5 miles NNW of Cairnholy Farm on a rocky knoll in a grassy field. It is c. 25 feet ENE of a stone wall bordering the field. Cairnholy 04 Carved Panel has two carvings: A cup & ring carving with several small satellite cup carvings on the N perimeter and a cup carving on the W end. The N Cup & Ring Carving has a central cup c. 2.5 inches in diameter and 0.5 inches deep with a complete inner ring and a partial outer ring up to a radius of 4 inches. The S Cup Carving is c. 2 inches in diameter and 0.25 inches deep. Canmore ID 63726 lists the location of Cairnholy as NX 51551 54637: This OS Grid Reference is accurate to 1 square metre as opposed to the 100 square metres of the six figure OS Grid Reference quoted on the top of the page.
There are 6 carved panels on the knoll: Cairnholy 4,11,12,13,14&15.
Visited 07.04.25
Cairnholy 07 Cup Carved Panel is c. 0.5 mile N of Cairnholy 01 in Dumfries and Galloway. It is located on a narrow stone ridge on the summit of a grassy knoll c. 75 yards SSE of Cairnholy Sheepfold which is built in the NW corner of a grass field. The carved panel is c. 20 yards NE of a dry stane dyke.
The carved panel has 16 cup carvings arranged in two parallel lines measuring c. 18 inches on a ENE- WSW Axis. The equally spaced cups measure up to 1.5 inches in diameter with depths varying from 0.25 to 0.5 inches.
Canmore ID 368427 has further details of Cairnholy 07.
Visited 04.04.25
Balneil Cairn is located in rough pasture c. 0.3 mile NE of Balniel Farm, near New Luce in Dumfries and Galloway. The round grassy cairn has significant deposits of field clearance stones on the E and SW Arcs. Balneil Cairn has a diameter of c. 66 feet and a height of 4 feet.
Further information on Balneil Cairn is available on Canmore ID 61662.
As the ground begins to rise on the climb up to the Fell of Barhullion, in the rock strewn fields lie a series of small drumlins called Langmaiden Feys (I sense there is the strong possibility of some forgotten folklore in such a name). A series of north-east/south-west sloping, grassy outcrops and boulders. It is on the largest of this drumlins that the rock art panel can be found, but you need to look carefully,
I’d attempted the find the carving a few days before, walking right past it at least twice, being rendered invisible in the afternoon sun. After checking on its location again, I returned a few days later, climbing up on to the biggest drumlin in the pre-dawn gloaming, I could see what looked like a few faint concentric circles on one of the rocks. Not helped by the surface of the rock having been encroached by moss since the online photos had been taken, nearly twenty years before.
I half-heartedly took a couple of photos along the top of the outcrop, more out of a sense of, ‘well I’m here now’ than anything else, and wandered off across the field to do photos on another drumlin, covered with twisted hawthorns. Then the sun came up and everything changed!
Looking out over Luce Bay, with the sun rising behind the Fell of Barhullion behind me, I could see the deep, red light reflected in the window of a house across the bay. Slowly, the light inched towards me, until it reached the field in which I stood.
As the sun crept over the shoulder of the Fell of Barhullion, the first part of the field to receive light was the highest part of the biggest drumlin, exactly where the rock art is situated. I dashed across the field, back up onto the ridge and there, springing out from the rock in the low, raking sunlight were the carvings.
I’ve often wondered why those ancient stone carvers picked particular rocks and not others, but here, in the early morning sunlight I could see perfectly why they picked that exact place.
Visited 03.04.25
Cairnholy 3 Cup & Ring Carved Stone is located on the W perimeter of a subcircular clearance cairn, c. 250 yards NE of Cairnholy Farm. The clearance cairn measures c. 12 feet in diameter and 1 foot high. It is centrally located in a group of clearance cairns aligned on a N-S axis.
Cairnholy 3 Cup & Ring Carved Stone is an irregular cuboid measuring c. 2 x 2 x 1.5 feet. It lies recumbent on the W edge of the clearance cairn, the long axis aligned E-W. There is a large cup and ring carving on the W face of the stone. The carving consists of a central cup surrounded by 6 equally spaced rings. The diameter of the outside ring is c. 12 inches. The carving is worn but still visible in sunlight.
Further details of Cairnholy 03 Cup & Ring Carved Stone are available in Canmore ID 63725.
A visit to the Great North (Hancock) Museum to see the cup and ring marked stones (and lots of other prehistoric stuff).
Local buses stop across the road and the Haymarket Metro Station is a short easy walk. There are little signs on the lampposts directing you. If you must drive into the city there is parking nearby.
A large cup and ring marked boulder sits proudly outside the entrance on a lawn with benches. This was found durning water main replacement work at Birney Hill (near Darras Hall NW Newcastle). It’s a well marked stone with mostly cups and a few rings.
In the museum head right from main doors and you will find “ Ice Age to Iron Age” exhibit. Several portable cup and ring marked stones and cyst covers from all over Northumberland and some information about possible carving methods.
Lots of other exhibits from the area from querm stones to microliths.
