Creag a’ Chapuill

Nearest town:
Lochgilphead (14km SSE)
OS reference:
NM85550244
OS sheet:
55
Latitude:
56° 9' 58.31 N
Longitude:
5° 27' 15.98 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Creag a’ Chapuill (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Looking toward Kilmartin Glen. One or two more prehistoric sites in there. Apparently. The great Carn Ban is to the left of the ‘terraced’ ridge, far right.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 5, 2015
Image of Creag a’ Chapuill (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

To my mind views from hillforts don’t come much better than this.... looking north-east toward the mighty Loch Awe. The equally mighty Ben Cruachan does its ‘sacred hill’ thang top left. Loch Ederline is the beautiful supporting act, complete with crannog.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Apr 28, 2015
Image of Creag a’ Chapuill (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Forgive the photographer for freaking out a little... and for wishing the DSLR batteries hadn’t been entirely exhausted by this point. However I reckon this back up compact image conveys most of what I felt here.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 21, 2012
Image of Creag a’ Chapuill (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Looking approx north. Hillforts.... everywhere one looks..

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 21, 2012
Image of Creag a’ Chapuill (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Ever get the feeling you’re being shadowed? The great drystone rampart of this hillfort is still to be seen in many places; however the natural defences inevitably steal the show.........

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 21, 2012
Image of Creag a’ Chapuill (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

A pain in the proverbial to get to from the road... but....

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 21, 2012

Articles

Creag a’ Chapuill

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jul 17, 2012

Ah, what a beautiful, beautiful site I reckon this to be, quite possibly now my favourite in the Kilmartin area..... and, let’s face it, there are quite a few to choose from. Yeah, Dunadd may have rightly captured the popular imagination when it comes to Argyll hillforts, what with its legendary status and expertly protected ‘footprint’ that tourist punters can try for size.... audience participation is always a sure fire winner. However I think Creag a’ Chapuill beats it hands down in every respect, save that mystical ‘sacred mountain’ profile rising above the River Add. Instead the much larger enclosure, perched high upon this isolated crag, has views to die for – just ensure sure you don’t make that a reality! – bending its metaphorical knee to a sacred ‘hill’ in an altogether different league... the mighty Ben Cruachan

Creag a’ Chapuill is but one – albeit by far the largest, as far as I can tell – of a chain of high, fortified enclosures guarding the northern approach to Kilmartin Glen, overlooking the western end of the wondrous Loch Awe, not forgetting its much smaller consort Loch Ederline, near the small village of Ford. Exquisite scenery, exquisite vibe. Sheer crags to the south make a substantial contribution to both the former and latter, not to mention defensibility. A great dry stone rampart, significant remnants of which still girdle the hillside ‘filling in the gaps’ between natural rocky crags, did the remainder and must have ensured this hillfort was well nigh unassailable before the coming of the Roman war machine. If it ever came this far, that is? Bloody Romans.

Access is still pretty difficult today, although no doubt I made much harder work of it than needed to be the case approaching from the west, what with blundering through trees etc. Well, it looked easy enough upon my old 1:50K OS map. But then again doesn’t it always? Anyway, take the A816 north from Kilmartin and, passing the B840 turn-off to Ford, park in the layby by the entrance to Tibertich, that is on the left. Opposite, an old stone wall meets the road to the right of an old quarry. Follow this upwards along a rough, grassy path-cum-track through a linear break in the forestry, a momentary glimpse of Creag a’Chapuill crowning the skyline above and beyond invoking an involuntary ‘bloody hell’ from this traveller. Now assuming you don’t ‘go walkabout’ the route, following the same line, eventually emerges upon a forestry track, the hillfort nowhere to be seen. Head left here and, at the track terminus, veer right to double back on a parallel course through the trees. If you’re on the money the hillfort will eventually tower above to your right, with a barbed wire-lined drystone wall to left. Clamber up as best you can and simply savour what must be one of Kilmartin’s least known, but most spectacular major sites. Hey, Loch Awe never looked so good.

Sites within 20km of Creag a’ Chapuill

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