This round Clyde cairn is near Lephinkill but is even less worth a visit than its neighbour.
Although it sits in a clearing in the forest, there is, as far as I could see, no attempt at leaving an access route. To visit it, you need a GPS and attitude.
Visited 10 May 2004
Not much at this cairn to justify the steep climb up to it.
The V-shaped forecourt is still visible but the sidestones of the chamber have fallen inwards.
For the hardy, park in Clachan of Glendaruel then follow the N bank of the stream which passes the cairn. The forest section of this had been indicated on my visit by flourescent orange markers.
Visited 10 May 2004
This is certainly the most remote chambered cairn on Bute and there is nothing especially great about it. Indeed, a large part of the floor plan is obscured by vegetation.
My way in was perhaps not the most obvious but it was determined by the weather. On a glorious day, by taking the track to the viewpoint at Scalpsie Bay and continuing N along the wide ridge, I was able to enjoy views E and W of Bute for most of the trip.
Visited 10 May 2004
As promised, I’m back.
In the short time since my last visit, new access and a waymarked path have been put in.
And it was a better site than my reading had led me to expect. Not really overgrown at all.
The length of the cairn is perhaps the most impressive feature of the site but the three chambers still hold interest.
Visited 10 May 2004
Visited 7th December 2003: Access to Cors y Gedol is very good, with a level tarmac path leading right past it. It would be a great site for a wheelchair user to visit, or anyone with limited mobility. The only potential problems are the uneven surface and gradient in the car park, the gate at the start of the path and getting to see the chamber from all angles. I’d have thought an extra set of hands would resolve most of these, except possibly the last.
Having described the access as very good, I should mention that we made very slow progress to the chamber because the nice farmer had put a herd of cattle in the field, including calves and at least one bull. We nearly turned back, but decided to keep going, moving gingerly along the perimeter wall. This seemed to work, but it wasn’t a relaxing experience.
The tomb itself is interesting, sitting in a beautiful location in the shadow of cairn capped Moelfre. The views out to sea are almost as striking. At the time I interpreted it as either an earth-fast tomb or a collapsed portal dolmen. There’s cairn material evident around the chamber, especially to the west. Possibly one of those sites best visited in winter.
Visited 7th December 2003: We parked in the cul-de-sac called Bro Arthur, walked back onto the main road then made our way up the path to the mighty Dyffryn Ardudwy. Luckily for us the weather was spot on, with good crisp winter sunshine.
It was a dynamic visit. The cairn material made it tricky for Alfie to walk around, so he was in a bit of a grump at first. Then William managed to get his foot wedged between two of the orthostats in the eastern chamber. I rescued him, and after some tears he was back to normal, pretending he was in a ‘ty-house’ (or is that ‘tea-house’). Before we left I squeezed into the western chamber with both the boys, peaking out at Lou (who wasn’t silly enough to follow us). The boys thought this was hysterical (so did I if I’m honest).
See the directions from Dunan Mor.
A long Clyde cairn with two axial chambers and a standing stone nearby.
Also very overgrown. Definitely a site for the winter months.
Visited 23 May 2004
This is one of two chambered cairns on a forest walk.
This is the one you come to first – known as Dunan Mor. An easily-missed arrow on a post points the way to the lower Dunan Beag.
Covered in vegetation which is a pity because the round cairn covers an unusual arrangement of three chambers in a Y-shaped layout. The SE chamber is the most visible.
Visited 23 May 2004
This is nice.
No cairn left but a good megalithic chamber with well-defined septal stones dividing the compartments.
If you poke around in the bracken you will find the fallen tall portal stones and the facade stones.
The main chamber faces NE and the remains of a second chamber lie to the SW.
Don’t be fooled by Landranger into thinking that a path runs by this with nearby access from the road. There is no path.
To reach the site, walk to the S end of the forest on the opposite side of the road and then follow the fence line E. There is parking at the forest.
Best visited outside the bracken-growing season.
