drewbhoy

I’ve always been fascinated by Finlaggan and the Lord of the Isles, as a youngster my first memory of this place being a brass band piece with same name. What I didn’t know was that the ‘Council Isle’ or Eilean Na Comhairle was indeed a dun.

Take your time walking through Eilean Mor, there is much to learn and discover, and head to the southern bank. The nearby island is the dun.

Separated from Eilean Mor by 50m of water the Council Isle is 30 m wide. The dun, or perhaps broch, as suggested on the info board has been built over by a medieval castle which used stonework from earlier times.

A stunning place, it will be good to see a detailed excavation note.

Visited 2/8/2018.

The base of the mound is well over 50m wide and at least 5m tall, it provides a home to a chamber cairn and a Bronze Age cairn discovered by the Time Team.

The chamber entrance is on the south of the mound, its entrance noticeable by a row of stones. The Bronze Age cairn can be identified by its kerb. Also found were Mesolithic remains, some of which can be seen in the nearby visitor centre.

Finlaggan is a beautiful place and can be found by leaving the A846 between Ballygrant and Keills on the minor road heading west. Follow the minor road as it swings north, then take the first road heading west showing the way to the visitor centre.

Fantastic place, prehistory an added bonus.

Visited 2/8/2019.

The last stop of a busy day which started by getting battered at Frachdale led to a gentler afternoon ending at Tayandock.

Sadly the standing stone, which would have 1.5m tall, has fallen.

Leave the A847 taking the minor road Borichill Mor, pass Tayandock Farm and site is just before the corner which veers north. No sign of the chapel.

Visited 1/8/2018.

Another tremendous site, more stunning views and another gigantic standing stone on Islay, this time at Uiskentuie.

It stands at 3m tall with no markings except for the lichen giving the stone a stately person type look.

Easy parking on the main road, up a wee hill, through a couple of gates, job done.

Visited 1/8/2018.

From Cultoon we headed south to the beautiful village of Portnahaven before heading north east towards Port Charlotte. Just the the south of the village pull in the campsite. Whoever constructed the football pitch, campsite and restaurant should congratulated on doing a cracking job. Good to see some children taking interest in the site when we arrived, as soon as I started looking and taking photographs they asked questions, Aberdeenshire kids from Insch, very intelligent :-)

The site does seem to be looked after slightly better than in the past and it was litter free.

Canmore Description

This chambered cairn is situated in a field at the edge of the raised beach 750m SW of Port Charlotte; the chamber and much of the cairn were excavated between 1976 and 1979, and the following account makes use of the interim report and further information supplied by the excavators (Peirpoint and Harrington 1978). The cairn, which is aligned NNE and SSW, measures 22m in breadth and is now about the same length, but the SSW end has been destroyed, and it would originally have been much longer. The chamber, at the NNE end, is entered from the centre of a concave facade of which only the stump of one stone and a fallen second stone now remain. Immediately in front of the entrance there was a pit, some 0.6m deep, from the bottom of which charcoal provided a radiocarbon date of ad 90+- (HAR-2405), but this may have been a result of contamination. The large slab in front of the entrance has been erected as if to form a portal stone. The sill-stone, only part of which is shown on plan (RCAHMS plan A), is 0.8m long, 0.23m thick and 1.16m high, and was held in position by two jamb-stones; the septal stone is 0.9m long, 0.96m high and 0.15m thick. The second compartment (1.5m long and 1.3m broad) comprises two massive side-slabs up to 0.9m high supported from behind by large slabs, which can be seen protruding through the cairn material. The third compartment has been destroyed, and the fourth is now represented only by the W side-slab. The missing slabs appear to have been removed for use as culvert-covers in the last century, but the slots from which they had been removed were discovered in the course of excavation.

Now I liked this site, tremendous views to Kintra and Bowmore as well as the nearby hills, which hopefully will see my feet reasonably soon.

Visited 1/8/2018.

After some activities not involving prehistory or distilleries (I know unbelievable) we headed to Cultoon Stone Circle. From Port Charlotte on the A847 take the minor road heading west and keep on it as it veers south leading straight to the stone circle.

The mound beside the site I’d say was a cairn with some kerbs still in place, one or two rabbit holes seem to hint at artificialness.

No need to describe the site as that has been done before, however what a weird place this is. Why did the people of the time cart all of these stones to the top of a wee hill only to put two up. Some theories are discussed in the Misc. post.

Visited 1/8/2018.

Just to the north of the very tall stone at Ballinaby sits another standing stone, originally three stood but two remain. Attempts have been made to move this stone but it still stands. Sadly these attempts have done damage.

