strathspey

Well, I eventually got back to this site this afternoon – hoping in vane for a slight covering of snow or frost.

The strange little artificial flower arrangement was still there – or the remnants. No new funerary offerings to be seen.

I’ve added some new photos. Different light today highlighted different features.

My first post for some considerable time....

Had a walk up to the cairn last weekend (first time in a few years). Surprised to see some disturbance around the remaining circumference. Material doesn’t appear to have been removed but its certainly been moved quite significantly and then replaced again. No sign of vehicles but significant effort would have been needed.

This is a rather splendid example of an Orkney-Cromarty chambered cairn.

Situated in mature birch woodlands about 1/4 mile west of Kinrive West long cairn, first impressions are wow!

There is a real impression of scale and size. Although the body of the cairn is long since gone, the outer circumference is visible in its entirety. This serves to frame the remaining huge and regularly shaped chamber stones.

Unfortunately these remaining stones are in such a jumble it was difficult for my untrained eye to put some order to what I was seeing. I was actually quite content just to sit on a tree trunk and enjoy the very positive feeling these massive stones exemplify in a very special setting.

Theres a very well preserved cist in the NW quarter.

Access is relatively easy, if a little damp underfoot.

Visited Fri 23rd Sept 2011

ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_080/80_025_033.pdf

her.highland.gov.uk/hbsmrgatewayhighland/DataFiles/LibraryLinkFiles/37169.pdf

This is Kinrive Wests’ wee brother. This cairn is as short as the West cairn is long.

Only about 40ft long by 20ft wide, lying about 150ft east of its big brother, and sitting on a more east -west axis. To be honest it doesnt look like a long cairn.

The major part of the western section of the cairn has been robbed out but the eastern part is virtually intact.

There are 3 grave markers atop little mounds on the cairn – farm pets judging by the inscriptions. a bit weird and surreal seeing the cairn still being used for its original purpose.......!

A large and recently placed pile of stones on top of the cairn had my imagination working overtime – no grave marker though!

This cairn – the 1st of 3 that I visited this day is only about 3 miles from my front door and its taken me 2 years to get round to visiting it.

The term long cairn could have been invented to describe this rather large monument. It is in excess of 200ft long running roughly east-west and about a uniform 45ft wide. Due to the slope of the hill it is about 3-4m tall on the lower edge and about 1m tall on the upper edge.

The cairn lies at the lower edge of cultivated upland pasture which is surrounded by mature birch woodland. The surrounding fields are full of regular shaped lumps and bumps (and sheep) – some of which are described on the FC info board which sits on a plinth just below the cairn.

With the exception of some robber holes, the cairn looks virtually intact to me ( which is a bit of a surprise given the almost total destruction of the nearby Kings Head cairn) although there are no signs of any horns. There are some enormous (clearance) stones on the northern flank. I couldnt see any sign of the stone wall mentioned in Canmore.

I know (from Henshall) that the RCAHMS has done extensive field surveys on this hillside. I would love to see the results.

I spoke to one of the lads who farms here. He said he has never been asked before about the cairns- he only sees the occasional mountain biker who uses the road to access the hilltops and tracks over the hill into Strathrory and the Struie .The FC info board was built years ago – shame that no-one sees it.

Site visited Fri 23rd Sept 2011