Visited 23 May 2004
Around the bottom of the Knock, there is what appears to be a “causeway” of some kind. I first noticed it when me, Scotty and Martin visited here in 2002, and it was so flat that at first I thought it must have once carried a railway. However, checking the map shows that the only railway that used to run near here was south-west of Crieff and not north-east. Besides, the “causeway” is considerably wider than engineers would have built for a railway embankement.
It certainly appears to be too flat to be natural (unless it’s perhaps a grass-covered lava flow from the Knock) and does have the look of having been made or modified by human hands. You can see parts of it in the photos I’ve posted.
It curves around the bottom of Kate McNieven’s Craig, then heads off south-west along the edge of the rest of the Knock. Could it even be a cursus of some kind?
This modest Clyde cairn is much more interesting than the nearby Moss Farm but, because it is surrounded by bracken most of the year with nothing visible above ground, it is probably less visited.
Visited 23 May 2004
This very ruined Clyde cairn is passed on the track to Machrie Moor.
Only three stones remain, the most visible being a standing stone 1.8m high which is probably a portal stone to a chamber facing W.
The other two stones are a likely chamber sidestone and a facade stone to the S.
Visited 23 May 2004
Double court tombs are my favourite Irish megaliths and this splendid example sits at around 130m OD with wide views in all directions.
The NE court is the better preserved right down to the kerbing edging the cairn.
The SW end would be close enough to the symmetrical other half were it not for a half dozen or so stones at the extreme end (where the court would be) which resemble the remains of another gallery. The enigma only adds to the interest.
Easy access. Off a narrow road but there is room to park one car. Follow the track up to and beyond the ruined house.
Visited 31 May 2004
Situated close to the track that leads up to Falls of Acharn stone circle, this barrow enjoys good views to the North from it’s position on a shelf above Loch Tay.
Canmore describes it as a “sharply-defined, turf-covered mound, 6.7m N-S by 6.1m and 1.1m high.”
Seven stones remain standing of this 20m diameter circle and those in the SE are largely concealed by field clearance.
The best bit of the circle is the four stones standing up to 2m high in the NW quadrant.
Visited 30 May 2004
There are a number of rock art sites on Doagh Island (Magheranaul Townland) but they were rather difficult to find.
You can find the rocks where you would expect the rock art to be but many were only partly visible through the turf. Light turf clearing showed the extent of the cover was more than I was prepared to deal with.
However, I did find one interesting motif. A cup with a tail surrounded by other radiating lines (at C4322849720 on the GPS) and another probable motif some 5 – 10m to the W of it.
Also looked at some rocks in the area around C426500 which are recorded as containing rock art. One at C4281849955 looked a possible candidate but was heavily weathered if it contained anything at all. In the flat light of the day, the photos taken here do not reveal anything.
Visited 30 May 2004
4th October, 2004: Now sealed over, most likely filled in too.
17th June, 2004: Went back again to clarify the position and this is definitely the O.S. map well, the upper edge of the track being the old field boundary. The stone from on top has joined its brethren in the waters and this has allowed a better view of the uphill section.
4th June 2004: Over in Tankerness a site marked as well on the O.S. map (at HY5110608523) has been quite literally uncovered. As you go down the hill to Tankerness Mill you come to various Whitecleat buildings and when you reach the end of this complex on the other side is a new house. Below this is a track and sometime since mid-afternoon Wednesday someone has broken through the top of a structure. The aperture is 0.7m square internally and at least 1.4m deep (one metre down there is water), at the bottom is a large stone and soil from the collapse. The base of the top side is a large grey stone, the upper courses consist of sandstone corbelling. Down at the other end the appearance is squared off. The bottom side is sandstone drywalling but it could be secondary to block off a larger extent. So though it has probably been used as a well I feel this is a very late usage for a Neolithic or Bronze Age something. I assume that it will be filled in soon, so my photos will be the only record (even though I have taken the precaution of informing an appropriate official here).