It has been broken and now stands at 2m in height, fair enough, but Canmore says the stone is 3m wide, I would say no more than 1.5m. Perhaps something has fallen and it has been removed. One thing for sure was that these stones indicated a safe harbour which there is – Traigh Fleisgein Bheag.

Once again a beautiful place.

Visited 1/8/2018.

Just slightly to north of Carnduncan take the minor road heading west which skirts the north side of Loch Gorm. Pull in at Ballinaby Farm, plenty room.

The huge standing stone is just to the north east of the farm. Follow a well used path up a wee hill and follow some well built dry stane dykes. It is a stunning stone standing 4.9m tall with tremendous all round views west to Saligo Bay, east to Loch Gorm, north to An Carnan and south towards the hills at Turnaichaidh.

Most people turn round at this point, we didn’t as in the distance to the north, well hidden, I spied another standing stone.

Visited 1/8/2018.

After the mornings battering at Frachdale it was good to get back to base camp at Cragabus and get patched up. The afternoon would be spent heading towards Cultoon in the north west of the island with a few stops either side, some of which were nothing to do with prehistory.

The first stop of the afternoon was the excellent cairn at Carnduncan. Sitting next to the B8018 just beyond Carnduncan Farm this cairn is very easily spotted.

It still sits at 17m wide and at its highest is 1.7m tall. It has a fantastic if somewhat broken kerb of fine stones, some stones probably kerbs, also rest nearby. Good to see in Canmore’s notes that children from local schools were used in several surveys.

Nearby sites at Loch Gorm, across the road, stand a fair chance of being visited next time I’m here.

Visited 1/8/2018.

The distance between Coille A’chnoic Mhoir and the chamber cairn at Frachdale might appear short, it is as the crow flies. From the standing stone it looks if you go west, in fact you go south.

The start of the walk is fine until very tall ferns are reached, there is no sign of a track so batter a way though until a fence is reached. Frachdale sits on top of wee hill, basically taunting the hard pressed visitor. I jumped the fence and landed straight into a stream up to my waist in boggy stinking water, pulled myself out and promptly tripped into other one. One good thing was that the heat meant that I dried reasonably quick, but the smell......dearie me!! I made way to the west end of the hill and climbed up to the top were I found the turf covered cairn.

Most of the cairn material has been taken away leaving just the largest of the stones that make up the Clyde Type cairn. Originally 15 metres wide some kerbs do remain but the real remnants are in the centre. Two badly damaged sections remain, in a chamber that was almost 4m long and 1m wide. One dividing stone creates the sections. Side slabs also remain in place. This must have been some place, it still is with the tremendous views east and north east.

Also from the top of this wee hill a track and the ruined Frachdale croft can be seen in the east. However to get there is a complete nightmare. Instead of going back the way I’d came I headed east quickly encountering very small trees, with no way over I crawled underneath until a small burn, crossed this, kept crawling and eventually stood up when I encountered ferns. Keep heading north east until a small burn is encountered, same one as before with the same result with the added bonus of smashing my leg against a hidden rock. Eventually I pulled myself up, climbed the fence and found the track which led past Frachdale Croft to Kintra.

Fortunately no cuts but by the time I’d got back to Kintra my legs had turned blue. Frachdale Cairn is not an easy place to get to unless something is done about the vegetation.

Well known sprays and liquidy freeze stuff were about to get used. However it had been a wonderful morning!!

Visited 1/8/2018.

Coille A’chnoic Mhoir has stunning views west, south and east (Laggan Bay and the Paps of Jura are simply stunning).

From the cairn at Cnoc Mor Ghrasdail simply walk south until a small mound, on its south side is the standing stone. No views north :-)

Quite an easy downhill walk on spongy bone dry heather leads to the 1.2m high stone. Sometimes the most simple of sites have the most stunning locations. This is one of them.

However the conditions were about to change with the walk to the fairly nearby chamber cairn.

Visited 1/8/2018.

The walk from Dun A Chail west to the cairn at Cnoc Mor Ghrasdail comes in three sections. The first is easy enough except for the steepish climb up to the level overlooking the fort, next comes a wee flat bit before a climb amongst trees/bramble bushes which eventually is ended by a fence. From here head to the top of the hill bouncing on the spongy heather. Hot work considering the temperature.

Once at the top views are stunning, north to Port Charlotte, the Paps of Jura are clearly visible to the east, south is the Oa and to the west the Atlantic.

The cairn stands at over 10m wide and is 1m tall at its highest. The probable cist cover remains in the centre of the site with its debatable cup marks still in place. Canmore suggest that this might have been an anvil at some point. Also on the site is a climber’s or shepherd’s cairn. I counted at least 10 stones of the kerb still in place.

