Ardvreck

Also known as:
Aird Breac
Nearest town:
Ullapool (31km SSW)
OS reference:
NC242237
OS sheet:
15
Latitude:
58° 10' 2.04 N
Longitude:
4° 59' 20.38 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by markj99

Looking NW from the summit of Ardvreck to the summit of Spidean Coinich. I agree with Gladman’s theory of a deliberate alignment by the creators of Ardvreck.

Image credit: Mark Johnstone
markj99
markj99 Apr 14, 2021
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by drewbhoy

Most pics show the castle instead I’ll show Calda House.

Image credit: drew/A/B
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Nov 4, 2020
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by Nucleus

A map shown the location of the chambered cairn
Visited 4th June 2015

Image credit: Uwe Häberle 06/2015
Nucleus
Nucleus Dec 25, 2019
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by Nucleus

With Ardvreck Castle to the left
Visited 4th June 2015

Image credit: Uwe Häberle 06/2015
Nucleus
Nucleus Dec 25, 2019
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

To my mind Spidean Coinich is perhaps the perfect natural gorsedd... seen across Loch Assynt beside the chambered cairn surely aligned upon it. The Allt Sgiathaig chambered cairn sits about a mile to the NNW, upon the right hand flank... the Carrachan Dubh a little to the SE at Inchnadamph.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jan 5, 2015
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

Unfortunately I couldn’t quite get the angle I wanted without getting the feet wet – the chambered cairn is a little to the right of the castle and just out of sight – but hopefully the image highlights what a striking landscape feature the peak of Spidean Coinich is. I’d certainly want to align my burial chamber upon it.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jan 24, 2011
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

The reverse view of the ‘alignment’.... looking from Spidean Coinich, Quinag and highlighting the magnificent landscape setting of this monument beside Loch Assynt. Incidently, the castle is just to its right.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 16, 2010
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by GLADMAN

An alignment on Spidean Coinich anyone?

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 7, 2009
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by nickbrand

A view along the central chamber with Loch Assynt in the background. Apologies for the streaks!

nickbrand
nickbrand May 24, 2004
Image of Ardvreck (Chambered Cairn) by nickbrand

Looking up to the cairn, with the tip of Quinag wreathed in cloud as a backdrop

nickbrand
nickbrand May 24, 2004

Articles

Ardvreck

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Dec 26, 2020

Easy parking, nice castle, good info boards and a chamber cairn with some of the chamber remaining in place. As well as the waterfall across the road there is also a massive millstone to see. Also worth a look is the remains of Calda House, surely one of the biggest wastes of money in Highland history.

Visited 15/10/2020.

Ardvreck

C
CARL Jul 5, 2012

Visited 2.6.12

We parked in the car park for the castle and I carried Sophie over to the castle while Karen stayed in the car with Dafydd who was asleep. The castle is well worth a look over and there was a free information leaflet you could have about the castle’s history.

As for the chambered cairn there are several largish stones to be seen on a small hillock near the castle so access is easy.
This is a scenic spot and the castle / loch / valley all seem to sit in harmony.

A little up the road (north) on the right is a very pretty waterfall which we also stopped at.

Ardvreck

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 9, 2009

Ignored by the tourists who head straight for the – admittedly excellent – castle, this ruined site is dominated by the great mass of The Quinag rising beyond across Loch Assynt.

Well worth a look if you’re passing since several uprights still remain..... and if the chamber isn’t aligned upon Spidean Coinich I obviously don’t know my alignments.

And hey, the views are great, too.

Ardvreck

nickbrand
nickbrand May 24, 2004

Lying beside the road on the north side of Loch Assynt, the remains of the cairn are on a small hill just beside the ruins of Ardvreck Castle. It’s a beautiful place to stop, however, as the views are great. Just a bit further along the road we stopped below some crags to spend 20 minutes watching a golden eagle float silently above us.

A couple of the photographs of the cairn are a bit streaky, I’m not sure why this happened. The central chamber is still partially intact.

Sites within 20km of Ardvreck

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.