Latest Fieldnotes

The grid reference isnt correct, went up today and couldn’t find it.

Borgue Langwell Broch
June 22, 2021

The remains of Borgue Langwell broch stand near the top of a short valley south of the Langwell Water (stream) near Berridale in Caithness. The structure consists of a grassy mound with remnant walling courses on the south and southwest only. Elsewhere, any stonework that had existed is now totally tumbled into an amorphous stoneheap. The broch mound itself is a grassy dome with a slight saucer-like depression in its summit and the occasional large stone peeking out from its sides.

Getting to Borgue Langwell poses a bit of a challenge. Until a few years ago, the OS map showed a woodland path leading from a carpark on the A9 almost directly to the site. But no longer. The trees have been harvested leaving behind a wasteland of stumps and branches that is almost impossible to cross: and of the original path there remains no trace. Add to this the fact that a large section of the area is now guarded by a high fence— presumably to protect new plantings—and the problem is compounded!

Starting from the car-park (blue marker ‘P’), which is 1.5 kilometres south of Berridale, the only practical route is to follow the A9 south. Fortunately, there is a wide grassy verge all the way, which makes this walk a very safe option. After 800 metres, the band of roadside trees gives way to a wide fire break which heads north towards Borgue Langwell. After a further 600 metres I arrived at a fence and gate.

Frustratingly, the broch (red marker ‘B’) lies, not on the other side of this gate, but beyond a second fence heading off to the right. With no sign of a gate through this fence (though there obviously must be one somewhere), the remaining option was to clamber over it using the high slatted stile at the side of the gate. The broch lies around a hundred metres away beyond the remains of an old farm steading.

6th March 2025.
Heading from Newcastle in 4’ light frost on the high ground but good unseasonably warm day forecast. Steady wind from SW.
I’m going to assume you own and can use a map because you will want one. There is a lot to see in a small area and not all of it is obvious. Boots too, as in decent and waterproof, you may get away with sturdy trainers in summer. Bring water, no, more than that! Like 2lt min per person. You will know why on the way back!
Ok that’s the health and safety talk done. This is my second attempt to find Buttony rock art, the first, last October, on the hottest day for weeks, with insufficient water.
I parked in Doddington by the cross and water trough in the lay by. There are other lay bys and the golf club says it has parking and welcomes walkers, so if you are golf club material it might be worth a look. Anyway I headed up the lane past the first footpath sign (made that mistake last time, near vertical climb to start) and along the gently rising lane, past a bungalow with a fine carved bear in the front garden, and on past a woods to the clearly marked turn up to the golf club. Up you go, keep looking to the top and one foot in front of another. At the club car park you will see an obvious track heading up, there is a sign, it has a phone app thing for rock art Northumberland if that is something you could use (I was in signal the entire walk). As soon as it seemed decent (male 58, overweight, heavily tattooed), I ditched my Norge shirt due to warmth and it joined my woolly jumper in my bag for the rest of the day I got by in a base layer and wind proof anorak.
Onward and upwards you leave the golf land via a gate and turn left up again. Immediately in front of you in the rough beside the track is the “Main Stone” witch is riven with cups and lines, there is a hill fort in front of you towards the Cheviots. Up through the ramparts of the higher hillfort (lots of hut circles) you reach the trig point. Take your map (see intro) and orientate yourself. (OS 340) . I headed down towards the “stone circle (remains of)”, then through the gate and along the footpath beside the wire fence towards the copse with ww2 pill box to left, then across the field to the Buttony plantation. Now the fun starts. On the map the cup and ring marked stone is written outside the plantation to the South. This is a big lie. So best I can explain it, head for the gate near a shallow angle in the wall and follow the light track through the overgrown jumble of fallen pines and associated brambles etc, don’t wear your best clothes, gortex life expectancy in there 3 minutes, think Barbour jacket or army coat from back in the days when the army crashed through the woods scaring the bejesus out of us everyday folk when they emerged in full camouflage, but I digress, last time I gave up, due to hydration issues but must have walked within metres of the art. I noticed the first panel because I was searching for ANY rocks and saw some freshly cleaned rings under a less freshly fallen tree. Even then it took a while to find the double rings and other panel. Pine needles are the villains, a light dusting on the moss and it is the perfect camouflage. Point of fact, I stashed my bag to make searching easier, and a) had trouble finding my bag and b) had trouble finding the stones again. And I’m pretty handy in the woods. Note to self, camouflage bags have their drawbacks.
Basically you need to stay in the top third of the woods best you can for the fallen timber and stay in the right third of the woods but before the pheasant rearing contrivance and assorted plastic barrels nonsense.
Once I retrieved my bag and hand brushed and wetted the double rings I got some nice pictures, remember the water in the intro, I used 3/4 lt to get pictures. The panel next door was very mossy and I’m not that guy who goes round pulling it off for fun.
I feel it is a shame that this holy grail of Northumberland rock art is so lost in a smashed pine wood. I looked at the pictures on here from 20 odd years ago and it was lovely.
I headed back via the other pill box and skirted the high side of the hill fort with spectacular views and another cup marked panel, then back to the golf course gate and left just before it leading to another cup and ring panel then the steep decent back to Doddington joining the lane at the footpath sign I told you to walk by on the way. A great day, I saw several hares, some big hooked beak hovering birds, several ravens and had a really good day of it. Preparation and luck with the weather made it one to remember. This is no “ park up and gentle stroll” like Lordenshaws and I can’t stress enough that suitable footwear and plenty of water are needed, I nearly came unstuck in October when I didn’t believe the weather forecasts optimism and found myself getting heatstroke on a barren, windless moor a long way from my car, but that’s another story.