Another truly stunning location.

Visited 1/8/2018.

From Kintra follow the track heading west and keep going until it veers south, keep going until the first corner then head west. On a gorgeous early morning the Kintra coastline is a wonderful place to be. Even better, the local green keepers i.e. the sheep had done their job perfectly keeping the grass very short. Even better still, it was warm!

After a fairly short walk a beach will be seen with an easy slope to leading down. Beautiful views north towards Port Charlotte can be seen with the hills beyond. To the east side of the bay is Dun a Chail, probably the most beautiful place I’d been to in 2018.

The dun is overshadowed by a small pointy hill which probably helped its eastern defence. A small grassy covered stairway leads to the entrance which was being used when I arrived by exiting sheep. Cleverly the Iron Age peoples made use of the natural walls incorporating them into the man made walls. Sadly some of the walls have collapsed on either side of the dun. It is approximately 12m in length being just over 6m wide. To the west there is the perfect natural harbour called Laggan Bay, to the east a somewhat rockier effort.

Not many people come here nowadays and maybe that is a good thing as it is a truly remarkable place. It was also is the first place I’d been to for a long time where I’d seen no rubbish.

Wonderful, wonderful site.

Visited 1/8/2018.

After a fantastic day in Jura and relatively easy walks it was time for a ‘drewbhoy special’ but before I got to Kintra there was the Carragh Bhan to visit.

It can be found on a tiny wee hill, west, next to the minor road. A large slab, almost like the Millplough recumbent near Inverbervie (Aberdeenshire), it stands having magnificent all round views and is 2.2m by 2.2m, almost square.

A good start on a beautiful day.

Visited 1/8/2018.

Many people would visit the standing stone of Camas an Staca first when they arrive on Jura, we decided to visit it last to leave a stunning impression on the island, to be fair all of Jura is stunning!!

The Camas is a huge standing stone probably put there as a marker to safe nearby landing places to ancient seafarers. It is the biggest standing stone on Jura.

We parked at the large passing place to the north west of the stone beside a wood. Walking back towards Craighouse there is a large deer gate, go through and walk south west. After about 200 meters the standing stone appears from nowhere . A lot of people say the stone is built on a cairn but once again I agree with Canmore and think its field clearance. I’d love to be wrong.

The views are simply stunning as Islay’s steep mid east coast line can be seen, the famous McArthur’s Point Lighthouse gleaming in the distance with the island of Am Froach Eilean in the bay.

So that was Jura, roll on 2020!

Visited 31/7/2018.

Heading south from Craighouse go past some warehouses and then park at tghe first track heading towards the north west. Plenty room to park as their appears to be cemetery for old vehicles.

However the track is a wonderful and atmospheric walk through some fairly flat countryside until a sole standing stone can be seen. Sadly three of its friends have long since fallen and the well used phrase ‘gentle restoration’ entered my head as they are all clearly visible. It would create a momentous site if it happened.

The remaining stone stands at 2.4m with a well weathered cup mark near its base with the other stones appearing, to me, to be of similar length.

It must have been some place, it still is.

Visited 31/7/2018.

The third of the Knockrome standing stones is quite difficult to see but not to difficult to find.

After walking back from the second stone I headed back to the landing strip and headed back up the track to the minor road. About two-thirds of the way up I headed east into the fairly long grass which has clumps of gorse/furze and small trees dotted about. Pick your way through these whilst gradually heading north, about 20 metres north of where the standing stone hides is the minor road, the other side of a hedge.

Beautiful views out to Loch Na Mile and the island of Eilean Bhride. If you look through the branches of the tree you’ll catch glimpses of the Paps Of Jura. A well shaped stone it stands at 1.35m tall.

4 standing stones in a small area, not bad. Another standing stone at Leargybreck and nearby forts will have to wait till 2020 to feel my boots.

Visited 31/7/2018.

The second of the Knockrome stones we visited is quite easy to find. From Burnside we walked in a westerly direction until the track that leads down to the islands airstrip which looks directly into the beautiful Loch Na Mile.

Walk west along the airstrip and keep looking towards the Paps of Jura. The stone can clearly be seen a about 100 metres to the north on the edge of a small ditch.

It stands at over 1.5m tall and with its near neighbour does mark a place for the prehistoric peoples to land their small boats. Who knows?, they are certainly in the right location.

Visited 31/7/2018.

Coming back down the road from Ardfernal we turned north west to Burnside Farm. After climbing a couple of gates we spotted the standing stone in the distance.

Much to our amazement the standing stone walked away to reveal another standing stone. We had spied a cows backside.