Well worth a visit if you are in the area, lots else to see for all the family, and a free to use reference library. It has a website so all you need to know will be on there most likely.
To my surprise, the church is now a home! Didn’t meet anyone on my visit but also didn’t enter the former churchyard. I found the smaller of the two stones then walked around like an idiot looking for the big one for a while until I went back to my car and it was right next to it :)
Reminds me of a pleasant afternoon spent with a pal in Kent looking for Wayland’s Smithy, let’s just say sometimes the stones can lead us on a merry old dance.
Plenty of space to park on the field at Kiloran Bay. From here I headed straight east, in the direction of Dunan Nan Nighean (Little Fort Of The maidens) and found a route over Ruiteachan Eorna (barley grass), remarkably dry considering the storm that happened 2 days before. That soon changed, the east had been sheltered by the hills, small streams were still mini rivers, the area known as Leanan Nan Lasgairean (the children of the firemen) was a swamp, plenty of water for the firemen. The storm had taken some weird directions before heading back out to sea.
Somehow I remained reasonably dry and went north of the site to swing round it to approach from the east. What looked like the remains of stone steps made the steep climb easier – Canmore mentions 2 steps but I found quite a few more. At the top the first thing seen is the reconstructed lintel entrance. Spectacular views over to Jura and beyond can be seen.
The wall on the east, containing the lintel, is in good condition, Whoever did the reconstruction did a great job. Also in reasonable condition is the south wall, sadly the same can’t be said of the north wall. A hut that was in the east side of the dun had been had been put into the west wall or flung over the side. Some of the rubble from this also joined the fallen stonework scattered on the dun’s floor. It is small for this type of site, almost 8m east to west by almost 4m north to south. The walls are almost 3m wide.
One good thing about being high above the bog to the west was to spy a way back, even more luckier was to see a sheep’s path which led, in a very twisty but dry way, back to the road near the Cnoc Beag Cairn, from there head south to the gateway at Kiloran Bay.
Spectacular site!
Visited 14/08/2024.
Visited 24.03.25
On my return visit, I found Cairnderry in an improved condition: The kerb of the cairn was discernible and the exposed chambers in the centre of the cairn were free from vegetation. I was able to reconcile the remains of the cairn with the plan. Cairnderry Cairn is an impressive monument with easy access from the A714, deserving of more visitors.
This is eroded and robbed site is situated atop the ridge that divides the Castleshaw and Delph valley from Diggle and may be seen from both locations. To reiterate, the well preserved horseshoe shaped feature downslope nearby is a WW2 gun emplacement – don’t be fooled! I have also noticed but have yet to attempt to get to another nearby feature under the boundaries of two field walls on the skyline downhill from the Saddleworth Hotel when seen from the A62 going towards Delph. This area may have more to offer..
Visited 20.03.25
After an unseasonable dry spell, I decided to return to boggy Balker Moor to locate the N cairn. Using the quoted OS Grid Reference, I managed to locate an earth bank with several kerb stones. I walked round the curve to locate further kerb stones on the E & W arcs. I estimated that the circle had a c. 45 foot diameter. A carpet of heather has colonised the interior of the circle, blending it into the landscape. Balker Moor N Cairn has been almost entirely destroyed except for an earth bank on the N arc. Further details are available on Canmore ID 61730.
Directions: Take the A77 Ayr road E out of Stranraer. After c. 2 miles continue past the A751 Dumfries junction for c. 0.3 mile. Take the right turn onto an unsigned single track road. Stay on this road for c. 2.5 miles, past Craigcaffie Farm, then park up in a lay-by on the right at NX 1013 6501. Walk ESE across the moor parallel to the forest margin for c. 700 yards to NX 1072 6477, avoiding the boggiest ground. Walk c. 250 yards S from here to Balker Moor N Cairn at NX 10724 64545. Balker Moor S Cairn is located at NX 10767 64445, c. 110 yards SSE of the N cairn. My route can be seen on Balker Moor Cairns. Wellies and GPS navigation are essential.
After sitting in the sunshine for a while absorbing the lessons of Old Keig RSC, I decided to give myself another chance to find Cothiemuir Wood circle. I had stupidly managed to come out without both a charged phone and a OS map, so I was a bit in the dark. I’d already got as far as the sign off the road for the natural burial site, which since it used an image of the recumbent and flankers was probably a fair bet, so I went back towards Cothiemuir from Old Keig (which is pretty close) and impulsively decided to park on an unused track just off the road at the bend before the burial site turnoff. I wandered up though lovely trees and suddenly spied a flanker standing tall!
It’s a beautiful site, nowadays standing in an area of chopped trees, funny how that really changes things in photos but in reality it probably always had a great ambience. Trees still visible and of course the hill, not the water – I always forget to look for the water, which is often nearby. Of course that was down the hill beside the road and the old granary.
The flankers were great! They are pink granite and very impressive in person. The recumbent is huge and had a mad face in it. I was at first puzzled by the slab in the middle with burnt wood nestling underneath it, but that of course was the cist.
