Carn Richard

Also known as:
Carn Tigh Nan Coileach
Nearest town:
Dornoch (43km S)
OS reference:
NC83483217
OS sheet:
17
Latitude:
58° 15' 46.4 N
Longitude:
3° 59' 10.37 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by thelonious

29/06/2022 – Cairn, River Helmsdale and Ben Uarie beyond. We were doing OK for time until this one. Just had to sit and spend some time here. Great cairn in a lovely landscape.

thelonious
thelonious Jul 5, 2022
Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

One may wonder who ‘Richard’ was? Perhaps ‘Carn Tigh Nan Coileach’ is more appropriate?

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 27, 2015
Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

(Presumably) sub-ordinate monuments occupy the hillside below Carn Richard, extending toward the nearby hut circles... this is the largest.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 16, 2014
Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

Seems the locals leave things be around here.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 16, 2014
Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

The River Helmsdale flows serpentine toward Kinbrace and a whole linear series of chambered and long cairns stretching more or less to Helmsdale itself. Right on! Can’t quite label Ben Uarie with certainty, but it’s certainly there on the left hand skyline. Oh... and note the capstone still in situ.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 16, 2014
Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

Perhaps the archetypal setting for a chambered cairn... looking approx west along the River Helmsdale to Loch Achnamoine and a mountainous skyline I can never hope to name.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 16, 2014
Image of Carn Richard (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

I was intrigued that the locals had seen fit to give this cairn a name...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 16, 2014

Articles

Carn Richard

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 27, 2015

Those of us with a penchant for the perusal of OS maps during the dark winter evenings – and no doubt others – will have noticed that some prehistoric monuments have been accorded the distinction of an association with person(s) thought worthy of perpetual remembrance by the local community; an assurance policy against the collective memory of such notables being lost within the misty annuals of time by irrevocably linking them to immutable features in the landscape. I guess, in many ways, this practice is also a subliminal comment upon the relative value society places – or rather used to place – upon the monuments themselves. I mean it is clearly self evident that only the best cairn would be thought worthy of someone of the stature of Arthur, isn’t it? Trouble is such practices didn’t always work, the monument, somewhat ironically, retaining all the kudos whilst its human patron faded to obscurity. And then oblivion... Consider Carn Richard.

Awaking to an unfeasibly blue sky within Glen Loth, my camp of no consequence in relation to the elegant, stratified façade of Ben Uarie soaring, towering above, I scan the map for places to visit and hopefully occupy the forthcoming day. The bleary eyes rest for a moment upon the moniker ‘Carn Richard’, subconsciously attracted by the association with some bloke formerly bearing such name. Any ideas? Nevertheless I decide it’s worth a look. Indeed, seeing as past generations went to the trouble of selecting and subsequently maintaining such a name within local group consciousness, it would be rude not to pay a visit.

The B877 heads west(ish) from the A897 at Kinbrace whereby, having crossed the Bannock Burn, a large, circular sheepfold will soon be seen below to the left. Spotting a dry stone structure of some description upon the hillside to the immediate north I park up and go have a look. As usual it is soon clear that I’ve put two and two together to get five.... I’ve actually stumbled upon the rather fine remains of the Harvieston settlement, not exactly a problem. The great chambered cairn itself stands a little way uphill to the approx. north-west, the intervening hillside featuring numerous additional small cairns and ‘humps ‘n bumps’.

Sitting overlooking the River Helmsdale a little to the north-west of its confluence with the aforementioned Bannock Burn the positioning of Carn Richard is classic, archetypal of a chambered cairn in fact with the broad, sinuous course of the river indicative of fertility itself. Yeah, a good place to rest out eternity. It is a substantial monument, slumbering away in obscurity within a landscape seemingly beyond the effects of time. What’s more there’s a nice, big slab lying within – a capstone or chamber lintel, perhaps? – whichever the perfect perch to rest up for a few hours and, well, not do a great deal, to be honest. According to the inevitable Audrey Henshall [1963] the monument is:

“a short horned, chambered cairn... still standing 10’ to 12’ high on the south... diameters are 58’ E-W by 62’ N-S but the precise edge is difficult to trace”.

The views up and down the valley are excellent, the profile of Ben Uarie adding some cognition to the skyline horizon. In fact I could happily laze here in the sun all day... if it wasn’t for the (arguably) incomparable treasures of Strath of Kildonan waiting for me, their unseen presence tugging at my consciousness like a Jack Russell upon a leash. Clearly there’s only one way that’s gonna end.

Nevertheless, even in such company, this is a first class site. Thank you for the prompt, Richard. Whoever you were.

Sites within 20km of Carn Richard

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