I started my evening’s walk by parking at the small car park next to Colonsay’s golf course. The four legged greenkeepers were still hard at work preparing the course for the weekend’s Colonsay Open. They also, like me, had something else to contend with – this part of Colonsay had not missed the previous nights storms.

To start with underfoot conditions were fine, head south west, past the airstrip and onto a track, best described as a very long mud bath. Keep going until the beach is almost reached then head south east along a ridge with small valleys, some of which had turned into small lochans.

The stone appears to be having a rest and is propped up up by some possible chokes and rocks. Originally it must have stood at well over 2m. Canmore suggests that perhaps was a small stone circle at some point, I didn’t see any other stones. What I did see through a gap in the ridge were the Paps Of Jura and a small climb to the top ridge gives views of the Oronsay and the south of Colonsay.

After a look round for the possible stones that made up the circle it was my intention to head further south but the weather had other ideas.

This time I headed north east to return to the track. Somehow avoiding falling into bogs to return to the track, airfield and eventually the car park along.

Difficult to get to and find but worth it if just to see through the gap in the ridge to Jura.

Visited 13/08/2024.

After taking in the wonderful views at Garvard we headed back, east, past Garvard farmhouse to the car park. From here I walked north on the B8085 until the first track that heads east. I followed this track to just before the first serious corner to approach the fort from the north east. The terrain here is also flatter and luckily fairly dry as the area had just missed the previous nights storms.

By taking this route the fort can be entered by the front door on the east, facing stones are still in place. Whoever built the fort must have strong, building stones that remain in place are huge. Most of the defences are on the east with the walls being almost 6m wide. Steep cliffs protect the other sides, their walls being only 2.5m wide. Beneath the south there is a tremendous amount of fallen building material. Even these walls must have been massive. They would have surrounded an area of about 54m east to west, and 25m north to south.

Views are fantastic, Jura, Islay, Oronsay can all be seen as well as views to the mainland. To the north Loch Cholla and my old / new friend Dun Eibhinn which dominates the centre of the island.

Fantastic site.

Visited 13/08/2024.

Visited today (16 Feb), alongside a trip to Culross.