I had been there for a while when two other people appeared, which made me realise how lucky I am in Aberdeenshire to mostly have circles to myself. Still I didn’t mind to share the space since I was thinking to head off; we said hello and one woman chatted with me about stone circles. She seemed quite knowledgeable so I enquired if she knew this website and she said she doesn’t really use the internet which I have to admit surprised me.
In this day and age, I’d find it very hard to research sites without this site and the internets more broadly. She told me she was a therapist and perhaps unsurprisingly she then told me the stones have healing properties – I don’t necessarily disagree. In her opinion, Cothiemuir has a gentle healing energy, Old Keig more aggressive, Sunhoney is the best for healing, Monymusk is for making decisions, Midmar has hard energy, Aikey Brae is a good one as is Berrybrae.
This made me wonder if my habit of trying to see two or three RSCs in an afternoon is the right approach; I do remember having a very nice relaxing time at Sunhoney and I would say Midmar once felt pretty scary visiting at midnight, however I also do think we all take (and give) different things to the stones. In any case it was an interesting spring equinox conversation. She told me confidently that the beautiful flankers had been quarried at Bennachie and most neighbouring stone circles had some pink in them. I do hope the two women had a great healing sesion after I left. I certainly enjoyed finding Cothiemuir and next time I’d park at the burial site, which is I think is probably what they did.
What a cracker of a monument!! I’ve tried to find this a few times and finally succeeded on the spring equinox. As others have noted, the setting is sublime and despite only the recumbent and flankers remaining, it’s a stunning site, with the view down to Dunnideer castle and the way the hill drops away.
I hadn’t seen Stoneheid’s message so I parked on the road just off the junction, which seemed out of the way enough to me then walked down and hopped the rickety gate.
Visited 19.03.25
When I revisited Ballach-a-Heathry Cairn on 19.03.25, the large field clearance stones had been removed, leaving a grassy plateau sloping S-N. The perimeter of the cairn was more sharply defined with steep edges. The cairn has an irregular elongated oval footprint. The measurements of the cairn were c. 57 feet on the NNW-SSE Axis and c. 33 feet on the ENE-WSW Axis with a height of c. 7 feet.
Ballach-a-Heathry Cairn is located in a grass field c. 180 yards SW of a gateway with adjacent parking available.
Visited yesterday in glorious sunshine and had it to myself for half an hour. Very impressive circle and associated standing stone with “viewing portal” (according to on site sign) aligning the standing stone with midwinter sunset from middle of circle. It has a lane with beautiful old trees running through north to south but strangely this does not detract from it. Truly beautiful surroundings and a place I will return to to take in the wider landscape. Good near site parking and easily found using old road atlas and common sense. On site disabled parking. Nice to wander and chill and when others arrived it didn’t detract from the experience, one lady was chanting or singing, which was lovely to hear. I would expect it to get busy at “peak times” so I got lucky. No litter, great views and more to see in local area. I will be back armed with a map and with time to spare and possibly a picnic.
Took a trip to see this for the first time yesterday. Easy to find and very accessible. Parking right beside the field. Very busy on a sunny afternoon so if peace and tranquility might be something you’re into go early in the day possibly. Quite amazed by one group who decided to plonk themselves down on the main photo opportunity and have a loud conversation like they were outside a city centre Starbucks, expressing amusement that they “will be in everyone’s pictures”. That aside there is space and views, very little litter and the many dogs seemed mostly under control. It is what it is, and it is a tourist attraction, so hardly surprised to find tourists.
It’s a nice circle with remains of possibly a burial cairn on East side. This was a scouting trip but I’ll be back at a quieter time. Location wise it is stunning.
So Craigroy is the farm next door (with an impressively large recumbent stone next to the road) and this site is actually on the land of Haugh Farm. I was lucky enough to have an introduction to the farmers, who were happy to show me the stones and at the same time ensure their dogs didn’t eat me :) They said they hadn’t thought much about the provenance of the stones and guessed maybe they were Pictish, so I was happy to tell them the little I knew about bronze age burials. Lovely people. After later researching the site as I enjoy doing, I’ve sent them some links and told them about the excellent NLS maps service.
Having just read Richard Hayman’s excellent ‘Riddles in Stone’ it really tickles me how he says that people are wont to interpret ancient sites in the way that fits their own world view. So for example classical scholars saw stone circles in the light of Athenian temples, and I see sites as possible rave venues. This small grave is in a beautiful location near to the River Avon as it surges down to the Spey.
Canmore says this is a burial cist marked by the three stones and I interpret that as the excavators leaving the three standing as markers, because I’ve never seen a cist like that before. It also occurs to me it’s a small burial site and perhaps many sites like this have been destroyed over the years. It’s currently listed here as a bank barrow, which seems unlikely because it is so small.
I came up through rhododendron bushes from the Foulford Bridge cairn, a route which I would not recommend. Better to come on the track from the bridge and then climb a quick steep ascent.
Garrrr this one was a nightmare, the rhododendron bushes have completely taken over (see pix) so I got close to it but didn’t see anything :(
Found this cairn quite easily following a mossy track off from the main way at the Foulford bridge. This is the closest one to the bridge. The pheasant prison is gone! Just the foundations remain. The cairn will outlast us all.
