Cashtal yn Ard

Nearest town:
Ramsey (6km NNW)
OS reference:
SC463892
OS sheet:
95
Latitude:
54° 16' 30.15 N
Longitude:
4° 21' 38.95 W

Images

Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by thesweetcheat

The narrow portal with tall flanking stones.

Image credit: A. Brookes (19.8.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 27, 2019
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Double rows of stones on the southern edge of the tomb. With North Barrule rising behind.

Image credit: A. Brookes (19.8.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 27, 2019
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Orthostat at the northwestern corner of the monument. Excavation found a small cist buried underneath this stone. This cist is thought to predate the larger tomb.

Image credit: A. Brookes (19.8.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 27, 2019
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by wysefool

Plan of the segmented cist cairn of Cashtal yn Ard, Ballachrink. (obliquely shaped areas represent quartz pebbles – at top of plan). After Neely

Image credit: Grahame Clark
wysefool
wysefool Apr 29, 2007
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by wysefool

View from the west into the paved forecourt; through the triangular aperture between the two central uprights of the forecourt is the line of chambers.

1935

Image credit: Taggart
wysefool
wysefool Apr 28, 2007
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by wysefool

Looking from the east; the edge of the burnt area in the foreground, the chambers near the centre of the picture, and beyond the uprights of the forecourt. The side walling and alignments are clearly shown.

date of 1935 approx

Image credit: Taggart
wysefool
wysefool Apr 28, 2007
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 24th August 2003: Looking south east(ish) down the line of chambers that were once under the cairn.

I’m still not sure what the distinctive bump in the soil represents (where the grass is bleached).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2003
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 24th August 2003: The entrance to the tomb (a good picnic spot).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2003
Image of Cashtal yn Ard (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 24th August 2003: Viewed from the east (or thereabouts) looking up the string of ‘inner’ chambers towards the tomb entrance.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2003

Articles

Cashtal yn Ard

ironstone
ironstone May 22, 2016
comment 1 comment

Helpfully signposted off the A2 in the village of Glen Mona this is easy to find though the single-track road is very narrow with few passing-places and there’s a ford to cross before the final section. As Kammer says, parking is tight; given that I’d found a postcard with a picture of the monument, and it’s clearly the biggest of its kind on the island, I had expected a layby at least but hey, I’m not complaining, I’m just glad to have made it here before the rain starts with the wind whistling through the high branches in the copse of tall trees nearby lending the site an appropriately ethereal atmosphere. My only real gripe is that the surrounding fence is just a little too close (shades of Torhousekie and Cairnholy in Galloway), it would be nicer if the site were a bit more open like its better-preserved English brethren at West Kennet and Wayland’s Smithy. I’d had the same feeling earlier in the day at The Mull Circle, another fine monument seeming just a tad hemmed-in by its fence.

comment 1 Comment

Cashtal yn Ard

Scottie
Scottie Apr 13, 2004

Visited 04.04.04: Having just come from King Orys Grave, this was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t been expecting such a large struture.

Parking in the lane is tricky, but the site is signposted from the road, and although the lane was too grassy for the pushchair the walk is short enough to carry small children who can’t walk the whole way.

Views from here out to sea are quite stunning and had we not experienced the whole range of Manx weather (warm sun followed by gale force winds and lashing rain and back to a light breeze) within 10 minutes of arriving it would have been a great spot for chilling out and watching the clouds go by.

Cashtal yn Ard

Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2003

Visited 24th August 2003: Cashtal yn Ard is one of the megalithic celebrities on Mann, so we approached it with some excitement. This turned out to be well placed, because the tomb is something special. I was still trying to get my head round the Manx tomb architecture, and this was the place to do it. If you had to see one tomb on the island, this should be the one.

The weather was good so we decided to have our picnic leaning against the forecourt stones near the tomb entrance. William loved the kinky portal stones and the square chambers, but I had to persuade him to be careful because some of the smaller stones moved when he clambered on them. Alfie crawled all over the place, and cruised round the monoliths, propping them up. It was a very relaxing visit.

Parking at the bottom of the lane is a bit tricky because there’s barely space to get two cars through. The gate by the road is on its last legs, and the gate into the tomb’s enclosure is unnecessarily small. There’s also a moderate incline up to the tomb, so wheelchair users and pushchair users beware.

Miscellaneous

Cashtal yn Ard
Chambered Cairn
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2003

Here’s what the little Manx Museum and National Trust plaque next to the tomb says:

CASHTAL YN ARD
REMAINS OF BURIAL SITE OF NEW STONE AGE CIRCA 1800 B. C.
ORIGINALLY COVERED BY GREAT CAIRN OF STONE, WITH SEMI-CIRCULAR OPEN FORECOURT AT WESTERN END. A PORTAL FROM THE FORECOURT LED TO FIVE BURIAL CHAMBERS WITHIN THE CAIRN.

That about sums it up.

Topics

Plan 3
FourWinds
FourWinds
Apr 2007

Sites within 20km of Cashtal yn Ard

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