We parked in the layby but didn’t know about a gap in the fence so gained access via the north side of the bridge. A short slope took us to the underpass then we climbed a gate into the field. There were no cows on our visit, just lots of molehills and goose spoor.

The hero stone is striking, like an elegant clamshell, or frozen seaweed. There were small coins pressed into its deep and shallow cup- hollows.

One of the stones in the circle of three had a busy texture like wood or muscle fibres, a thick streak of quartz running down one side like fat.

We walked in the direction of the water then followed the fence uphill, past mature trees, including a few recently downed, probably by Storm Eowyn. We found the remains of an older wall in a copse.

Going a little uphill gets you away from the roar of the A985, and lets you see the stones in the context of the surrounding hills, and feel some atmosphere.

In contrast to Carnwnda which we stopped at later on the day, this dolmen seems all about the structure, the suspension of a megalith openly and on purpose into an area of long range viewspace. If Carnwnda was a cave shelter metaphor, this one is a mountain. But perhaps it needs the outcrop next to it, which birthed it’s raw materials, to work...
Cummings and Whittle, in a detailed landscape based analysis of Neolithic monuments in Wales, undertook visual mapping of the views present when placing oneself at the monuments.
In the case of Ffyst Samson, they classed the views from the NE to the SE as closed. But if you stand on the outcrop, you get a full 360 panorama including the Preselis. And notably, the capstone is positioned on the horizon looking out to sea (Aber Mawr bay) where there is no outcrop or mountain in the panorama. Was it built to fill that view, and to reference the sea? The capstone even looks shaped like a chunky crescent with a scalloped edge, imitating the shape of the bay it ‘looks down on’ if you follow the sight line from the outcrop.
Wild speculation likely, but this one feels like the landscape around it was crucial to it’s siting, and the outcrop inextricably interwoven into whatever it’s builders were up to.

Visited at twilight on February 13th, 2025.
This monument is in such a great spot, cracking views all over Strumble Head and out to sea, including the lighthouse. Although it’s earth-fast/submegalithic/propped stone, it’s far from subtle in appearance when look you up at Carn Wnda....a massive horizontal slab lying contrary to all the vertical flats of the crags around it.
This one seems all about the creation of the chamber, for whatever purpose it was put to. Jack up a slab in situ, make a pit, then stone wall all around to make a chamber. The aesthetics of floating a stone don’t seem relevant here, as if the underpinning ideology or function was of a different kind to the dolmens.
The great evidence destroyer Fenton got to this one too, and noted in 1848:
‘From the quantities of red and black ashes mixed with portions of what seemed to be decomposed burnt bones and small fragments of rude pottery which I found...in the hollow below, I felt no hesitation in forming the conclusion that it had been a place of internment‘
The red ashes are interesting, although Fenton doesn’t say if they plant or animal?

Visited 08.02.25

This is an improvement on my previous route to Drumwhirn Cairn: Take the A75 turn off to Newton Stewart at the large roundabout. Follow the town centre to the end of Victoria Street & bear left across the Cree Bridge. Turn L about 50 yards from the end of the bridge into Minnigaff. After 0.5 mile you will see a war memorial on your R.
Take the next L turn after 100 yards. This is a narrow country lane headed to Cree Woods. Follow this lane past Minigaff Parish Church, Boreland Wood and Boreland Farm. Around 0.5 mile after Boreland Farm a green lane protected by a deer gate starts at NX 39089 68355 on the R. There is room to park up in a passing place at NX 39082 68352. Open the deer gate and walk N up the muddy green lane for c. 300 yards to reach a Y junction. Take the left boggy path into the forest for c. 70 yards to reach a gateway. Walk NE up the field for c. 100 yards then bear N up the slope for c. 250 yards heading for the visible stony cairn. My walking route is viewable on Drumwhirn Cairn.

The path to Drumwhirn Cairn is boggy in places so wellies are essential in all but dry summer conditions.

