drewbhoy
Looking south westish towards Borve, another nearby cairn to the south.
Image credit: drew/A/B
I wonder if this makes things clearer, good aerial snaps tho!
And something else to confuse an already confused Drew. :-)
Image credit: drew/A/B
Looking south east, hints of a wheelhouse perhaps.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Grianan to the south west.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Almost looks like a small cist, almost................
Image credit: drew/A/B
Looks like it might have belonged to a souterrain, might have....
Image credit: drew/A/B
Remnants of a souterrain, maybe yes maybe no
Image credit: drew/A/B
Our approach was from Dun Bharpa, to the west.
Image credit: drew/A/B
This looking north west.
Image credit: drew/A/B
What appears to a house within a house, what an intriguing place this is.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Whale bones and some of the UK’s oldest steps are among new finds unveiled at the famous Ness of Brodgar Neolithic settlement in Orkney.
More info :
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-62594500
From Dun Cuier I made my way back down to the A888 and walked south to Borve. The remaining standing stone is easily spotted from the road so I jumped the fence and went for a look.
The stone that still stands, at a fairly jaunty angel, is almost 1.7m in length. The other is resting, a finely shaped stone, having a length of almost 3m.
Sadly you can imagine sand eventually covering the site, like a nearby cairn and some cairns that seem to have vanished.
Lovely setting.
Visited 10/07/2022.
Slightly to the north of the 1 up and 1 down standing stone site at Borve is a grass covered mound described as a chamber cairn.
Only 4 stones can be seen, erosion or animal damage is on the north side which means there isn’t much to see.
However, if you look to the east especially if you follow the Craigston road, some of Barras best sites will be found. To the west is the remains of Dun Cille.
Lovely location, it would be nice if the site was excavated.
Visited 10/07/2022.
Rare microscopic crustaceans have been discovered in two caves in the Highlands.
More info :
Looking south, the cloud and mist might be rising, it might be coming back down.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Over the ridge south east is Balnacraig, straight south more cairns.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Agree with the Ts that this is the easiest of the duns/brochs to get to, except for the completely ruined Dun Cille to the south, and one of the best preserved.
After a morning hiking around sites north, I came over to the west coast to start the afternoon’s ‘traipsin aboot’.
I parked on the minor road at Allathasdal, thru the gae to the east, then head north jumping the Abhainn Mhuileann Domhaill, river for a dull mill.
Head north/north east and the site will quickly come into view. Superb all round views, South Uist can be seen in the north.
Beautiful place to visit and Canmore provide us with brilliant aerial photography which can be seen in the links section.
A must visit!
Visited 10/07/2022.
Parking can be found just after the cattle grid on the Ard Mhidhinis road. The head back west, jump the ditch, climb up, jump the fence keep heading up and look for a large green patch with scattered stones.
Much like Talamhanta and Balnacraig, I’d see the next day, parts of the monument are hard to decipher. I saw a few stones standing in the place someone thought was a stone circle, the cairn at NF70310373 looks like it has vanished but there are remnants at NF70290377. At this point I agree with one of Canmore’s contributors who thought the site was a long cairn. I would also add that it has been severely trashed.
Various walls, enclosures have been been built, but several kerbs remain in the north east, some of the height is retained in the north but towards the south it tapers to nothing except green grass.
Walls have also been built and clearly some kind of ‘but and ben’ also. Just when you’re about to give up something catches the eye. A cist, south, east and west slabs remain in place, an even harder to spot cist is mentioned by Canmore, after a good look the upright slabs are found, it is a cist but stones would have to be removed to give a clearer picture, a third cist couldn’t be found.
Superb views east, on a clear day the Cuillins (Skye) and the mainland, to the north and south. Beinn Eireabhal to the west.
Not visually a great site, an interesting site deserving of a dig perhaps.
Visited 10/07/2022
Looking south towards the chamber cairn, later peoples have made enclosures, perhaps a hint of a wheelhouse.
Image credit: drew/A/B
It must have been massive, then later centuries intervened.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Over the first ridge and uphill is Dun Bharpa and 3 other cairns.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Borve to the west, gradually coming out of the mist.
Image credit: drew/A/B
Add mist on the hills and the whole atmosphere changes.
Image credit: drew/A/B
The higher part behind the gravestones is the dun, piles of stones and nearby dykes probably formerly part of the dun.
Image credit: drew/AMJ
The south west arc, almost like a scene from an Empire Of The Sun video.
Image credit: drew/AMJ
The south part of the dun, large blocks are visible.
Image credit: drew/AMJ
The south east, the circular shape can be made out.
Image credit: drew/AMJ