
Visited 31st May 2015
Visited 31st May 2015
Visited 31st May 2015
Visited 31st May 2015
Visited 31st May 2015
29/04/2017 – River Shin
The stones are small, the ring is incomplete, but this is a lovely site in a beautiful setting.
The NW circle.
The NW circle sits on a little raised platform (natural?). The SE circle is over in the bushes to the left, the Twinners cairn in the bushes right of centre.
The excellent NW circle.
This nice pointy stone is close to the two likely candidates for the SE circle, but seems to be off line from any arc that would incorporate them.
Another possible candidate for the SE circle. This one would be in the northern arc.
One of several possible stones from the SE circle. The vegetation and small trees makes plotting a circle from the two most likely stones quite difficult.
I took these two as the most likely candidates for the two uprights on the southwestern arc of the SE circle mentioned by Burl. They’re certainly similar stones to those forming the NW circle.
Not sure whether this is a four poster, remnant of a kerb or a small, free standing stone ring.... there were some similar stones within the river bank. Nicely located beside the River Shin, though.
29/04/2017 – Well this is a funny one or should that be a funny two? Didn’t know what to make of it really. I liked the first one with four small stones remaining. The one to the south was hard to make out. Nice setting by the River Shin and a fine place to sit and watch dippers shoot up and down the river on a sunny afternoon.
Not shown upon the current 1:50K map, and depicted as ‘cairn’ on the larger scale 1:25K version, this site is nicely positionned upon the western bank of the fast flowing River Shin, just south of the dam. Well worth a visit, extended or otherwise. Burl disagrees with the classification and reckons the sites – aye, there are apparently two – are both the disrupted remains of stone circles.
Unaware of the existence of a second stone setting to the south-west (according to Burl ‘some 20ft across. Only three low stones still stand’) I focus upon the obvious monument of four low stones. The tallest upright is just ‘2ft 3in’ high, but nevertheless I have to admit I’m impressed and, if not for the promise of the chambered cairns of the north-west looming in my mind, I could have happily spent a couple of hours here, watching the water rush by beneath the great cairns of the Ord, rising to the north-west.
Access is easy.... take the B864 heading south on the A839 at Lairg and immediately park by a stile to the left. There is a sign here warning fishermen to take care when casting due to overhead cables. Ha! Or else it might be them ‘frying tonight’... and not the poor fish. I know which side I’m on, but guess that’s by the by. Head for water’s edge and there you are. As for the south-western ring... sorry, no idea whether it can still be seen or not. More’s the pity.