February 12th. Visit on a full moonlight night, no wind. Foxes and pheasants calling in the valley below. The dolmen, fat and pregnant and glowing ethereal, choreographer to the stars as they dance onto her nocturnal stage.

Visited the dolmen on the frosty night of February 7th, not long after Imbolc and on a waxing moon. First time we have been there since Storm Darragh blew in. Unfortunately this has turned the route that most people use, the public footpath off the minor road to the south of Llanglydwen that goes past Pen-pontbren, into a Grade A assault course. Fallen pines and firs have come down like dominos all over the path, and as with many places, there has been no attempt to clear up. We had to go through the fields south of the path, and it looked like we had not been the first to do so. The path badly needs the council to get in there with chainsaws.
We were worried that the beech grove around the dolmen was going to be similarly battered, but storm damage has been thankfully minimal. A couple of split or uprooted trees nearby but the sylvan feel of this unique spot remains intact. There was a nice round chunk of quartz on the floor of the chamber that wasn’t there last time. The white water river section in the gorge below rumbling to itself, and easy to imagine the spirits of the woodland and the ancestors tickling the edges of perception.

A visit starting at the car park below the hillfort.
I started along the road westish until the rough grassy track that obviously leads to the top of Birky Hill. ( OL42 map) . Upon gaining the summit of this low hill there are stones that look placed and are possibly the remains of well robbed burial cairns. This place needs a LiDAR survey like chips need salt. Just Northish down the slope is a large “square” looking chunk of rock with cup and rings on top. A basin has formed and another cup made in this. The other half of this stone is next to it and the break is obvious. There is another cup marked stone, which someone had torn the grass back from, revealing several I’d not seen, there appear to be lines connecting some of the cups.
Keeping to the grassy ridge you will meet a track that takes you across a piled stone line which apparently was the boundary of a deer park at some point, anyway , the Adder Stone ( aka Horseshoe Stone) is just along the way. I got a treat with bright sunshine low in the sky casting fine shadows ( there are lots of pics on here, mine are the same) it really looked like a snake today.
From here follow the deer park boundary stone pile thing uphill on the well used track to the “Main Stone” (aka Channel Stone). This is the prize of the bunch and was “busy” but everyone had time enough to themselves. Nice shadows revealing the mydrid cups and rings.
North East the track leads to the hillfort up a gentle slope. A boulder beside the track has possible sharpening marks but I have no idea of the origin weather ancient or more recent, it’s a good grit stone that I use at home for various things. I like to walk round the ramparts and today was as good as it gets for vegetation, it gets swamped with bracken in summer and the heather hides lots. There are “hut circles” dotted about. I’ve tried laying down in one and can’t ( I’m 5’10” on a good day). Views to enjoy in every direction and today I got the best of them.
Take your time strolling round the banks and when you get to the North look along the ridge and you will see the remains of a cain burial. A track leads that way and it makes a nice silluette on the skyline as you get close. The biggest stone has grooves down it which may be natural or accented by man. On the East side there are cup marks in one of the associated stones on the edge of the cairn site. You are looking down onto a watershed between you and the next hill and a stream flanked by small birch, alder and thorn can be seen leading down towards Rothbury. If you look towards the hill, East, there are several cup and groove marked slabs among the heather, I got lucky and found all the ones shown on here, some are fantastic. I took water to reveal the grooves better. It’s a job to know what is natural, what is manmade and what is a bit of both.
I then headed across the watershed and had a nose about on the low slopes of the hill but am leaving it for another day. I was 5 hours ambling, chatting, photographing and pondering. I could have done it in two but I had no rush today.
Wear your boots and tough pants, watch out for burnt heather stalks from land management, some areas are being used for grouse rearing and sheep so dogs are not allowed everywhere, signs advice, and there is plenty of space for everyone and their pooch. This is the time of year to visit before the bracken and heather cover it all up. This was my best visit for rock art because I used this site to learn before I went, and I’ve been coming here 30 years!

