drewbhoy

Up very early to start another day and a welcome visitor, the sun was shining :-)

Craig Hasten supposedly has a standing stone. I looked everywhere on the rocky crag but couldn’t find anything, stones that looked fallen appeared, to me, to be bedrock. On the verge of giving up I decided to have a look over to the Atlantic on the crags North West side and came across which I assume is a natural feature.

It would be hard not to imagine this as a meeting place in ancient times, indeed it seems like the crag should have had a dun/fort/broch built on top as it is a superb defensive location. So I think the locals of the time must have treated this stone and area with some reverence. Local legend has this as the house of the fairies. Easy to imagine why, great views.

At Bayhead on the A865, near the petrol station, take the road heading past the school, take the first road heading west and keep going until the first sharp corner at the farm. Plenty room for parking.

Nice to see the stone but it almost defies belief that this area wasn’t used for anything else.

Visited 24/7/2019.

A few metres from the standing stone is the ruinous chamber cairn, Dun Na Carnaich. Someone appears to have dug a hole straight through the middle of the site for quarrying and to add to the damage a fence has been plonked along its south edge. All along with the usual recycling of stones.

How anything survives is almost a miracle, it is almost 20m wide and at its tallest 2m. Two stones stand as an entrance and two remain upright belonging to the chamber, with several stones to making up the chambers sides.

Still one thing they didn’t take away is the view and the channel to the Atlantic presumably the reason the structure was built.

Visited 23/7/2019.

We headed south west on the Committee Road (Solas) back to the A865, heading south east. Take the fourth farm track heading south west. Permission was given to us to park at the farm buildings.

You can see the stone from the buildings, just a couple of gates, fences and a burn to jump before reaching the site.

A truly tremendous stone standing at 2.5m. Its location must, in my opinion, have something to do with the seaway to the Atlantic and the natural harbour next the Clach Mhor A’che headland.

Luckily no battles or people ‘hanging’ today so a good look at the nearby chamber should be safe enough.

Visited 23/7/2019.

Plodding on from Airidhan An T-sruthain Ghairbh we headed west and uphill in the rain with fairly decent underfoot conditions. At the top there is a fence which we jumped over to head south west.

Walking along the flat top of the hill is a bit of a nightmare with the peat cutting leaving puddles of various depth. Luckily we found a way through without incident. Climb another fence and the standing stone, Beinn A Charra is in front. This stone was one the sites I wanted see and it lived up to expectation.

Beinn a Charra looks down on the Committee Road, which runs from Claddach to Solas, and the peat cutting workers on the other side of the road. It stands at 2.7m and leans at a jaunty angle to the south east. Stunning all round views were made even better as the rain eased. Veins of quartz can be seen on the western part of the stone.

Luckily we clambered, west, back down to the road on grass and walked back up to car park on the dead straight road.

Visited 23/7/2019.

Airidhan An T-sruthain Ghairbh means ‘properties of the coarse stream’.

We headed for the summit of Guala na h-Imrich wading through bogs, peat cuttings and heather. Once at the top it started to rain. From the top the cairn looks a lonely place, with a the rain a desolate place as well. Still its’s always worth it when you get there so on we plodded.

There appears to a ring of stones on edge or fallen surrounding site which 22m wide. Two massive stones are probably capstones. Sadly some stones have been drilled.

On a sunny this would be a beautiful place, on a cloudy rainy early evening it is still a beautiful place with an atmosphere of complete calm and silence.

Visited 23/7/2019.

The minor road to the east of Dun Skellor at Solas heads south is a great mile and time saver. More importantly it has a wee car park about near the small wood to the east. Easy to spot as its the only trees on this road.

From the car park walk north east through a boggy terrain made worse by old peat digs. Recent rains have made conditions very wet.

The cairn is 10m wide and 2m high, and has shieling huts nearby including one built on top. Several prone stones suggest an entrance, some stones near the edge of the mound are suggestive of a kerb.

However the site is hard to define, but it is in the perfect place with great views up and down the valley.

Time for a climb over a hill.

Visited 23/7/2019.

From Angus’s place, Dun Aonghais, head west along the A865 until the farm of the same name. I asked permission to park.

