thesweetcheat

From the south.

From the west.

Hillforted Dunsapie rises above its eponymous loch.

Plentiful visitors to the hill’s summit on a bright autumn evening.

The twin hillforted summits of Crow Hill (left) and Arthur’s Seat (right), seen across Dunsapie Loch.

Arhtur’s Seat from the north. Although there is little in the way of visible remains of defences, the hill is such an overpowering presence on the surroundings that it’s easy to understand why it would be chosen as the site for a fort, for status as much as practical application.

Large slab amongst the stones of the site.

The remaining upright.

Showing the jumble of stones that comprise the site. Hillforted Ord Hill on the Black Isle provides the backdrop.

Looking NW across the Moray Firth to the Black Isle.

Looking ENE.

Seen from the SW.

Looking SE.

The tallest stone standing in the ring.

Well-perserved kerb on the northwestern side of the kerb.

Looking WNW. Hillforted Ord Hill on the Black Isle can be seen beyond.

Disturbed kerbing on the east side of the ring.

Looking NE. The ring cairn appears a bit of a jumble at first sight, but it’s actually pretty well-preserved.

Ord Hill (centre) from Balloch, across the Moray Firth.

Looking west.

An arc of five low stones remains of the site. Looking SE.

Looking NE across the low stones. The Nairn Viaduct provides the backdrop.

Mains of Clava SW from the northeast.

Stones in the SW arc of the SW circle.

Stone of the circle surrounding the SW cairn.

Cup-marked kerb stone on the SW cairn.

The kerb cairn.

The central ring cairn.

Shadow-dappled stone of the central circle, with the central ring cairn beyond.

Cupmarks in the passage of the NE cairn.

Lovely autumn day at Clava – the NE cairn.

Landscape context for the low-lying valley site. The cairn is on the edge of the trees, centre of image. From the B9001 to the NW.

Detail of the swirly-grained boulder adjacent to the cairn.

This enormous swirly-grained boulder sits at the NE edge of the site. It must surely have been here already and the cairn must have been built in relationship with it.

Scattered stones remain in what would have been the cairn itself. Looking SW.

The largest remaining kerbstone is a bit of a monster, approx 5 feet tall.

Kerbstones.

Large, overgrown clearance pile next to the cairn’s surviving stones. Of all the Clava cairns in the Nairn valley, this one is closest to the river itself.

Surviving kerbstones of the western arc.

Megalithic gatepost across the lane from the standing stone, there are other stones in the undergrowth here too. Could these be remnants of the possible lost circle?

Looking SE.

Looking NE down the Nairn valley.

Seen from the lane to the SE. Sheep provide scale.

From the northeast. This site deserves to be better known.

The site from the WNW.

Detail of surviving kerb.