Oronsay was going to be a target but the tide clearly had other ideas, luckily we had other ideas as well. There is a small car park at the end of the road and to the west another intended target. Garvard standing stone, on top of Cnoc Eibriginn, invited us to take the flat walk along the track, past Garvard farm to the small hill.

The approach from the east is the easiest climb to the summit and it’s well worth it as Oronsay, Jura and Islay all come into view, what a marker for prehistoric and later boats to safely come ashore.

People have ups and downs, so do standing stones – after 1878 it had fallen and was re-erected in 1935, it fell again only to be put back up in 1960 by the farmer at Garvard. The 1.75m tall stone seems quite happy to remain in place for many years yet.

Luckily the storm the previous night, only a couple of miles north, had missed the south of Colonsay as the ground was bone dry.

Visited 13/08/2024.

Dunan Nan Con (Glen of the dogs) is located near to the B8085, the road that leads to the south of Colonsay. My dog was also delighted to be on what he thought was home territory.

There is an old quarry just to the south of dun so plenty room to park. A short hike to the west leads to the 5m high rock mound on which the dun sits.

Not much remains of this badly ruined site except the traces of wall and the entrance on the north east. Ferns now occupy the interior. Still the view is good, to the east Dun Cholla and Loch Cholla, further south the island of Oronsay.

Nice way to start the day.

Visited 13/08/2024.

I went to Forgue and parked at the Walter Scott hall (in use but closed when I was there). I walked up past the school and into the woods. On reflection, it seems a strange place to put a school – right up a hill on the edge of a village – but I suppose back in the day there were a lot of kids coming down the hill from crofts and farms, unlike today. As a sidenote, there are two churches in Forgue and they are both placed on gorgeous sites across the burn from each other and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are built on top of more ancient monuments.

It was a nice walk up the hill through the trees, beech and pine. I walked past the “turn off” over the fence to Raich stone circle, which I visited on the way back. I carried on up the track with trees on one side and fields on the other, until using the OS app it was judged time to take a right down a track, sticking to the countours of the hill. This led me along a winding path until the OS app told me i was next to the circle, so I advanced 5 metres into a mess of fallen trees and torn up earth (see pix). Checked the app again, turned round and the quartz encrusted stone was right behind me! I was excited at first because I thoguht it was a massive chunk of quartz (as at Auchmaliddie, which I’d love to visit), but having look at the other pix here it seems to only have a wee bit on top. Pretty though and interesting that there was similar rock at Raich nearby.

But yeah the site was an impenetrable, indecipherable mess, with trees blocking everything from access to view. Frankly I see this as the responsibility of the land owner to sort out since they should be maintaining an ancient monument on “their” land. I don’t think these trees came down that recently and I noticed the track was being kept clear in any case, so there are people about. To sum up: I found the three stones of the smashed recumbent with difficulty, had a picnic, it started raining, I left. And that was it.

From Tobar Fuar Dun Gallain is easily spotted to the south west, from where we were staying in Killchattan, we could see the dun and just to make sure we realised what it looked like there was also a painting of the site on the kitchen wall. All of this proved that Dun Gallain is in a fantastic location with superb all round views.

The wind was picking up up as I walked across the golf course, underfoot conditions would change as walked on to a rougher surface but they remained dry. It was quite a hike as the wind grew stronger and as I reached the top, approaching from the south east, I did well to remain on my feet.

The dun measures 30 by 20m, with best walls on the south and east. Climbing beneath these walls is quite risky but gives a good indication of the surviving stonework. No such work needed for the north and west as sheer cliffs do the needful. On top of the west cliff sits a walker’s cairn probably made from stones taken from the dun’s walls.

Weather plays a big part in Hebridean life and it would play a huge part later on. Far out at sea I could see flashes of lightning which told me it was time to get a move on back to safety of the car.

A superb site.

Visited 12/08/2024.