The dun or perhaps broch, suggested by Beveridge is situated behind the farmhouse. He said :

“On its east edge, for a continuous length of three yards, the exterior face of a massive curved wall (suggesting that of a broch) is disclosed in at least three courses of large stones not far from the present summit. Outside this, and at another broken part, were found some kitchen-midden remains, including pottery, with many bones and shells. In the north-west face, at about the same level as the portion of wall on the east, were also noticed three consecutive stones, apparently in original position. … this fort would seem to have a diameter of 50 to 60ft ….”

All that is left now is a large grassy mound, 23m wide / 2m high, with hints of a wall poking through. There is a fair chance that evidence for the broch was carted away during the mid 19th century to built dry steen dykes and farm buildings.

Still a nice site to visit and a very nice conversation with the farm owner.

Visited 23/7/2019.

North Uist is certainly the place to visit if duns are your favoured type of site – they are everywhere.

Getting back to the A865, from Loch An Caiginn, head west until you reach Ahmore, I pulled in at the entrance to a cottage on the loch’s west side.

To get a couple of angles I walked back along the main road and on to the banks of Loch Aonghais, ‘fort of Aonghus Fionn’.

The dun is 31m wide and surrounded by a wall very close to the island’s edge. There is a causeway to the east and a wee harbour on the west. Crogearraidh Mor makes a fine backdrop.

Visited 23/7/2019.

The dun at Loch Na Caiginn, Loch of the Island, is a short distance south from the remarkable dun at Dun Nighean Righ Lochlainn. It also is a wonderful site, connected to the shore by a superb causeway.

Fallen walls surround the island which as well as Iron Age occupation has seen the Medieval peoples built a farm.

Beautiful site, beautiful scenery and mercifully it remained dry.

(more superb aerial photos on the Canmore link)

Visited 23/7/2019.

The Beatles wrote ‘The Long And Winding Road’ and this song would certainly apply to the road that leads to Dun Nighean Righ Lochlainn (to the daughter of the King of Norway). Who knows if the princess lived here but it certainly is a beautiful place.

After a good nights rest from the previous days drenching we decided to take things a bit easier, that idea was changed later. From Lochmaddy take the A865 north at its junction with the A867 and then the first minor road heading east, after this follow The Beatles instructions. As per usual I had to get to the end of this road (plus the other two road ends) before heading back to find the duns.

There is a cattle grid at Loch an t-Sagairt which is near a quarry and some cattle pens, plenty room to park.

We clambered over the wee hill, east, at the quarry and headed north on the surprisingly dry heather, more surprisingly there was no rain and it was warm.

Divers found that the island or Atlantic roundhouse is almost completely artificial, the base being made from large slabs. The causeway remains, see pictures of the old guys in the link, to the north. The dun is almost 9m wide with its outside well built walls still surviving, they are just over 1.5m tall. Iron Age pottery was also discovered around the site.

Beautiful place, worthy of the princess.

Visited 23/7/2019.

The walk from Oban Nam Faidh to the chamber cairn at Loch Glen Na Feannag may appear short but as well as the marsh we took a detour to NF 8382 6275 (canmore.org.uk/site/10285/north-uist-craonaval) and found nothing except the mound, sadly no sign of the stone.

Crossing the marsh first time proved lucky despite a couple of deep adventures, this time my luck ran out. Trying to stride a wee ditch I slipped down, the waterproofs rolled up and the wellingtons filled. As usual the smell from a disturbed bog was pretty hellish. Luckily A along with B didn’t fall anywhere. Eventually we made it to Glen Na Feannag via the detour.

Like Oban Nam Fiadh this must have been an impressive site, it still is. Luckily there were hardly any ferns on this occasion. Several large slabs make up the chamber and several more lying at the cairns edge must be displaced capstones or lintels. As usual the sheiling hut builders have had a busy time.

After a good look round we spied a bridge in the distance to the north which we assumed correctly would be the road. We thought we’d have to trudge over the hill, by this time conditions were probably best described as nightmarish as the rain became heavier and the wind stronger. However, head northish skirting the two small lochs, follow the peat cutting until the road becomes visible. In what proved to be a complete fluke we headed west, turned the corner and found the car.

Chancy but good fun, but not at the time.

Visited 22/7/2019.

From the shore of Loch Carabhat near Dun Scor we headed the short journey north to the chamber cairn at Oban Nam Faidh in wind and driving rain. Fortunately the ground here is all heather so no marshy stuff to walk on.