The remaining stone, once much closer up didn’t move, stands at almost 1m high. Some chokes can be seen.

Tremendous all round views, including the island of Eilean Bhride to the south in the Bay of Small Isles.

Fine wee stone!

Visited 31/7/2018.

One of the most stunning locations I’ve ever been to, same with nearby stones, are the standing stones at Knockrome and Ardfernal. To be fair the weather was on our side.

There is more than one road on Jura, from the A846 take the minor road signposted Knockrome and keep going until Ardfernal. After asking permission to park, at the ‘ferm toun’ we crossed the fields heading slightly north.

The stone stands at 1.2m high and has simply glorious views.

Visited 31/7/2018.

The standing stone, Carragh Chalium Bhainn, is a short walk on track and short grass towards Tarbert Bay, being situated in the old graveyard called Cill Chalium-chille.

It stands at an impressive lichen covered 2m in height amongst stunning all round scenery.

Beautiful place, a thoughtful place.

Visited 31/7/2018.

As Carl describes the stone is a beauty standing at over 2.5m tall with beautiful views into Tarbert Bay. Round the base of the stone appears to be some chokes and possibly the remains of a cairn but more likely it’s some field clearance.

A great place to visit and another stone in the nearby chapel grounds to the east.

Visited 31/7/2018.

Legend has it that Islay is named after these stones and a Danish princess called Yula, another legend could have been added in that despite being reasonably close to the road, the further west of the stones is a complete nightmare to find.

I parked at Loch a Chnuic, a gorgeous sea loch as the the evening began to come in. Walk back east until the corner begins to straighten.

NR43714 48328 The smallest of the stones sits next to the fence to the west of the road. It is around 0.75m in height.

NR4369 4832 This is the stone that marks the grave of Princess Yula, it almost marked my final spot. Batter west through trees, bramble branches, fallen trees from the stone near the road. I did, saw the stone and promptly fell down the slope it sits atop. The stone is literally on the edge and must have had fantastic views to wards the south, Ireland is would be visible from here if it wasn’t for the trees. A wonderfully shaped stone it sits at over 1.5m tall and is very well hidden amongst the greenery, which gives a sense as well.

So a hard but beautiful place to find. Watch your feet, or my case my knees. Another day in Islay done, next stop Jura!!!

Visited 30/7/2018.

Continuing south from Kildalton it was time to look for Ardilistry Stone Circle. Like Merrick says the stones are tiny and difficult it find. Finding the stones was easier than the nightmare getting to them.

I parked to the west of the stones in a very large passing place and spied what looked like a path heading east. Also taking note of Merricks advice I put on wellingtons. Sadly the so called path led straight to ditch which I promptly stood in with water going above my knees. Undaunted I headed east to the small rise on which the stones are housed.

The stones are small, tallest is 0.5m and one of them, the west, has been damaged. It is an attractive site, it has an atmosphere, it is odd and I loved it despite the squelchy sound coming from watery feet.

Visited 30/7/2018.

Heading south west from Trudernish we headed towards Kildalton Church and a surprise bonus when I saw the fort marked on the OS map.

From the church car park look north and fort can be seen on a small hill in the middle of a boggy field. A gate directly opposite the car park makes access very easy.

Access to fort is from the south west between some massive boulders, the main entrance being to the north east with a gap in the rocks being almost 2m wide. A lot of stones can be seen at the bottom of the hill suggesting that the wall has fallen or pushed (to make nearby dry stane dykes). It is roughly a rectangle in shape being 38m by 22m. Good all round views but not really the best defensive place I’ve ever seen. Anyhow enough time to look at the nearby church before heading further south.

A fine place.

Visited 30/7/2018.

Heading back south from the fort at Dun An Rudha Bhuide, Trudernish Standing Stone is to the east of the road. I pulled in just to the south next to a wood, jumped the gate and headed back north.

The local residents i.e. the sheep seemed quite content to escort me the short distance to the stone. Very impressive it is, standing at 2m tall. There are no markings on the stone which has clear sight of the fort to the south east. The fort will have to wait another day for my feet to reach there.

Visited 30/7/2018.

Go to the end of the A846 at Ardbeg and go straight onto the minor road. Keep going until it ends as it heads north east. Jump over the gate and head north east, climbing slowly. After about a 1/4 mile Dun An Rubha Bhuide will be seen.

This is a tremendous fort with three lines of wall for defence and a natural harbour just to the north. Each wall is over 2m wide and on the outer, a gap which I stumbled through is probably the entrance. Like a lot of forts here, walls have been built to fill in natural defences.