Second visit, June 7th. Is it me or is this a very unusually shaped well. (Almost) five-sided because the bottom of the uphill side is either two stones 0.8m and 0.5m or one biggie with an obtuse angle. I thought perhaps these black stones could be bedrock but there is the same kind of stone at the bottom of the other, straight, sides. But nevertheless I think it is/was a wellspring – in the Neolithic the Loch of Tankerness being only 1m deep was much further away than it now appears. The big stones only start appearing 0.6m from the top. The drystone roof at either end seems to mimic their shape, the uphill end being corbelled for its top 0.4m whilst the downhill is square on and 0.3m deep. At the bottom end it projects 0.6m over the wall and at the top end perhaps slightly less. As to the sides’ composition one has the drystone walling and then fragmented big stones, the other I’m only sure of the drystone walling above. Which makes the downend less certainly a blocking even though it is the only wall to be drystone all the way down to the measurable well base.
Perhaps it was because this was the last site on a long day or perhaps it was because of the moss which now partly conceals the carvings. Either way, it took me quite a while to locate the site even once I was in the right area and using an 8-figure grid reference on a GPS!
If you’re coming from Kilchoan, follow the path opposite the gate to the field down the side of the house and through the woods. When you emerge from the woods in front of the ruined Poltalloch House, follow the metal fence to your right until it joins up with a similar metal fence in the field. The carvings are just at the join on the right.
Visited 12 May 2004
This is a fascinating site – if you can turn a blind eye to the muddy mess in which it stands.
For a start, all the structural stuff (capstones, lintels etc) are here even if they have moved a bit.
Also interesting is the layout (high portal stones running parallel to the chamber, no facade) which point to this being an example of an early Clyde cairn.
Best visited on a dry day!
Visited 12 May 2004
This site comprises a 2.1m high standing stone with c. 30 cupmarks on its SW face and two outcrops containing rock art – the southerly outcrop being the more heavily decorated.
Visited 12 May 2004
3.9m high standing stone.
Visited 12 May 2004
Clyde cairn with some interesting features (round cairn, double portal stones, irrregular facade) but not especially impressive.
The access road is narrow but there is parking available in a small quarry near the site.
Visited 12 May 2004
Anywhere else, this Clyde cairn might impress but, set amongst the gems in the Kilmartin area, it seems strangely nondescript.
Its location doesn’t help. It sits beside a forest path next to some bungalows which, on the day of my visit, had washing hanging out.
Easy to find though. Look for the Gartnagreanoch cottage signs by the roadside where there is plenty of parking space.
Visited 12 May 2004
Visited 6th December 2003: I’ve visited the Bryn Rhosau barrows a few times before, mainly because they’re very close to my house. Round barrows are unusual in this part of Ceredigion, and of these two the one to the north is especially well defined. Gelli is not far to the west, with Dolgamfa and Ysbytty Cynfyn off to the east. This area must have been something special during the Bronze Age. These two barrows may be connected with Afon Tuen, a small tributary of the Rheidol, which once had it’s source where Lyn yr Oerfa is now.
It’s a very exposed spot, so when we last visited the winter winds made it hard to stand up. In the summer it’s beautiful though, with wild flower growing on the Common, Skylarks, Red Kite, Buzzards, Brown Hare etc. The Rheidol Wind Farm is relatively close, but not intrusive.
The Bryn Rhosau barrows are on Common Land, but it’s not straightforward getting to them. The quickest route I’ve found is to park by Lyn yr Oerfa (SN72957978) and walk up the public footpath that follows the track north. After the first house, take the stile on the left (you’re now on Common Land) and continue north, parallel to the boundary fence (the round barrows are now silhouetted on the horizon to the east). Once you have passed north of the two houses you can turn east (at SN73138014 and make your way up to the barrows.
This is a great place, or rather has the potential to be much more. Looked after by Historic Scotland? I don’t think so! With heather and grass climbing all over it again, its a crying shame this hasn’t had more effort put in. There are some fantastic stones here with great shapes but slowly dissapearing. The OS report doubts that there was a cairn here, but I am sure to most folks you just have to look. Course there was! Anyway, it’s well worth a look.