Vegetation in the form of ferns might cover this site but there was more than enough left for this site to remain impressive. It is almost 20m wide / 2m tall and like most of its neighbours has been robbed to make various huts and wind breaks. Six stones still stand of the chamber but the capstones have fallen to the side. Some stones remain of what might be a inner and outer kerb.

The big problem here was taking photographs, it was lashing down, hopefully what I’ve put up gives some idea of the site.

Visited 22/7/2019.

Just as we left the Craonaval the weather changed from drizzle to downpour but we decided to trudge on. Underfoot conditions despite the recent weather were pretty good as we proceeded in a hopeful straight line to Dun Scor. That plan came to an end as we stumbled down the east side of the hill to meet the marsh that seperated us from Loch Carabhat and the Oban Nam Fiadh Chamber Cairn.

The marsh is comes complete with ditches and hidden burns as well, a couple of times I was waist deep but the water proofs held, this isn’t a place for a solo venture. After what seemed a long time we eventually made it to higher/drier ground which led to the edge of the loch and a reasonably good view of the dun.

Walls can clearly be seen round the island, going by aerial photography there is a causeway but the weather conditions meant I wasn’t going to go for a closer look. The causeway is S shaped which would have given the unsuspecting visitor a bit of a soaking.

Now for the nearby chamber cairn.

Visited 22/7/2019.

We headed east across the spongy heather in heavy drizzle to the Clyde styled chamber cairn. Vegetation has overgrown most of the cairn but the chambers are just about visible.

The most clear part of the site is the cist which is 11m from the chamber, sadly quite near a fence.

This must have been another fantastic site back in the day, but like a lot of places has seen a lot of damage.

Visited 22/7/2019.

NF 83333 62913 Craonaval South

We parked at the quarry on the B894 just beyond, east, the track that leads to first of the cairns, Craonaval South. Conditions had lessened to a heavy drizzle so we decided to have an attempt at finding as much sites in a large oval shape taking in the Oban chamber cairn.

The first cairn is at the top of the hill next to track, ho ho ho, and is 20m wide and 2.5m tall. It has taking a bit of a battering with stones being removed to make wind breaks and shieling huts. Some kerbs do remain.

Look towards the Atlantic and you will see Craonaval North.

NF 83229 62993 Craonaval North

An oval shaped chamber cairn 20m by 14m being 2m high. There are some fairly decent kerbs with hints of a passage leading to a chamber. Sadly, like its near neighbour, it has taking some amount of damage. A fair number of shieling huts have been built close by most likely using stones from the cairn.

Let the fun begin!

Visited 22/7/2019.

0.75 miles west and a walk on surprisingly non boggy ground is the dun, Loch Nan Struban. In the mist and rain it’s easy to think every stone is a circle, I wasn’t far wrong as there are lots of medieval enclosures in the area.

I approached from Cringraval, east, with the rain lashing down. The new water proofs getting a good testing.

The dun, or hut circle on an island, is surrounded by a fallen wall with a causeway heading south from site. I found the start of the causeway, but no crossing over today to the 11 meter wide island.

Very beautiful site, even on a stormy day.

Visited 22/7/2019.

Park at the war memorial just east of Clachan on the A867, Lochmaddy road. After drying out from the morning’s adventures it was time to get drenched again. From the war memorial head north, there is a gate, up the hill and you’ll walk straight to the site. Its chamber cairn namesake is to the east.

Peat cutting has exposed a lot of sites in the Uists and that is the case here as several stones have appeared due to this. It probably also means that several stones are still to be found as the peat cutting went through the middle of the circle. One thing I have noticed about some the circles in North Uist is that the stones do seem to be different lengths, and they are made up of slabs and long stones. Cringraval is no different, some of the slabs remain upright whilst the longer stones are fallen.

The views west and south are spectacular with the sound of the Atlantic clearly heard. Also coming in from the Atlantic was rain, loads of it!

Visited 22/7/2019.

Further along the B891 is another dun, this one in the loch bearing the same name.

I walked along the B891 until the first track heading south, still the rain wouldn’t relent.

Walk past the house into some kind of scrapyard, go through this on to the shores of Lochan Dun Fhearchair. The dun is only 10m wide and all that remains is a small pile of stones.

Another once upon a time site, by now the rain was getting very heavy so a look at Balivanich and the purchase of yet more so called water proofs.

Visited 22/7/2019.

The next day arrives and a good look round some of Benbecula planned, sadly more hammering down rain. However two duns reasonably near land captured my eye on the map.