Also there is, like a few other forts I visited, higher ground nearby i.e the direction I came from. So not much protection from the north, hence the walls.

But this is a beautiful place and its the end of the road (tarred).

Visited 30/7/2018.

The next day dawned and despite it being overcast it was fairly dry. (that, of course, would change) I had always wanted to see the American monument at west point of the Oa peninsula so we walked from Cragabus to the site.

This is near to were the troopship Turcania was torpedoed and another troopship, the Otranto, sank. (1918)

On the way back I had a look for the standing stone at Glac A’Charraigh. Sadly the stone has fallen since its last visitor in 1977. Originally it stood at almost 2m high but now one of the chokes stands guard, a marker, as this would almost be impossible to find.

From west of the site as the road heads north I jumped the fence and headed north east until I luckily spotted the choke stone. To get back to the road head north bypassing the wee hill.

A bleak place on a bleak day. By now the rain had arrived. A drenching was on its way!

Visited 30/7/2018.

The final stop of a glorious day traipsing around Cragabus and Port Ellen concluded at the promontory fort Sron Dubh.

Follow the road south from Druim Nam Madagan until it ends at the A846 and head slightly east towards Port Ellen. A track, a mixture of bog, remnants of bonfires, dry bits and sea shells heads south leading to the fort. By this time night was coming down, a hint of mist, the sea was eerily calm and there was total silence. This is a beautiful place, situated between The Ard (a fort I visited) and Portintruan (another fort to be visited next time). Fine views of Texa, the island to the south east.

With a natural harbour near to the fort and some steep cliffs on the south this seems quite a good place for a fort. However the north isn’t very high and is protected by wall which originally was 3m wide. This seems quite common for the south forts.

Where there wasn’t a wall nature provided rocks and in the gaps man made defences can be seen. The forts interior is made up of small sections like rooms, similarly were nature didn’t fill the space, man did. One space not filled was the entrance and tghis can be found in the north west.

A great first day back in Islay and a contented dram or two coming up.

Visited 29/7/2018.

After a good look round at Druim Nam Madagan we walked a short distance south before heading west, crossing a small burn before encountering thick ferns. I battered my way through to finally approach the dun from the west.

I found the outer wall easily enough by falling flat on my face as I tripped over it. It stands at around 0.5m tall and almost surrounds the crag on which the dun is perched. When I reached the ground I also discovered the wall must have been over 3m wide. However the density of the ferns made judgement hard and underfoot conditions even worse. The east side as well as a wall has the natural defence of a steep cliff.

There is a small wall in the middle of the dun, which I managed to spy before falling over that as well.

Now the dun, to me, seems to be on the wrong hill as there is a higher ridge to the north west so it seems to suggest that this might well be an enclosure, as the OS suggest, or a homestead, as Canmore suggests. I tend to think that it is a dun as it is similar to duns further to the east.

Who’s to say that it isn’t all three.

Visited 29/7/2018.

From Branhunisary make your back to the road and head east. Go past the water works and take the first road south, by this time the aromas of the three distilleries on the coast should reach your nose. The site, easily spotted by the standing stone, is on the east side of the road.

Only two slabs of the chamber remain, the standing stone and a possible kerb are in their original positions. The remnants of the almost 27m cairn have been reduced to a few bumps of rubble.

Still the other parts of the chamber aren’t far away and its easy to see why the site had, originally, a different classification.

The slabs, of the chamber, have been moved to a building a few yards away. Canmore seem confused to what this building had been but having seen a few similar shapes on various isles its a safe bet it was medieval shelter for livestock.

Nice site, nice aroma :-)

Visited 29/7/2018.

Head north from Port Ellen Standing Stone on the minor road and stop at the first gate as the road swings east. The gate faces north, but from there head north west.

On a level part of the field stands the Branhunisary stone. It is about 1.4m high and has a large cup mark on its smooth northern face, it measures at 12cm wide and is 4cm deep.

Very easy to find and fortunately by this time the weather had improved rapidly so we went further east.

Visited 29/7/2018.

Follow Carl’s directions except it isn’t a track, its a minor road which leads to quite a few sites. The stile mentioned in another fieldnote is a bit of a shambles, however the fence is easily jumped being of no great height.

Standing at 4.3m it is a very tall, in a land of very tall stones.

Like most of the stones near the south coast of Islay I’d think the sea has something to do with its placing. Or is it? The next stone we’d visit had no views of the sea.

Visited 29/7/2018.

From the southern cairn we walked back down the hill, crossed the road, climbed a gate and promptly saw a sheep with its head stuck in a fence. When I tried to free it the poor thing it went mental so I left it alone figuring it would escape.

