Wag of Forse

Nearest town:
Wick (22km NE)
OS reference:
ND204349
OS sheet:
11
Latitude:
58° 17' 44.62 N
Longitude:
3° 21' 29.02 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

Wag of Forse can be a little difficult to locate.
It sits in a depression in undulating terrain, and this is the first sighting of it.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

Approaching the dun from the north, this is the entrance portal, complete with a massive wedge-shaped lintel.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

View across the interior of the dun, towards the entrance with its prominent lintel.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

The wall of the dun is now reduced to a handful of walling courses.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

This is a view along the dun wall from the north, overlooking the doorway lintel.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

Most of this complex is a ruin of tumbled walls, but the outlines of many of the wags are still easy to make out.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

A view over the best presenved of the longhouses (wags) from the bank on its east.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020
Image of Wag of Forse (Stone Fort / Dun) by LesHamilton

Ground level view into the best preserved longhouse (wag) showing wall courses and monoliths.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020

Articles

Wag of Forse

LesHamilton
LesHamilton Aug 12, 2020

Visited: August 8, 2020

Wag of Forse is a dun associated with an extensive complex of stone structures, including longhouses, known locally as wags. The site is extensive and fairly ruinous. The first feature to catch the eye is the entrance into the dun with its huge wedge-shaped lintel. Rather than try to interpret the scene, I recommend reading the in-depth discussion about Wag of Forse on the Canmore website.

This is not the easiest of sites to visit: there is no path to take you there. My route started at a lay-by on the A9 about one mile north of Latheron (white marker) and followed the good track leading to Corr (yellow line) for about 600 metres to a point where the dense gorse on the right eventually gave way to grass and heather. Leaving the track I headed directly towards the prominent stone wall that surrounds the area, a distance of about 80 metres. This well constructed wall is about 1½ metres tall and is guarded by a double strand of taut barbed wire along its top, making it all but impossible to clamber over.

Fortunately, if you turn left at this point and follow the wall northwards for a short distance, a gate appears, and this allows easy access beyond. Wag of Forse now lies several hundred metres to the southeast over relatively easy grass and heather (cyan line on map), but in a dip in the undulating terrain. This means you will not see any structures until you are relatively close to the site.

Sites within 20km of Wag of Forse

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