Dun Mhaigh

Nearest town:
Thurso (59km ENE)
OS reference:
NC552530
OS sheet:
10
Latitude:
58° 26' 29.11 N
Longitude:
4° 28' 51.21 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Dun Mhaigh (Broch) by LesHamilton

Looking down on Dun Mhaigh from farther up the ridge, with the Kyle of Tongue as a backdrop.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Jul 20, 2019
Image of Dun Mhaigh (Broch) by LesHamilton

Looking down on the entrance passage, which has a number of missing lintels, with the guard cell prominent.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Jul 20, 2019
Image of Dun Mhaigh (Broch) by LesHamilton

Looking towards the intra-mural staircase from the broch rampart opposite.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Jul 20, 2019
Image of Dun Mhaigh (Broch) by LesHamilton

This is the view across the interior of Dun Mhaigh towards Ben Loyal. The internal stair is at far left and the entrance near centre.

Image credit: Les Hamilton
LesHamilton
LesHamilton Jul 20, 2019
Image of Dun Mhaigh (Broch) by GLADMAN

Highlighting the broch’s superb position overlooking Kyle of Tongue.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 2, 2016
Image of Dun Mhaigh (Broch) by GLADMAN

Some landscape context looking across a bleak Kyle of Tongue towards Ben Loyal.... the broch is situated upon the foreground ridge, centre top right.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jul 10, 2010

Articles

Dun Mhaigh

LesHamilton
LesHamilton Jul 20, 2019

Visited: June 19, 2019

On heading west across the Far North of Scotland, the frequency of brochs—which pepper Caithness in their hundreds—dwindles to a mere handful west of Strathnaver. Probably the best known is the magnificent Dun Dornaigil in Strathmore, but for the intrepid enthusiast there’s another that surpasses even this: Dun Mhaigh above the head of the Kyle of Tongue.
Despite the fact that Dun Mhaigh has seen much better days, the structure of this Iron Age broch still exhibits many features of interest. There is a well proportioned entrance passage in the east, five metres long, which, although missing some of its lintels, still boasts a fine lintelled doorway at each end and a guard cell. And round to the north is a neat intra-mural stair which would have accessed a second level. Though the interior of the broch is full of fallen masonry, the walls still stand a dozen and more courses tall round much of the structure.

To reach Dun Mhaigh, head west on the A838 into Tongue on the north Sutherland coast. At the point where this road hairpins right towards the causeway across Kyle of Tongue (signposted ‘Durness’), head left along a good single track road for about five miles, round the head of the kyle until you bridge a river, then turn sharp right (heading back up the kyle). The only decent parking place (blue marker on the map above) is on the left left-hand verge just past this bridge, where there is space for two or three vehicles.

Note: Please do not park in a passing place as this hinders free movement of local traffic.

From here, Dun Mhaigh, which you might have spotted up on the ridge above the road during your drive in, is about 450 metres away, but you can’t actually see it because of an intervening rise in the terrain. Best walk back along the road (to the yellow marker ‘S’ on the map) when all is revealed. The broch sits at an altitude of about 90 metres up a ridge, defended on its west by vertical 15 metre high cliffs, and you can now head across short heather directly to it. It is well worth continuing past the broch for a bit as the view down on it towards the Kyle of Tongue is a sight worth seeing.

There’s lots of detailed information about Dun Mhaich on the Canmore website.

Dun Mhaigh

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 21, 2009

Not exactly the best preserved broch on the Mainland, but they certainly knew where to put it, didn’t they?

Boasting majestic views of The Kyle of Tongue and of Ben Loyal, this is worth a couple of hours of anyone’s time, I’d have thought?

Although somewhat dishevelled by a couple of millennia of Highland ‘weather’, the usual broch details can still be ascertained – entrance passage, stairs etc. But it is the views which made this a truly memorable experience.

Dun Mhaigh

treehugger-uk
treehugger-uk Oct 26, 2005

Sat in an idyllic location on top of a small hill this brock remains with many features still visible, you can make out the passage between the walls and the steps leading up cubby holes in the wall and an intact entrance. I’m probably a little over enthusiastic with this one as it was my first ever Brock I’m sure theres more intact ones than this but I found this place very special.

Sites within 20km of Dun Mhaigh

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