Head further north, over the deer fence, look south and climb the fairly steep but slippy hill. Once at the top head south and through a gate, past a pile of stones.

It must have been an impressive site back in its day. Sadly now most of the cairn has been removed and it is now turf covered.

Despite the damage it is still over 17m wide and over 1m high with superb all round views, on this day it was slightly misty. Luckily we could see over to the southern cairn and further east to the chamber cairn. Some boulders on the north side maybe the remnants of the kerb.

With that it was back down the hill to a mini drenching and another attempt at a rescue of the sheep. A kick to the kneecap persuaded me that professional help was needed. A phone call to the farmer and soon the prisoner would be free.

Visited 29/7/2018.

The Upper Cragabus cairn is to be found on top of a small hill on the south side of Oa road. Walking west from Lower Cragabus we headed for the sharp corner at the bottom of the Upper Cragabus brae, just before the Cragabus Burn.

Head uphill and south east into the field, this will lead straight to the cairn.

The cairn is located next to fence next to the Gleann an Dobhrain wood. Sadly the cairn has taken a severe battering with two large houks. Anything that could be used was taken from the cairn which despite everything remains at 8m wide and 1m tall.

A case of ‘what if’ but still a very worthwhile visit as it has great views down the Oa valley to the east and north to another cairn, our next stop.

Let the fun begin!!

Visited 29/7/2018.

The previous day had seen the drive to Oban and the ferry to Port Askaig, Islay. When we arrived it was pitch dark, the ferry was an hour late and it was a pea soupper mist for the drive to Port Ellen. The twisty minor road along heading west towards The Oa memorial provided a test as we headed towards Upper Cragabus, our base camp.

We could have driven through Glasgow and never noticed as the mist was almost zero visibility, it also meant that we had driven past the chamber cairn at Lower Cragabus.

Fortunately the next morning provided clearer weather in what would prove an adventuresome morning. From Upper Cragabus head back east towards Port Ellen. Go past Middle Cragabus and the remaining standing stone can be next to the road on top of a mound near to Lower Cragabus.

The standing stone and the chamber cairn sit on top of the rocky crag called Creag Mhor. Damage to the site can be clearly seen, cairn material has been removed, quarrying has happened and as usual robbing had been evident.

Fortunately there is stone still standing and a lovely stone it is, almost 2m in height. The shape of the chamber can be clearly seen with several slabs still standing in the chambers three sections, the chamber being almost 5m in length. Despite the robbing several finds of bones, flints and pottery shards were found.

The stone would wave us goodbye in the morning and say hello on the way back to Upper Cragabus, or if I left early in the morning to visit ‘difficult’ sites it would get a good laugh at the various states I’d come back in.

Great start, well worth a visit :-)

Visited 29/7/2018.

From Barevan Bridge we headed east and took the first minor road heading south towards Glengeoullie, at which point the road ends. After asking permission we headed south on a decent track crossing the Riereach Burn at the Braevall Fords. With the water being so low this was an easy crossing. On another day.........................

Take the track to the west of burn, today it was a good time to look to the east of burn. Sandmartins, hundreds of them, flying about and taking advantage of the sandy banks.

After about another mile look east for a solitary stick on a bump or a solitary stone lying beside it. This is the cairn and I would think this could a pretty much undisturbed site. A kerb some fallen some standing still surrounds the cairn, difficult to spot but still there. The slab mentioned by Canmore is also still sitting in the middle of cairn. It still sits at 1m high being almost 9m wide. Beautiful views north to the Black Isle, east/west heather covered moors and to the south Carn A Mhais Leathain (the track ends up there).

However both Drew and dog were needing to head back, after a look around, to paddle our feet in the burn. We’d chosen the hottest day of the year to go hiking in open moor.

Thank goodness for hats!

Visited 18/7/2018.

We parked at the Barevan Bridge crossing the Allt Dearg Burn near West Barevan farm. Fortunately this is slightly north to the large burn so no wading involved.

From here we walked north through a field and jumped over a small burn shaded in trees. Once on the other side of the trees it was forest clearence on Fangorn size proportions. As we all know this makes walking conditions a nightmare but eventually we made it to were trees still survived. There is a track, not on the map, that goes up the west side of the fort. Luckily , for us, it led straight to the fort.

Also luckily is that the fort seems to have avoided any serious damage caused by the forestry work on the west. The rest of the outer edges are untouched. To the south, east and west the outer wall that surrounded the site has fallen over the edge. Parts of the wall still remain to the north in the inner part of the fort, the flattest side.