Towards the south of Benbecula take the B891 heading east and pull in at the first houes, on the south side of the road. The dun is in the bay directly behind the house.

Sadly not much remains of the dun except for a few stones round the edge. The causeway does remain being mainly submerged.

Visited 22/7/2019.

Just a short distance from the thatched cottage is the promontory fort situated in the bay just slightly to the north.

Follow the shore line to what looks like a turf covered causeway. On top of the old fort farm buildings have been built but look closely and the remnants of the forts outer wall can be seen surrounding the edge of the site.

Not much to see and a case of what once was.

Visited 21/7/2019.

We parked near the thatched homestead heading towards Flodda after visiting the circle at Gramisdale.

From here I jumped the gate walked south through and up the boggy field, luckily finding a smaller gate which led to an under used track leading the remaining standing stone. By this time the rain lashing down being pushed on by an Atlantic wind.

Sadly most of the stones are down except for a couple of slabs on their side. Despite the conditions I liked this site, on a sunny day there would be tremendous views.

Time to get back to the bottom of the hill.

Visited 21/7/2019.

Coming from the north take the first minor road heading east from the A865 as you arrive in Gramisdale, Benbecula. I went to the end of the road and was given permission to park.

On a sunny this is a beautiful place, on a dreich Scottish day it felt eerie almost ghost like. What is left of the circle is set in a boggy field, the most visible remnant being the solitary standing stone, several stones are fallen, some are broken and a couple look like they have dumped there. I counted 6 which I thought might be part of the original circle, the rest seemed iffy to me.

Still well worth a visit, the sole standing stone likes company :-)

Visited 21/7/2019.

A squelchy walk of about a 1/2 mile along the cliff top from Dun Hornary leads to the better known Dun Ban.

Although it is overgrown the walls are clearly visible and still stand at around 2m in height. It is described as a galleried dun or Broch. Fortunately the causeway can be seen clearly in some pics on the Canmore page. With the weather beginning to close in my pics show dark water but show the beginnings of the causeway. I’d the walking boots on as the wellingtons were still recovering from their exploits in Skye or I would have been tempted to walk across. Apparently it is shallow on the south and deep to the north, so maybe next time.

An impressive site, impressive loch.

Visited 21/7/2019.

With the weather on the turn we headed south on the A865 until the signpost indicating Grimsay/Griomasaigh (Norse – Grim’s Island), one of the islands connected by the causeways. Turn east along the minor road until the first signs of rock blasting on the north side. There is a place to park on the south side of the road, the beginnings of an old track.

I headed back north west on the edge of the cliff overlooking Loch Hornary, on a sunny day this a beautiful place (as we saw a few days later) but on this day it was very cloudy but still not raining. The main causeway is on the north side of the island and it looks like the beginnings of another heading to the south. Complex causeways are not unusual on these islands. The four stones set on edge mentioned by Beveridge can be seen in the second of photos towards the left side (west).

Beautiful place on a sunny day, beautiful place on a stormy day.

Visited 21/7/2019.

After a good look at Carnan Nan Long, we went back along the minor road taking the road west when it arrived. The track to Baleshare beach is signposted, plenty room to park. This is a popular place for campers and surfers but not on this day. They must have known the weather was on the turn with the temperature beginning to drop and the wind beginning to pick up.

We walked south down the beach heading towards a green mound. Sadly there isn’t much to see as the excavations appear to have been back filled. Still worth the effort for the views.

A look at the Baleshare Community Excavations, in the links, shows the huge amount of work that goes has gone here. Fantastic information, diagrams and photos included.

Visited 21/7/2019.

From Carnan Bhuide we headed back to the causeway and crossed into Baleshare. Follow the road until it ends, do not take the road that heads west.

Carnan Nan Long is a short walk east from the road end, there is a gate at the turning point. It must have been huge at some point as there is a massive footprint but it looks like a lot of stones have been carted way. (you pass a small ferm toun on the way to the site which might explain some it) It still sits at 26m by 20m wide and is almost 4m tall. A stone remains standing on the south side whilst on the north west side two large slabs are resting. Some erosion has happened to the north east.

Cracking position for a cairn, cracking site.

Visited 21/7/2019.

