Images (21)
Fieldnotes (1)

Images

Image of Dun Dearduil North (Hillfort) by thelonious

24/10/2017 – First sight of Dun Dearduil, just magic.

thelonious Oct 30, 2017

24/10/2017 – The impressive view north. Such lovely colours at this time of year.

thelonious Oct 30, 2017

24/10/2017 – The forts are up there! Now we just have to find a way to get to them :-)

thelonious Oct 30, 2017

Image of Dun Dearduil North (Hillfort) by drewbhoy

The impressive northern fort from the south.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

From the southern fort.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

The eastern defences from the south fort.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Fallen wall east side.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Looking straight down, west side.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

The northern point of the fort.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Dun Dearduil South left, North right.

Image credit: drew/B/L

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Looking to the walkers cairn, brave people, and Loch Ness beyond.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Fallen wall at the south west arc.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

The eastern wall heads south west.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Looking south west.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Southern defence.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

The east wall.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

The north east rampart.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Inside the fort, the north west wall.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Looking north towards Castle Urquhart, another fort.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

The eastern defences, as all sides were, very very steep. Hardest walk I’ve done to a site.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Dun Dearduil from the hill to east. Loch Ness behind.

Image credit: drew/B/J

drewbhoy Oct 28, 2017

Articles

Dun Dearduil North

Hillfort

thelonious Oct 29, 2017

24/10/17 – Some places really grab me when I’m having a look on the OS maps. From the first time I noticed these two hillforts on Dun Dearduil I’ve been wanting to visit. When Drew mentioned them a few months back on here it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Dun Dearduil isn’t the easiest of places to visit though and that’s to put it mildly. Very cliffy on the west side and a big river to cross. The only access we could see from the map was from the east. Starting point was the track just south of Balnagaeline (NH5536625781). Nice walk along this track past Dirichurachan where after that the track turns right towards the trees and Dun Dearduil beyond. From this point onwards the walk took a more adventurous turn. No path, wet rocks, bracken, rotting trees to clamber over – it had it all! We climbed the small top, east of the forts first. The view from here of Dun Dearduil, with Loch Ness and the hills behind – just wow. Sunshine as well. From here we had to drop steeply 50m or so to then climb up to the forts. Very tricky terrain but we made it up the NE ridge to the top. Happy us to finally make it :-)

The north fort is fantastic, like a grassed over mini Tap o’Noth. The second fort, a short distance to the south is nice as well. The location of the forts is as good as it gets. When the sun came out, it felt like there could be no better place to be. We had our sandwiches sitting on the steep east side of the hill, looking out over the wonderful landscape. This really is a lovely area to visit.

From here it was again a tough bash back to the track. Never fallen over so many times in my life!

Drew, Mrs T and me all made it back to the car in one piece (a minor miracle given the terrain). Top day out that had a little bit of everything I love when visiting sites even though my legs were still feeling it two days after.

A proper adventure :-)