Most of the fallen wall is covered in moss which in turn is covered in ferns and numerous other types of vegetation. However it was a fairly large fort being 56m by 23m. Outer parts of the defences can just about be seen but, they to, are turf and moss covered. The well mentioned by Feachem (crikey we owe this guy a lot as well) is still there to catch the unwary.

A cracking place to build a fort. Just a pity, like many forest forts, that the vegetation takes over.
Still a very worthwhile place to visit.

Visited 18/7/2018.

Cantraydoune is a very easy site to find, we were en route to Dun Evan, as it is next to the minor road that eventually heads east from near the Clavas. It also gives the chance to drive under and appreciate the magnificent Nairn Viaduct.

Sadly the cairn, tho it looks like an attempt has been made to leave it alone (a very bad attempt), has taken a bit of a pounding. It still sits at 8m wide and is just about 1m high but to the north and west much damage has happened. Two kerbs remain earthfast whilst 3 others seemed to have been rolled away to the west. Tree stumps sit on top which explains the damage, recent forestry work.

Still it does have nice views of the River Nairn valley, if heading west go to the Clavas to cheer yourself up, if a glutton for punishment go to Dun Evan.

Visited 18/7/2018.

The hard to see/find Feabuie looks over the Rough Burn to the south. This burn, at the moment, is well and truly rough, it was bone dry. In fact a lot of the burns we saw on this particular day were dry, such has been the summer.

We went south west through the village of Balloch and took the first minor road heading east pulling in 3 gates before the farm at East Feabuie. From here we headed straight north, over a fence, down to the dried up burn and then up the other side.

The cairn is set in a clearing but it is difficult to spot as it is covered in grass and ferns. Luckily one of the kerbs can be on the west side. Canmore say 6, I say 8 kerbs in a cairn that is over 7 meters wide and only 0.2m high.

Once again a cairn in the woods and complete silence, being near Culloden very apt.

Best approached from the west to see the kerb.

Visited 18/11/2018.

From the west of Nairn take the B9092 then the second minor road heading nprth west. As soon as the road has trees near both sides find a place to park, there is an old forestry track to the north side. Park there and walk a short distance west until a path, in bits overgrown, heads south. This swings back east ad heads straight to confusing and hard to spot site.

OS have it marked as an enclosure/cairn (and in the past described the site as a small fort) and Canmore has it down as a henge/cairn. Probably it has been used as all three. Here is the Canmore description :

A well preserved cairn, levelled into a slight SW facing slope in reafforested, Lagnagreishach Wood.

‘It comprises an oval platform measuring c 7.0m SW/NE by c 6.0m transversely, surrounded by a ditch c 2.5m wide and c 0.4m deep with an outer earthen bank c 2.5m wide and c 0.3m high. Across the ditch in the SW is a causeway c 2.0m wide, which is mutilated by a tree stump, with a corresponding break in the bank. The central platform is slightly raised, c 0.2m, above the surrounding ground level by a turf-covered crown of closely packed rubble stones which covers the whole platform.‘

All of which is present and correct. Beware bramble branches!

Visited 18/7/2018.

Delnies is a couple miles west of Nairn on the A96. Whilst making the road to Carnoch House the cist was discovered along with pebbles of a cairn. Fortunately the cist, 4 slabs, was not sent to stone crusher and was re-erected a short distance away in a wood a short distance from its original spot. The male skeleton was presented to Aberdeen Uni by the aptly named D. H. Cairns.

I parked near the entrance to Carnoch House and was given permission by the owner to do so. The man and wife team then gave me the history of the cist. From the driveway/track follow the first woodland path heading south west. Follow the track until a large curve, the cist can be seen impersonating Jaws in a small clearing.

A good start to the day.

Visited 18/7/2018.

Laggan Hill is an old friend and its always wonderful to look south over Nethy Bridge and the Boat of Garten to the Cairngorms. I don’t know why I haven’t visited this cairn before but it provided a fitting end to a lovely day traipsing about to the north of Grantown on Spey.

I parked were the A938 meets the A95 and walked up to the gates of Easter Laggan. Keep following the track towards the masts on the top of the hill. This is a lovely walk, the last time I’d visited (from this side) I’d walked a huge amount of miles but today it had been far more easier.

Keep going until the trees end on the east side then head east over the fence and into the heather.

The cairn also has glorious views along the Spey Valley. It sits at 7m wide and reaches almost 1m in height. Sitting near a large outcrop there are at least seventeen graded kerbs. The smallest stones on the high point with large stones on the lowest point. It also appears that the turf covered cairn hasn’t been houked.

Good news to end a superb day.

Visited 11/7/2018.