Just before the causeway to Baleshare, which means east village, take the minor road heading north and follow the sign to the sculpture, a bench like structure

Reflections sculpture is located at Claddach, Baleshare and marks the old crossing place to Baleshare before the causeway was built. The sculpture is by artist Colin Mackenzie and is a ceramic seat and is shaped reminiscent to the patterns in left in the sand at low tide.

The cairn can be seen from its modern counterpart by looking south to the wee peninsula, simply follow the coastline on a sometimes eroded path. The main approach is from the east and this gives the false impression that this an undisturbed turf covered monument. Undisturbed by human hands perhaps, natures most definitely. Sadly a lot of erosion has happened but at least that gives an indication of how the structure was built. A lot of cairn material lays strewn on the north side.

What is left is probably around 18m wide and 3m tall. Still impressive, despite the battering it takes. Carnan Buidhe means ‘little yellow cairn’.

A good start to the road end collection.

Visited 21/7/2019.

Beveridge found 19 stones, 5 up 14 down with one deliberately broken in two, he wasn’t to know that the island’s main road the A865 was to be built straight through the middle of it. Now 4 possibly stand on the east with 1 remaining on the west, with fallen stones inbetween.

A case of ‘what if’ but we didn’t blink as we walked from our base at Burnside between the villages of Clachan and Carinish, a very pleasant walk in which we played spot the stone circle. After the Free Church building look for the highest point to the south east, a heathery brown mound. Probably the reason the circle was built.

The walk ensured that quite a few of Skye’s beers would find a new home.

Visited 20/7/2019.

Cringraval is described by Erskine Beveridge as a chamber cairn and I wouldn’t disagree. The entrance is in the east between two standing slabs with the chamber slabs still standing though maybe not in their original place. What remains of the houked cairn sits at 10 x 9m wide and almost 1m tall. Add a few years and the Iron Age folks might have used the cairn as an enclosure or roundhouse. Magnificent all round views on a sunny day from the highest point in the area.

We parked at the entrance to the turbine offices, opposite the start of the B894 and headed west up the wee hill. Not really steep but full of wee holes.

Visited 20/7/2019.

From Boraig, on the A855 and head west. Now we got very lucky as the gate beneath Dun Beag was open so I simply drove carefully in a short distance, well clear of the road. This is the track that Les describes which goes round the hill and up to the dun. Next time for the dun.

The Balmeanach cairn still stands at over 14m wide and 1m tall, a bit of cairn robbing has flattened the top. There is the remains of a more up to date wall but there might also be kerbs on the west side, at least 2 stones are earthfast.

A great position for a great site with great views of Staffin Bay.

Traffic
Now on the day we visited it was clearly the day for idiot drivers as we were twice practically shoved from the road as people rushed to the top. At the top it seemed if everybody with a car was here, some of Scotland’s most legendary walks/climbs are in the vicinity. Fortunately there is a car park in the middle of being built (with signs about thieving), it will need to big when finished, however with all the traffic the road is beginning to fall apart. To get through to the other side is nervous drive through cars and a hamburger van crammed in at both sides. Once through it’s a clear run to rejoin the A855 above Uig. Just time for another idiot, as we we were slowing down at the ‘give way sign’ to rejoin the A87 we were overtaken at the junction by someone speeding towards the ferry. Unbelievable or words probably stronger!

Visited 20/7/2019.

Public road announcement over.

We found this site to be almost ‘cute’ amongst beautiful scenery. The Quiraing, which I’ve climbed a few times before will not attempted today as there is a ferry to catch, dominates with the island of Staffin and the Old Man of Storr holding their own.

The what is it Carn Ban can be seen to north and still looks like a cairn after all of these years.

From the village follow Gladman’s directions, we parked near the tiny astro turf football pitch. Once on the flat look for a green mound, this contains the chamber which still has five stones in place. Some kerbs remain on the edge of the site.

Not much left, but worth it for the views, we loved it.

Visited 20/7/2019.

We approached following the same route as the Thelonius’s for the first time, and from this side I thought it was dun. Many years ago I’d walked from Garafad (Cadha Riach) and thought it was a cairn. From there, as Gladman says, it looks like a sizeable cairn.

The thing, to me, that made my mind up is when walls fall from a dun (or fort/broch etc) even if on flattish ground, the stone scatter is much bigger, nearby buildings tend to be built next to rather than into (i.e. Eyre Manse cairn), also stones for cairn building tend to be hard to build or the wrong shape for walls (as I know from restoring many old dry steen dykes) whereas stones for duns tend to be built, therefore easier to use.

