Na Carraigean

Na Carraigean

Stone Circle

GLADMAN Jun 14, 2011

Attempted to visit this fine – very fine – four poster last year.... only to find the Allean Forest ‘closed due to forestry operations’. Ha! Be warned. You wouldn’t exactly expect a forest to be closed, would you? No matter, since Clachan An Diridh saved the day then and, furthermore, gave me the opportunity to return with a more cunning plan than I had at the time, that of simply blundering through the forest on a compass bearing. Approach via Glen Fincastle! Yeah, that’ll work. Surprisingly... it does.

Glen Fincastle is reached by a signposted, minor road from the B8019 some way east of The Queen’s View (past the hotel and dam, that is). I follow said road through the sleepy valley to the farm house of Chapleton, the occupant readily agreeing to my request to park ‘so as not to block the road’. Nice one. Clearly not local, he reckons his girlfriend will be interested to know about the circle. Some guys have all the luck, eh? The road veers to the right, but I carry straight on along a rough – although no doubt still driveable – track heading west past the farm of Drumnagowan, arriving eventually at the cluster of buildings know as ‘Edintian’. Here a green track continues westwards to ascend to the forest-line, the retrospective of the glen well worth pausing a moment or so to take in, complete with a peak very reminiscent of my beloved Moel Siabod rising on the skyline. The path veers left, goes a little ‘serpentine’ for a distance, and then resumes a westward heading. Ignore a sharp, obvious left hand turn some way along and, just before the track begins to descend – having passed high ground to the right – take a relatively obscure green track to the approx north-west (right). The lovely little four poster should appear before you.... as it did for me.

Jeez. It’s a beauty, in every possible respect, the skyline to the west-south-west(ish) dominated by the seriously enigmatic Schiehallion, the mountain rising above (apparent) Gladman ancestral lands in the vicinity of Loch Rannoch. The circle stones themselves are not that tall – although those familiar with other upland ‘circles may well disagree, relatively speaking – but are nevertheless of substantial girth, shall we say? An unusual feature – for me, anyway – is the placement upon a quite significant artificial platform, or mound, even, with traces of possible kerbing visible here and there. However it is the location which ‘pushes all the right buttons’ for me. You know, I sometimes think I eulogise a little too much about sites such as this? Perhaps. However assuming some monuments were intentionally placed at locations as exquisite as Na Carraigean to achieve a desired ‘reverential’ – if not awestruck – response in a visitor, who am I to argue when I’m caught ‘hook, line and sinker?’ It’s a fair cop, guv’nor. Yeah, this isolated four poster has me truly ‘bang to rights’. Well worth the effort, especially when you can keep ‘forestry bashing’ to a minimum with an approach from the east, too. Top hang.