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Kintraw

Standing Stone / Menhir

Fieldnotes

It's been nearly six years since my last stop off here at Kintraw, it is for my money one of the best sites in western Scotland. Sure there is only one standing stone, and the cairns are of the non get into type, but this is one of those places that seems to be greater than the sum of it's parts.
I didn't park in the parking place, again (inwardly groans), but by the first gate you come to when driving north, I did not get in anyone's way.
Some standing stones are barely standing at all, but rather a tallish stone lump, some stones are hidden by long grasses, this one is neither. It is tall, pointy, slim and uber graceful, if I were a rich Victorian landowner wanting a folly, this would be my choice for a standing stone.
The menhir stands between two cairns, of vastly different types, the smaller of the two is a nice little kerb cairn, honestly, I'd have stopped off for just that one. But the other cairn is a whopping great pile of stones, with at least two large kerb stones still in place. Next to it is a fallen monolith, and perhaps others lie around as well. Over by the gate where I came in is another cairn, at least I presumed it to be a cairn, there are some suspicious looking big stones upon it.

But that is not all, this is, allegedly, an observatory, not for observing cars as they belt past, but the sun, moon, comets and returning space gods of old ( I made the last two up). Somewhere near here is a so called observation platform but time precluded a protracted wander round. One can almost imagine some kind of priestly old guys making pronouncements made upon observations, this is how science starts, where it ends I cannot guess, hopefully with all the greed heads going off planet.

Then there's the view, it is gorgeous, not the every day gorgeous of other places ive been to, but world renowned gorgeous. The way the reflections shimmer on Loch Craignish and beyond the Loch the verdant green hillsides above Ardfern. Amid the village of Ardfern is a chambered cairn
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/669/clach_an_tsagairt.html Ive not been there yet.
But all that is just to the west of here, there's hills
with forts on and mountains behind them.

Kintraw, greater than the sum of it's parts, I really must try and spend a longer time here next time.
postman Posted by postman
17th June 2014ce
Edited 17th June 2014ce

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