thesweetcheat

The southeastern arc of the original cairn’s footprint. Looking towards Foel Fras. It was so windy I couldn’t stand up here, this was taken clinging on to walking poles and trying to stay vaguely upright.

The original monument’s footprint is much larger than the stone shelter formed from it suggests. The stones in the foreground mark the approximate edge of the perimeter and may have come from a kerb.

The cairn’s prominent location (centre skyline) is clear from Foel Lwyd, half a mile to the southeast. The intervening ground, although a welcome respite from the slog up the steeper slopes below, is wet and boggy.

Every now and again in areas where there a high concentrations of prehistoric monuments, you come across natural stones which look like they have been placed by human agency. This monolith is on the slopes of Foel Lwyd below Carnedd Pen y Borth Goch, it appears to be natural but surely it can’t have gone unnoticed by people who erected megaliths.

Nature making a ring cairn; a natural coronet of stones near the summit of Pen y Castell. Drum rises on the right, with Carnedd Pen y Borth Goch on its summit.

Tal-y-Fan from Pen y Castell to the south. From this side, the monuments round Maen-y-Bardd and Cerrig Pryfaid would be visible (with a telescope).

Landscape context from the northwest, below Penygadair. The lovely Hafodygors-wen cairn circle is in the valley below, as well as a possible stone row at Ffridd-y-bont (the ruined farmstead in the trees, bottom right). There’s also a round house settlement on the lower slopes of Moel Eilio.

The fort from Bwlch-y-Gaer to the west. If approaching from this side, the slopes protecting the fort are at their least steep and prominent, which indicates how formidable the site is all round. Afon Conwy just visible over to the left.

Landscape context for the prominent hill from Newport-on-Tay, across the Firth of Tay. The next day Storm Babet closed the Tay bridges and battered eastern Scotland.

Looking south.

The eastern stone, with the split southern stone to the right. The stones behind are clearance.

Looking northeast across the valley to the standing stone on the opposite side.

Quartz vein on the western stone.

Looking east.

The four poster. The stones behind (immediately under the pole) and to the right are clearance and not part of the original circle.

The stone from the road, with the four poster stone circle on its little mound behind to the right.

The group of four cupmarks can just be seen bottom right near the base of the stone, although it’s not the clearest angle.

Looking northeast, with Drimmie Wood to the left.

Looking south across the valley. According to Canmore: About 1861, a possible cup-marked slab was found by Mr Harris, Glenballoch farm, ‘on the opposite side of the valley to the SE of the Glenballoch Stone’. It is described as having two rows of cup-marks (alternatively circular and square) arranged ‘symmetrically in two rows’ on its upper surface. The stone was subsequently broken up and used in the construction of Kynballoch steading.

Looking WSW.

Stone H, which is just to the southeast of the circle. It didn’t appear in Coles’ original 1909 plan, and may be a later addition. I didn’t find Stones E and F which form the southeastern arc; they’re likely still there but buried, as both appear in BigSweetie’s photos from when the trees were felled.

The edge of Stone B appears to have been cut, presumably someone wanted to break it up. A fragment lies partly buried in the grass on the left.

Looking north across the circle. Stone A in the foreground is a lovely tapering stone that would have looked very impressive standing upright. As far as I could tell, the stone in the background is Stone D; I couldn’t see Stone C, which may be covered by the vegetation if it’s still there.

Looking northeast. The trees that had been felled in BigSweetie’s pictures are being replaced with new ones. Visible in the shot are Stone B (far left), Stone G (possibly a later addition, bottom left), Stone D (just left of centre), Stone A (centre) and Stone H (another possible later addition, far right).

Arriving at the circle, looking southeast. Stone B in the foreground.

Looking WNW. The little burn is over on the right.

Looking up the sloping ground towards the road.

Looking ESE. Park Neuk stone circle is on the crest of the hill, to the left of the copse of trees.

Looking WNW.

Looking SE, with Hill of Alyth on the left and what I took to be the Sidlaw Hills in the distance, centre.

Looking ENE.

The freeing of the stones from their fence is good, but does mean that the visitor may be sharing them with a herd of jumpy bullocks.

Stones E and F.

Stone A in the foreground, with B, C and D behind.

Coles’ stone D in the foreground, A-C behind to the right.

Two stones to the northwest of the southern ‘circle’ that don’t appear on Coles’ plan. Anyone tell me what the fine-looking conical hill on the skyline right of centre is?

The six stones remaining of Fred Coles’ putative southern circle: E and F on the left, A-D on the right. Looking south-ish.

The cupmarked face, looking east.

Cupmark within a raised area on top of the stone.

A different angle on the cups on the western sloping face.

Multiple cupmarks on the western sloping face of the stone.

Cupmarks in the natural depression in the top of the stone.

From the southeast, looking up towards Park Neuk stone circle (to the right of the copse).

Berwick Law seen across the Firth of Forth, from Kinghorn on the Fife coast.

This circular stone platform, probably a low cairn or at least the remains of one, is some way south and downhill from the main cairnfield.

Small clearance type cairn towards the south of the main cairnfield.

Looking southeast over the excellent Mynydd y Garth 4, which stands on the eastern edge of the cairnfield. Mynydd Marchywel to the left of centre.

Excavation damage in the centre of Mynydd y Garth 4.

The excellent Mynydd y Garth 4 cairn, the finest monument of the day.