Visited 10.6.12
We took the minor road to the top of the hill and parked near to where the road takes a sharp right. From here a ‘path’ can be seen which heads north, across the hill, to the chambered cairn. I didn’t feel up to taking Dafydd with me and I ventured out alone.
The ‘path’ starts fairly flat and it gradually descends down the far side of the hill.
You can see the fenced off tomb from quite a distance.
Although the weather had been mainly dry for a week the ‘path’ was still very muddy in places.
Luckily the weather was again fine although it was a bit windy – not surprising given where I was!
On the way towards the tomb was a wooden gate festooned with what I guess were some sort of woollen ‘offerings’ – teddies, woollen squares, bits of material etc – all very odd.
Somebody had left a name attached to one of the ‘offerings’ – Hegasaer.
Going through the gate I went straight to the H.S. box to get the torch.
Unfortunately the torch was broken (looked like it had been dropped) but luckily I had my head light with me.
I slid the metal hatch back and descended down the ladder into a large puddle of water.
The tomb was a lot larger than I was expecting – particularly given the size of the original entrance.
The stonework was of the high standard I had now come to expect on Orkney – these builders certainly knew what they were doing.
There were lots of names and dates scratched into the stonework.
In terms of location I would say this is the best burial chamber I have ever visited.
The views from the tomb are fantastic and are worth the walk in their own right.
I now had the task of walking back to the car – this time uphill.
Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem but the way I was feeling it felt like I was walking up Mount Kilimanjaro!
I huffed and puffed, stopping more than walking, my legs felt like they had turned to lead.
By the time I got back to the car I wasn’t looking my best!
I was glad I made the effort to see this site as it is most certainly worth the effort.
It is just a pity that I wasn’t feeling too good to perhaps fully appreciate it.
At least it wasn’t raining!!