The Mull Circle

Also known as:
Meayll Circle
Nearest town:
Castletown (7km ENE)
OS reference:
SC189677
OS sheet:
95
Latitude:
54° 4' 22.99 N
Longitude:
4° 46' 5.69 W

Images

Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Looking northeast. The big hill left of centre is South Barrule, the dominant summit on the southern part of Man, topped with a hillfort.

Image credit: A. Brookes (17.8.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 24, 2019
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Drystone construction around the edge of the platform below the chambers.

Image credit: A. Brookes (17.8.2019)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Dec 24, 2019
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by Ravenfeather

Gorgeous views out from the top of Meayll Hill across the Irish Sea.

Image credit: Paul Kesterton
Ravenfeather
Ravenfeather Apr 9, 2012
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 26th August 2003: Meayll from the north east (or thereabouts) with Alfie, Lou and Will on the far side.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Feb 11, 2004
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 26th August 2003: With the central stone in the foreground, looking approximately north east. I’ve no idea whether the central stone is an original feature or a modern addition.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Feb 11, 2004
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 26th August 2003: One of the T-shaped chambers on the western side of the circle (the road is just visible in the background).

William is skulking in the background (to the left) giving a very false impression of scale (he’s 4 years old).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Feb 11, 2004
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by Kammer

Taken 26th August 2003: I found this hole just outside the eastern perimetre of the circle. It looked to me like someone had recently removed the stones (the grass underneath them was healthy). I decided to put them back where they’d come from. I’d be interested to know whether this type of damage reappears at the site.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Feb 11, 2004
Image of The Mull Circle (Chambered Cairn) by Rivington Pike

Site Layout of the Meayll Circle adjacent to Mull Hill, Taken from The Prehistoric Society – British Isles Study Tour 1994 (Isle of Man).

Note :- the image was taken from a poor original – but it give a good indication of the six “T” shaped structures.

Rivington Pike
Rivington Pike Jun 27, 2003

Articles

The Mull Circle

Ravenfeather
Ravenfeather Apr 9, 2012

Visited 5th March 2012

About as close to a ‘proper’ stone circle as you get on the Isle of Man, this was high on the list of sites to visit during our trip.

Heading back up to Port Erin after a visit to the lovely Cronk Karran hut circle, we took an unlisted single track road towards Ballnahowe. Despite keeping a sharp eye out we nearly flew past the pull in for the site, no signposts (not even a parking sign) indicate the muddy layby, which looks little more then a passing place in the road, only by noticing a fence and sign on the steep ridge of the hill did we know we were in the right place.

But what a place it is! A steep walk up the path to the top showed us another of Man’s unusual monuments. Six main cists form the circle, and I’m not sure whether this was once a circle that has been re-cycled into a burial place by having cairns built into the perimeter. it also looks as if there may once have been an original embankment or henge style monument here at one time, although the estimable Mr Burl makes no mention of this in his guide to stone circles.

I hunker down in one of the cists to escape the gale force winds, and now sheltered and cosy am able to write some field notes.

It’s definitely a dificult site to get a handle on, but its uniqueness lends it an air of mystery, and somewhere you must see if you are on Man. I’d love to stay longer, but the cold wind, and thoughts of lunch in Port Erin pull us on.

The Mull Circle

Kammer
Kammer Feb 11, 2004

Visited 26th August 2003: This place is mad. It’s so close to a stone circle, but it ain’t. The setting is spectacular, high above Port Erin with views out to the Calf of Man. There’s a lot of sea visible, and with the crest of the hill on the landward side of the circle it seems reasonable to assume that the site is orientated towards the coast.

As well as being spectacular and special, Meayll is very difficult to do any justice to on ‘film’. It’s definitely one of those optimised for 3D sites, where walking among the stones is the only way to really figure it out. We got a bit of sunshine, and it all felt very good. It goes without saying that Meayll is megalithic Mann royalty. Blinkin’ great!

A word of warning for anyone with limited mobility; the distance from the road to the circle is relatively short, but it’s entirely made up of a steep incline. Not at all wheelchair friendly.

Folklore

The Mull Circle
Chambered Cairn
Kammer
Kammer Apr 25, 2004

In his book A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany (ISBN: 0-300-06331-8) Aubrey Burl alludes to a tale about a ghostly army of horsemen that has been glimpsed riding by the circle.

Sites within 20km of The Mull Circle

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