Tobar Fuar, cold well, is a site that can be added to the ‘used as part of a golf course’ list.

Parking is easy as the golf course’s car park is next to the B8086 on the west of the island. The dun is a short walk to the west and easily spotted. Not much is left to see except for some stonework marking the outer edges of the site. A bigger than usual gap between outer stones, seen in one of the photographs, probably reveals the entrance in the north-east.

With the Colonsay Open happening at the end of the week, this would prove to be a busy place. I can vouch for the greenkeepers, the sheep were still hard at work as I marched to the next site, the Atlantic providing a cooling breeze for the evening’s hike.

Visited 12/08/2024

It was good to get back to daylight, A and B, and head east to find the track that heads north to Balnahard. A reasonably steep climb leads to the cairn at Beinn Bheag which has tremendous views looking south.

It remains at 10m wide and is 1m high, large boulder kerbs remain in place, massive stones on the east and west. In the centre, there might be the remains of a cist, field clearence has also been dumped on to the cairn adding to the confusion.

At this point the camera decided to work again, maybe it had been affected by the damp of the caves.

This track heading south leads straight back to where the car was parked, this place would get a couple of more visits.

Visited 12/08/2024.

Head almost to the north of Colonsay on the B8086, then head slightly north west on the minor road, then take the farm track where there is plenty of parking at Kiloran Bay. Spencer would know these roads very well.

Follow the beach north, jump a wee burn, then jump a fence near what could only be the bones of whale and then look north west. The entrance to the cave is in front. Getting there is tricky as it means clambering over rocks and small rock pools.

Once inside, sound seemed to vanish but I kept going until I found the junction of two other chambers, there is a fourth, but at that point the camera decided to stop working, a pity, but I’ll return. Luckily I had my phone as by this point it was completely dark and the idea of getting lost in caves didn’t have much appeal.

Worth another look.

Visited 12/08/2024.