Neavuie is a very easy site to find being close to a minor road. We headed south from Carn Bad A’churaich, on the B9007, to the A938 at Duthil. From there we headed east until the first minor road heading north. I was allowed to park at Neavuie Cottage.

A short walk, north east, leads to the site which is the biggest burnt mound I’ve seen so far. The mound is 10m in diameter being almost 1.7m at its highest tapering to 0.4m at its lowest. Apart from some damage probably caused by a long removed tree the burnt mound stands as it always has.

The small stream, dried up as it was during our visit, still has the three boulders which might have been a very poor attempt at a dam. Anyway a nice place on a rapidly improving day.

Visited 11/7/2018.

Carn Bad A’Churaich is a very small cairn situated next to the B9007. From our spot at Aitnoch we went back, east to the A939 and headed north west until the first minor road heading west. This heads thru Little Aitnoch (farm) and meets the B9007 at the Dunearn crossroads. Straight across leads to the fort, which now was clearly visible thanks to the weather improving. We headed south stopping at the second track heading east.

This and other tracks seem to be used by the windfarm companies. The cairn has a windfarm sub station a few metres to the north.

Several decent sized kerbs remain in place surrounding the 6m wide cairn which at its highest would be barely 0.2m high. What Canmore have missed is two large slabs in the middle of the jabby stuff possibly the remains of a cist. There are also great all round views, especially of Dunearn Fort to the north west.

The cairn is situated between the track and B9007. Climb up the small slope to the south east and look for the jabby plant.

Visited 11/7/2018.

From Dava we headed south leaving the A940 to join the A939. Take the first minor road heading west, this leads to Lochindorb one of my favourite places, home to a beautiful loch and castle. Still beautiful but not so visible as the countryside was shrouded in a drizzly mist.

We parked about a mile along the minor road and headed north west. A steep down slope leads to the Dorback Burn. Some fine places for the dog to swim, more crucially several places were rocks are like stepping stones. At some point it looks like someone has tried to dam the small river.

Once on the other side keep going uphill and north west thru the heather and field clearence.

Heather covered kerbs surround the site which sits at 8m wide and 0.5m tall. Despite some houking it looks like the burial part of the cairn hasn’t been disturbed. Cairn material can also be spotted on top of the site.

The mist and drizzle gives a ghostly atmosphere and once again, like Feabuie, there is complete silence. Then suddenly the mists rises a little bit giving just enough time to see the loch and castle.

Beautiful place!

Visited 11/7/2018.

We took the track, from near Dava on the A940, which leads to Aittendow past the track to Station House. After this take the first track heading north. When it becomes reasonably clear look for a single tree beside a fence.

As the Ts said the fence goes thru the middle of the cairn. The cists make the cairn recognisable as a lot of the stones there a probably field clearence. One or two are kerbs in this easily found and superbly located site.

Visited 11/7/2018.

Although Feabuie is quite a short distance from Meikle Corshellach it is a difficult place to reach.

From Corshellach, we followed the fence line northish to a gate, jumped it and headed further north into the forest break. After a short distance we headed north east into a wilderness of fallen trees and knee deep bogs. However we battered on and reached the forest clearing which housed the site.

There is something about ancient sites amongst old trees, the atmosphere, stillness, loneliness or remoteness all combine to give a other worldly type of feeling. I like it.

The cairn is about 10m wide but has been clipped by forestry works giving it an oval shape. Moss covered stones also add to the old age feel, some of these being kerbs still in situ. There appears to a windbreak but the overall height is around 0.5m.

Complete silence, what a nice place to be.

Visited 11/7/2018.

From Forres head south on the A940 until Glenernie. Take the minor road heading east going under the impressive Divie viaduct until the tarred road ends. Keep going until the small power station (wind farm), the track is in excellent condition.

Follow the fence heading north on the west side of the station, Burn Wind Farm, which leads straight to the cairn. Fortunately the cairn has not been damaged by recent events and still sits in place.

Several kerbs can be seen in the turf, although there has been a small bit of houk damage. The cairn sits at over 8m wide and is 0.8m tall.

A very easy start to the day. Our next site wouldn’t be so easy.

Visited 11/7/2018.

Just to the north west of the Dunachtonmore Cairn and on top of a wee climb sits another cairn.

This site is smaller, 8m wide and 1m high, and has some massive kerbs. Once again the centre has been houked to reveal what was probably the place for a cist. Being slightly higher up there are spectacular views east to Cairngorms, wonderful scenery in the Spey valley and to the west, Creag Mor.

A completely unexpected but superb end to a day that started early and included many miles on foot. The dog probably walked twice as much, equally good as she slept all the way home.

Visited 27/4/2018.