Anyway that’s my thoughts, as for the dun, beautiful views of my old friend The Quiraing, Staffin and everywhere really. Like Canmore I think the entrance is in the north west.

Visited 20/7/2019.

My obsession with the end of roads has landed me in all sorts of bother before, normally concerning the state of the road. This time slightly different. From the cairn at Eyre Manse I headed back onto the A87, headed towards Uig before taking the minor road to Romesdal Mill. After asking permission to park I left, leaving A and B to admire the mill and scenery.

The owner at the house said walk along the shore and I’d reach my destination. She didn’t know about the ancient monument she could see from her kitchen window. She also omitted mentioning the River Romesdal.

Luckily after falling in a hole of water earlier, the boots were replaced with the wellies. A short walk from cottage to river, and fortunately there appeared to some stones to jump onto. Job done I skipped across the river, climbed up a wee slope, opened a gate and walked straight to the cairn.

This is a well shaped cairn with fantastic views, Dun Cruinn, various Cuillins and ancient sites everywhere else, wonderful. Even better the site appears undamaged, apart from some houking in the centre, sitting at 21m wide being 2m tall. Kerbs do appear surrounding the site but most a grass covered. Cairn material pokes it head thru all over. Little known, it gives a resonably close neighbour a run for its money.

This was the last site of the day so quickly back to the car and up to Uig for something to eat before finding our accomodation near Duntulm. Quickly became slowly as the stones that had marked the crossing point had vanished, the tide had come in. Trying to cross I found the wellies weren’t going to be high enough so upstream I went and found a place with plenty rocks to jump onto and get across. No falling into the deep pools for me.

With Highland Cattle safely in the next field, I made my away across a field to come out a little way west of the Romesdal Mill.

A great day rummaging around on the way to Uig.

Visited 19//7/2019.

I’m fascinated by the end of roads so we took the first road south west after the standing stones at Eyre and parked at the new house. We looked around to ask permission but nobody was around so I jumped the fence. This must have been put up since the visit of Les so the cairn is now in a different field, for a change this field had cows instead of sheep.

The only thing I would add, the two stones to the north side of the cairn are earthfast and probably the remains of a kerb.

Visited 19/7/2019.

The walk from the Snizort Cairn to the ‘Church’ cairn is a fairly short distance to the north east, however there are a couple widish jumps over burns/ditches to negotiate before reaching the site.

With the beautiful scenery of Loch Eyre to the north and the surrounding hills, this site was well chosen as a final resting place. It still sits at over 10m wide and is 1m tall. Straggly heather and turf cover the cairn, an upright stone sits near the centre. There is also a turf covered kerb. Sadly there has been some houking in the north west, but like the Snizort cairn the overall shape hasn’t been to badly affected.

The route back to car, A and B also needed a few long jumps but I returned dry. Time to hello to Loch Eyre.

Visited 19/7/2019.

The Snizort cairn is completely overshadowed by its massive and more famous neighbour, Carn Liath. I found this to be a cracking wee site situated near to the River Hautlin and the beginnings of Loch Eyre. Only a short walk north on, today, flat dry land.

It is 10m tall and almost 0,5m tall having had a bit of a houk in the middle. One thing the houking reveals is the cairn material and somehow it doesn’t seem to alter the turf/fen covered cairns shape. To the north and north east possible kerbs poke their heads through.

Nice to see Carn Liath has a wee friend, even nicer, another wee friend isn’t far away.

Visited 19/7/2019.

We parked nearer the church close to the sheep pens and a gate which conveniently opened into the area containing the three cairns. With a change of clothes and boots I was ready for jumping across some ditches and burns to head straight south to Carn Liath.

A massive chamber cairn, almost 25 wide by 5m tall, it has been slightly robbed by the dry steen dykers and some workmen looking for a lintel. These workmen also found a cist on the North East side containg bones. Maybe bones from the battle of 1539? Glorious all round views especially to the north with Loch Eyre and two more cairns.

Stunning site.

Visited 19/7/2019.

Achadh Nam Bard Cairn NG42565 50642

From the Kensalyre Standing Stone I headed over increasingly soggy ground to the cairn which sits a short distance from were I’d started.