These notes are intended for the area from The Poind and His Man to Shaftoe Crags and Pipers Seat balancing stone. There is a lot to see in a lovely area that offers more than ancient remains.
You take the road from Belsay towards Scots Gap and as you pass Bolam Lakes ( an artificial lake created within past 200 years) about 3/4 of a mile past the last car park, you come to a cross roads, take the unmade track to the left past the farm buildings at post box. Go slow! No slower than that, kids and animals, pot holes and mud, you were warned. Continue unto you reach the section made of concrete railway sleepers and to your left is the Bronze Age barrow mound, don’t stop to take pictures, you’re nearly at the parking.
Upon crossing a cattle grid gateway you will notice a flat piece of grass on your right, which is where the landowner kindly allows considerate parking, there may be cars there but it is obvious where it is. There are usually free ranging sheep or cows or both who can be naturally curious so control all dogs immediately. There used to be eggs for sale with an honesty box but I haven’t seen that for a long time.
Looking across to your right you will see the barrow with its standing stone. Separate listing on here for info.
Following the dry stone wall walk along the obvious track in the grass. On your left is medieval ridge and furrow marks between the track and small conifer plantation.
You have choices and a map can be handy, either take the gate to the right and cross the rough and often boggy field towards the East end of the outcrops (1 mile) for rock art ( separate listing on here) and stunning views of Simonside and the cheviots, or, carry on straight up and through another gate ahead to Salters Nick. The ridge and furrow has given way to grassland. Please take the time to shut all gates properly as some of the latches are a bit old fashioned.
Once through the gate continue up beside the wall to the settlement and prepare to be disappointed. Ten years ago it was plain as day grass banks and hit circles visible but since cattle have trampled the ground to a morass while sheltering from the worst of the weather. This has lead to birch trees becoming established and bracken to smothering everything in between so mid winter is the best time to see anything useful. The pictures I put on yesterday give the idea ( end of January) . The settlement’s location, at the top of the only gaps in the crags that horses or cattle could realistically use, is suggestive of possible use as I find it very hard to believe anyone chose that spot to live all year round, when there are so many more sheltered and suitable nearby.
As you stand at the edge of the crags ( rock art listed on here separately) you are level with the tops of the trees. These wind blasted Silver Birch, Beech, Oaks and Firs are a marvel and often contain Ravens and other large birds of prey.
If you look around while trying to ignore the dry stone walls ( all quarried from the crags) you get an impression of the larger ancient landscape and possible field bounties or corals.
Across The Nick, is another possible settlement site with some banks being able to be made out however this landscape has been farmed, quarried, used for military training, and otherwise altered continually from the Neolithic until present day so beware of jumping to conclusions. Further East is a “ modern” standing stone erected for Queen Victorias jubilee. It is carved and possibly a reused ancient stone. It gives a good idea of how stone erodes in these conditions as the inscription is nearly gone near the top.
Great views all along the crags which are a geology lesson in themselves, being gritty sandstone which hardens in contact with weather but is softer when buried. There are layers of quartz and chert pebbles in places, which may have been a valuable resource in ancient times for sling stone, decoration or tools, most are smaller than a pound coin and can be found in the mud below some places, they polish up nice. Various layering and ripple patterns show how a seabed must have formed and reformed over millennia before being pulled apart by the effects of the Tyne fault line. There is supposed to be Neolithic evidence in caves documented but I’ve not found them yet, bracken smothers the place in summer and in winter it is a morass but I keep looking.
Climbers use these rocks to practice and you will see chalk marks on popular holds, some attempts have been made to “ improve” the rocks for this, so not all marks are natural geology.
Salters Nick got it’s name from being a route in in salt trade which shows how something we take for granted used to be an important asset for preserving and was apparently worth smuggling from the coast way inland. An obvious trackway heads NWish from the Nick towards the Borders. Quite when the Nick was made is open for debate and may well have been enlarged many times through history. Explosives have defiantly features in more modern works and the area would have been a busy quarry at the time they were enclosing fields and building the farmhouses. A lot of the amazing stone piles and crags are not natural except a couple of hundred years erosion.
To the left of the gap is a valley protected from the worst of the weather which forms a watershed in a roughly North/South line so the eventual streams empty into totally different rivers, some of the large boulders around this area have a very “placed “ look and if you explore your imagination can create wonderful ideas, but sticking to the facts, there are faint cup and ring marks to be found. Since the creation of a trout lake further down and cattle sheltering in the valley, the streams have turned into a general bog but there are trees and wildlife aplenty. Deer, foxes, badger and hares can often be seen if you’re quiet and walk gentle. In WW2 ( and possibly before) this area was used to train soldiers and an area of the crags I’d quite blasted and pockmarked from bullets and mortar fire, some trenches relating to this are on the hill opposite with trig point on top. This trip point was used to survey the OS maps of the area so it gives some idea of the views to expect in a 360’ panorama. From the top you can see Shaftoe Crags with a small enclosure known as a hillfort although it’s actual use is open to debate. Also the Piper Stone ( both of which have their own write ups on here) .
So in a small area there is a lot to see and walks can vary in length or objective. Wear decent boots and carry sensible coat because even in summer it can be very boggy and freezing rain squalls can appear from nowhere. Its the OL 42 map and about 40 minute drive from Newcastle. It is Right to Roam land but please let’s leave it how we found it so future generations can share the privilege of this access and unspoilt, litter and noise free land to recharge our brains and enjoy.

I’ve been meaning to check out this mound a while and today was the day. After long deliberations, I decided that the layby just by the bridge down from Nether Blairock farmhouse was ok to park in since it’s not a passing place. I def think about these things too much, but on the flipside I’d also be mortified if I parked somewhere that was in the way.

I went under the bridge and up the burn, coz I do loves a bit of stream exploration. Underneath it’s obvious that the bridge is doubled, presumably from when they widened the turnpike. Half stream walking, half following the deer tracks, I ended up at the base of the mound next to a badger latrine.

