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King Schaw’s Grave

By the time we reached the layby, the sun was blazing and we didn’t even need our coats. I love an unseasonably warm autumn day in Scotland! On the map, the burial site is shown to be in plantation but this has fortunately been cut back, so we set out through the rather bleak landscape until we found the obligatory interpretation board. I love the fact that a circle of trees had been planted around the site and then cut at such a height that identifies the site, as it would be pretty hard to spot otherwise! Sadly, this once enormous cairn (said to have been in a cruciform shape) was robbed of all of its stones many years ago and all that remains is the small cist. However, it is a lovely site, with fabulous views across the surrounding hills and an amazing echo, which made our voices ring out across the land. The remaining woodland was boggy and overgrown but we thought we could make out a possible large, moss-covered stone about 50m from the site of the cist. However, we were not properly attired (our wellies were packed and in my car back in Langholm) so we couldn’t check it out....so we headed back to the car, pleased we had made it here after all and (almost) completed the Eskdale Prehistoric Trail. We now plan to return in the Spring and visit all the sites again to see how they look and feel in a different season.

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