It is a small cairn being around 4.5m wide and is more than 0.5m at best in height. The open cist mentioned by Canmore probably still exists but is covered to much in heather to make out clearly. They are right in saying that a kerb does surround the edge.

One thing they don’t mention is the water filled hole I fell into, well camouflaged, just to the south of the cairn.

Achadh Nam Bard Standing Stone NG42630 50581

The wee, emphasis on wee, standing stone only sits at a height of less than 1m. Like all the other sites here it has tremendous views all round, the only eyesore being the passing traffic.

Grid refs are to avoid confusion.

Visited 19/7/2019

The taller of the two standing stones looks down on the three sites being a walk of only 240m over squelchy heather covered ground from the roadside cairn.

The flat topped stone is about 1m tall with no markings but has superb all round views.

Now onto the second cairn, in this confusing place.

Visited 19/7/2019.

There is a layby just before the the B8036 junction which serves as the perfect place to stop and visit four sites.

The first site is simple, follow the fence north on the east side of the road and you’ll walk straight to the cairn. This site was once 20m wide and 2m high. It still has the height but it has been badly damaged. Much has happened, road improvements to the A87 have led to west side being removed, sometime in it’s past has been houked and most recently a fence has been plonked on top.

Despite all of this it has great views of multiple sites plus kerbs remain on the east side.

Visited 19/7/2019.

The first stop of this trip was at the Borve Stone Row or possible circle at the tiny village of Borve , just to the east of the A87.

Many people have various ideas of what is going on here and after a good look round I also had some thoughts.

The three standing stones have wee stones either side of them, could this be the ‘sign of the cross’? Probably not, but it’s an idea that has stuck in my head, much like many a song better to get it out!

Visited 19/7/2019.

The walk between Spynie and Phoineas could described as difficult also included : fences, steep climbs, a maze of paths, mud etc etc. Conditions between Phoineas and Cabrich (or Dun Mor) are quite a bit easier as we swung north west and then east eventually finding a path which we thought would make things easier. It did until we ran out of path on the last section, a steep climb containing a tree that stole my rucksack. Once at the top easy enough, keep going east and the fort is reached.

The fort was built in two sections described by Canmore as a ‘citadel’ on the south west crags and a ‘bailey’ on the the flatter eastern side. There are remnants of a rampart swinging from the east to the south. Paths in the north east mark the entrance to the site.

A great way to end a superb day hiking around the Beauly area. We ended by looking over to were we’d started at Redcastle’s crannog, a stunning view of the Beauly Firth, also stunning was the scenery around Ben Wyvis.

Take me to the ice cream shop :-)

Visited 13/4/2019.

From Castle Spynie we headed north west going downhill, climbing through a deer fence first, until we met a forestry track, follow this west until it curves round north and eventually becomes more of a grass track. Moss and grass covered dry steen dykes border the edges upon which was parked the remnants of a car. How it had managed to get there is a mystery as no traffic had been on this track since the car itself. Luckily no skeletons. Keep going until the grass covered track meets a proper forestry and head east. When a small valley is to the north climb the hill to the east. This part is treeless and more of a mud bath until the trees re-emerge at the top. Once back into the trees keep going east.

The north and east sides are well protected by sheer rocks however to the west, our route, the outer wall of the fort can be seen as six large blocks still there. The impressive standing stone might be a more recent addition. Remnants of wall can also be found to the south east where the slope is slightly more gentler. Nothing else remains of the fort, its centre featureless.

Still a good place to visit, if visiting Spynie you really should visit here as well.

Visited 13/4/2019.

Corffhouse is famous for lot of reasons, one of them being the stupidity of the parking. Luckily we had no problem, but there isn’t anywhere for more than one or two cars to park. There are local walks, the famous bridge crossing the River Beauly and the steps leading up to the war memorial which also leads to the fort. It is just to the south of Beauly and slightly to west of the bridge on the A862.

After climbing the stairs to the war memorial keep going until a clearing in the woods. This is the forts interior. Much of the defences have been removed, some remain in the north with low ramparts and wide ditches. These show that the fort was over 70m in width. To the south all the defences have been removed, the rest having been destroyed by quarrying. However like every fort everyone has been to the one thing that can’t be removed is the view. Stunning views east towards the river and the Beauly Firth.

Pity about the parking situation, a pleasant site on a pleasant day.

Visited 13/4/2019.

Head west from Blairgowrie towards Dunkeld on the A923 looking for Loch Marlee. Just at the start of the loch there is a layby with the small wood containing the site just beyond.

