Beacharr

Also known as:
Beacharra
Nearest town:
Campbeltown (22km SSE)
OS reference:
NR693433
OS sheet:
62
Latitude:
55° 37' 41.88 N
Longitude:
5° 39' 54.72 W

Images

Image of Beacharr (Chambered Cairn) by drewbhoy

From this angle it looks like Beacharr has a smaller twin on Gigha.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Jul 26, 2025
Image of Beacharr (Chambered Cairn) by drewbhoy

Gigha behind, in the distance Islay to the west, straight north Jura.

Image credit: drew/AMJ
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Jul 26, 2025
Image of Beacharr (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

The chambered tomb may be trashed... but worth a visit, you could say.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Feb 6, 2011
Image of Beacharr (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

A lovely, enigmatic blade of a monolith.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Feb 3, 2011
Image of Beacharr (Chambered Cairn) by fitzcoraldo

Contemporary pencil sketch plan of the burial chamber at Beacharra, after the excavation of 1892.

fitzcoraldo
fitzcoraldo Mar 12, 2007

Articles

Beacharr

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Apr 18, 2026

To the north of Dun Beachaire is the standing stone and chamber cairn, an easy walk of about 200m.

The standing stone is magnificent with glorious views over to Gigha and in the distance, Islay. Sadly the cairn isn’t quite so magnificent and has taken a bit of a battering. Originally the chamber was 6.25m in length and had four sections. That along with kerbing and the stones that make up a cairn are no longer in place. They, probably, are nearby placed in the various dry stane dykes.

Visited 01/08/2025.

Beacharr

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 17, 2009

Visited 11/5/08

The track to the left of Tigh Chromain climbs steeply up hill (who’d have thought it, eh?) until – upon approaching the farmhouse – I see, or more accurately ‘hear’, the farmer working the fields in his tractor. Waving him down, he readily agrees to me taking a look at the site. Excellent.

The monolith is a beauty, the coastal views towards Gigha and Cara (like a sea monster making its way up the Sound) exceptional.

The chambered cairn has been badly dealt with, but a few stones still remain in situ... and of course there’s that view! Incidentally the fence is currently ‘step-over-able’, so to speak, so no need to descend/re-ascend.

The icing on the cake is the remains of a dun at the southern end of the ridge (beyond the monolith, that is). Great stuff.

Beacharr

S
stubbo Oct 3, 2005

Easyish to find with an OS map just follow the track from the white cottage on the Campbeltown road (with convenient parking space).
The cairn and menhir are seperated by an unclimable fence (d’oh!), necessitating a walk to the bottom of the hill by the farm again.
The cairn is almost destroyed but the cist holds a slight depression which affords much-needed shelter in the wind and rain that invariable batters the coast of Kintyre.
The stone is a beauty perched on top of its pre-glacial cliff face. Tall and imposing, it is one of a number of similar examples to be seen along the west-coast road (another is a couple of miles south on the other side of Muasdale). Although aligned with the cairn, the overwelming impression I get about this lithic finger is that it is simply a marker of territory, placed, as is the associated barrow, on the prominant hilltop. Its effect now when first glimpsed at 50 mph must by similar to that intended by it’s erectors four millenia ago – an impossing, majesterial statement of perminance.

Beacharr

greywether
greywether Oct 13, 2004

This was a disappointing chambered cairn. What I had read had led me to expect that more would be visible.

All that you can now see of what was the longest chamber in Kintyre are a few stones poking through the grass.

The standing stone is a beauty though especially when viewed in atmospheric misty weather. Just a fraction over 5m high.

Access. There is a parking area at the foot of the track up to the farm. Steep but short climb. One fence.

Visited 27 September 2004

Folklore

Beacharr
Chambered Cairn
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Jul 26, 2025

The Beacharr Standing Stone in Kintyre, Scotland, is associated with a local legend involving a brownie and a Campbell. The story says a brownie, who protects the MacDonalds of Largie and lives on the Isle of Cara, became enraged when a Campbell landed on Cara. The brownie transformed into a giant to chase the Campbell away. During the chase, a sliver of stone from the brownie’s sandal was dislodged and thrown across the water, landing at Beacharr and becoming the standing stone.

Beacharr Standing Stone is the tallest in Kintyre, standing at just over 5 meters tall. It’s located on a steep escarpment overlooking the Sound of Gigha.

The story, as shared by locals, involves a brownie (a helpful, mischievous spirit) associated with the MacDonalds of Largie and their island home, Cara. A Campbell (a rival clan) arrived on Cara, angering the brownie.

The brownie transformed into a giant to drive the Campbell away. During this pursuit, a piece of stone from the brownie’s sandal was dislodged.

The brownie, with the stone fragment stuck in his sandal, pulled it out and hurled it across the water. It landed at Beacharr, becoming the standing stone.

While the “brownie chase” story is a popular one, there are also suggestions that the stone might be related to lunar observations, and some early accounts mention it as a “monument of knowledge” about “mechanic powers”.

Sites within 20km of Beacharr