Kyle of Durness

Nearest town:
Ullapool (73km SSW)
OS reference:
NC37336312
OS sheet:
9
Latitude:
58° 31' 33.33 N
Longitude:
4° 47' 37.94 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by markj99

Chamber in Central Cavity in Kyle of Durness Cairn

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Sep 12, 2021
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by markj99

Interior of Chamber in Central Cavity in Kyle of Durness Cairn.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Sep 12, 2021
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by Nucleus

The cairn as seen from the road
Visited 3rd June 2015

Image credit: Uwe Häberle 06/2015
Nucleus
Nucleus Dec 25, 2019
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by Nucleus

The cairn in its landscape
Visited 3rd June 2015

Image credit: Uwe Häberle 06/2015
Nucleus
Nucleus Dec 25, 2019
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Approx south toward Ach A’ Chorrain chambered cairn (before the low green ridge, upper centre) ... incidentally there is apparently another cairn beyond which I was not aware of :-(

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 19, 2016
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

This chambered cairn’s applied name is not very specific, it has to be said; but nevertheless broadly accurate.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 19, 2016
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Within the chamber... the intruding object – bottom left – is my boot, by the way.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 19, 2016
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Found it impossible to get any decent representation of the chamber... but here is the best attempt.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 19, 2016
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

I fancied there was evidence of a former retaining kerb...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 19, 2016
Image of Kyle of Durness (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

The great chambered cairn.... according to the camera’s memory this image was taken on: 27/05/2016 21:27:50

“Who were the pests that called me here; When I could have been in bed?”

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 19, 2016

Articles

Kyle of Durness

C
CARL Aug 15, 2014

Visited 23.7.14

Directions:
Alongside the A838 (east side) overlooking the southern end of the Kyle of Durness.

It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day in this lovely and remote part of Scotland. A cool breeze off the coast was very welcome. The cairn is visible from the road and we pulled over in a parking area near the bridge. Due to the nice weather the ground was dry underfoot but in wet weather it would be very bogy.

The grey stones of the cairn are covered in ‘hairy’ moss – a sure sign of the clean air here. The thick capstone was part covered in stones and ferns were growing out of the cist. The cairn is surrounded by ferns and heather. Evidence of recent peat cutting could be seen.

It is a great spot for a cairn. Mountains to the west and overlooking an unspoilt sandy bay. This is a good place to visit and well worth the walk up from the road. On the way back to the car I spotted Dafydd making his way up the hill. He had woken up and wanted to see the cairn for himself – good lad! As I approached the car Sophie was walking along the road to meet me. Despite it being an A road there wasn’t a car in sight – one of the reasons I love this area so much.

CANMORE state:
At the bottom of the cleared area at the center of the cairn is a cist, 1.2m by 0.6m by 0.5m deep internally with a displaced capstone about 1.2m in diameter and 20cms thick. Two small intrusions have been made on the SE side of the cairn, one of these are base level.
T C Welsh 1972.

A bare stone cairn 16.0m in diameter and 2.0m high, with a central cist as described by Welsh. There are no indications of a retaining circle. The trench round the N half has a well-defined scarp defining the far side and the ends; the near side is partially obscured by tumble off the cairn.
Revised at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (J M) 16 November 1978.

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