Canmore have had problems with this place in the past but I got lucky, the vegetation seems to died down a bit, jumped a wee dyke and fence to land on the east site of the cairn, which resembles many of the barrows reasonably nearby. It is huge, 30m wide by at least 2m high. Field clearance appears to have been dumped on top. In the middle of site there is a weird square of stones, pure luck or maybe the remnants of a cist. Despite a good look I couldn’t find anything that resembled a capstone.

The site is also surrounded by an old dry steen dyke which helps retain its circular shape. A signpost says that the farmers believe in conservation, hopefully this means prehistoric sites as well. The evidence is good as previous visits to nearby sites have clearly showed that many of the farmers in the area do care.

Visited 9/7/2019.

For this visit, en route to Dunkeld, I parked just to west of the River Isla, at Ruthven Farm. From here I walked back east over the bridge. Despite the slow down signs and give ways I don’t think local drivers pay much attention to slowing down.

Just to the east, beyond the cottages, take the track into the field and follow it as heads back west towards to the River Isla. At this point the track heads north leading straight to the site.

A good drenching and a beautiful river walk made for an atmospheric site.

Visited 9/7/2019.

Dun Mor is set high above Beauly with spectacular views south, east and west. Almost everywhere you look the surrounding hills have forts or duns. This dun has to be one of the best.

From Beauly take Croyard Road, go through the cross roads, there is a sharp turn south west then north west, at the end of the road turn north east, at the first sharp corner there is a chalet park. I asked permission from the owner of the chalets to park who was delighted that the fort had visitors. She also had good knowledge of chamber cairns to the east. Walk a short distance to the west, jump the fence and you land on the outer rampart.

The double rampart is in very condition despite some quarrying on the southern edge. These ramparts surround the fort, on the eastern side stone work can be seen underneath the trees. The cup marked rock remained invisible despite my best efforts. There seems to be a debate about the site being a cairn, I saw nothing to support that theory. At 60m by 54m it would with ramparts up to 3m in height it seems unlikely.

I loved this site, nice sunny weather and tremendous views.

Visited 13/4/2019.

The Redcastle crannog is easily enough spotted on a nice clear day when the tide is reasonably out, so it proved when we had superb weather for our visit.

Leave the A9 at Charleston and take minor road west following the Beauly Firth, as you reach the crannog there is a massive passing place just before corners that lead to village and castle.

There was no causeway to the site, as Ian Suddaby (CDA Archaeology) explained to us. Hopefully I’ll get his field report and post it here. He had found that the Iron Age folks had probably used the crannog as a place for skinning various beasts to use their hides. If we had taken waders we could have walked or stumbled across.

Still a beautiful site to start the day, one which I’d see from higher places with superb company.

Visited 13/4/2019.

After a long and fairly annoying look around the ‘improved field’ at Brae Farm we headed south west back along the minor road until the Culbo junction. Follow the road until the second major corner and take the farm track south.

Canmore has the cairn situated amongst trees, however these trees are long gone and a new fir tree plantation was being planted when I arrived which meant that I could clearly see the cairn, slightly uphill, to the south.

An easy walk of about 400 meters leads to the cairn. It has been clipped by a track to the east and has had field clearance bunged on northern side. On the eastern side a couple of kerbs remain in place. Some type of plant grows on the southern side as well, whatever it is it makes the cairn look in need of a hair cut. On top of the cairn the earthfast stones are still there and at various points cairn material is clearly visible. To the east there is a chamber cairn, to the west and north glorious views of Wyvis and the Cromarty Firth.

A fine cairn to end a fine days hiking in the Black Isle, despite the untidiness of Brae Farm. Better get there in the near future or once again the cairn will be hidden by trees.

Visited 10/4/2019.

This much damaged cairn is in a corner of a disaster area to the north of the barns at Brae Farm. The kerb in the north arc is fairly well still preserved whilst others lay strewn everywhere around. Yet it still survives at just over 7m wide and at its tallest is 1m, the collapse in the cairn appears to have been filled in. There is a lot of rubble lying about thanks to the ‘improvements’.

Brae Farm Chamber Cairn NH 6615 6281

As for the chamber cairn supposedly nearby, stones were lying everywhere, gorse/whins piled up. Will go back to have a look, but hugely annoying.

Visited 10/4/2019.