The mound seen up close is impressive and certainly man-made. It’s steep climb to the top, although not a long one because it’s only 8m high (3m from the field beside it). Did people live there? It seems small for that, but Dunadd also seemed small and that was centre of a kingdom back in the day! Now sitting peaceful in the trees beside the B-road, the mound would have had a commanding position over the turning to Kirkton of Deskford. In 2019, a core sample was taken and it was dated to between 386 BC and 206 BC.

A colleague suggested that the people who lived here then moved on to build Inaltry Castle, I’m not sure about that because there’s also Davie’s Castle (a hillfort) nearby and this place seems more ceremonial than a defended citadel. It’s also pretty close to the Deskford ritual centre, where the carnyx was found. In any case, it proved a lovely short visit which cheered me right up on a crispy October day in 2024.

A very soggy nocturnal visit to Gors Fawr after two days of torrential rain, making the bog siting even more sodden and sucky than usual. Compensation was given in that finally the stars were visible after days and days of murk.
The suggestion (and apparent antiquarian accounts) of an avenue between the circle and the stone pair seems to feel ‘right’ on the ground, although being also the route of the footpath that cuts across to Mynachlog-ddu Common it’s obviously well walked.
However, there are some more rocks along the path that seem a bit odd, like they could have been placed. A reddish weathered rock that looked like a giant wedge of cheese (of the same kind that holds the little plaque at the entrance to the site) was striking. What if the avenue to the outliers was part of an ancient trackway (following the footpath and then the modern road) up to the skirt of Carn Sian and via that onto the Preselis? All speculative, but the area around is littered with (still) standing stones like Glynsaithmaen and Rhos Fach, all of which would surely have existed for centuries as contemporaries in the landscape.

Dun Eibhinn has superb views and from its north east entrance you can see Buaile Riabhach, slightly to the north of a white coloured building. The descent isn’t very steep, some high ferns and a couple of fences to jump.

Like many others who have seen or written about Buaile Reibhach, its a confusing site. Definitely two standing stones (one standing perfectly, the other looking like it has visited the nearby hotel), possibly a kerb cairn, or perhaps a chamber cairn. Whatever it is, its well placed next to the well used track, leading to Loch Turraman, that has probably been used for centuries.

I looked for and found two nearby cairns, however, they were completely covered in high ferns so another visit required.

With that it was back to the track and the B8085 to walk back to the car at Scalasaig (village). The first major walk on the island completed.

Visited 11/08/2024.

After battering my way through all types of gorse and jabby stuff I headed north west to climb the reasonably steep slopes to Dun Eibhinn, one of quite a few impressive defensive sites on Colonsay.

Two walls surround the fort, which can be seen from many places on the island, some parts in decent condition some badly ruined, especially on the outer wall which has seen its stones used for nearby dry stane dykes.

The building of the outer wall on the north is somewhat curious as the the drop is almost straight down. However, it protected the 20 by 18m site well. Entrance to the fort is on the North East, at this point you can see how wide the walls must have been – 4m in some places. Also an idea of height as the entrance’s walls made use of a small gully.

Traces of Iron Age dwellings inside the fort are barely visible, the remains of probably Medieval dwellings can be clearly seen.

A great place to look south, east and west, to the east is Buaile Riabhach which would be my next stop.

Visited 11/08/2024.

From the standing stone south of the B8085 I headed back, north, towards the church, crossed the road and walked past the hotel on the track heading towards the aptly named Turraman Loch. Long before the well named loch head west, following a fence, at Scalasaig Farm. A short walk of no more than 100m awaits.

Thanks to the gorse I spied the stone when I was directly below the site. (You can see the top of the stone from the B8085.) Luckily you can get to the stone via some clearings.

It is an impressive stone standing at 2m high and 2m wide. The smaller stone in the Canmore photos is still there.

Towering over me to the north west is Dun Eibhinn, a decent climb ahead.

Visited 11/08/2024.