13/05/2016 – Walking the fence line off Lammer Law back to West Hopes we passed this hillfort. Viewed it from afar as I was a bit sleepy to go over and the electric fence had got me twice already by then and I didn’t what to give it its hat trick. Feel a bit bad about not making the effort as it does look a good little site. Canmore mentions it being vitrified.
thelonious
13/05/2016 – Starting from the end of the public road just south of East Hopes (Good parking NT 55741 63272) we headed south past West Hopes (location was used in the opening scenes of the film ‘Greyfriars Bobby’ 1961). Good tracks all the way to the cairn on top of Lammer Law. A fine walk on the hills, looping round Hopes reservoir back to the car. Though not the highest point of the Lammermuir Hills, Lammer Law is perhaps better known than Meikle Says Law due to its name and its big cairn at the summit. The footprint of the cairn is a good size and views across the Firth of Forth and over to the Pentland Hills are very impressive. Bit cloudy today so the far stuff was a little tricky to make out. Well worth a visit this one and one I had looked forward to for a while so it was good to finally make the trip. The walk over to Whitestone Cairn, east of here, on Harestone Hill from West Hopes looks good as well – next time.
10/05/2016 – Now long closed down but the cafe next door is a good place to break up a journey.
18/04/2016 – We spent the day before round the Loch Ruthven area, east of Loch Ness, looking for cairns. Good fun trying to find them but there wasn’t much to see with some of them. With that in mind, we thought a revisit to Clava was in order on the way back to Aberdeen. Easy to find and lots to see, that will do me.
This really is a top drawer site. Last time here the cairns were the main focus for me. Today I spent most of my time walking round the stones that form circles round the cairns. They really are good. Lots of individual character to them.
There was a lovely tawny owl sitting high in the trees above the stones, like a silent guardian last time but sadly we didn’t see it today.
Very peaceful visit with the place to ourselves for most of the time.
Clava Cairns – one of this island’s megalithic wonders.
17/04/2016 – Well this is a bit of an odd one. First finding it proved pretty tricky. Grid ref from Canmore has this cairn about 70m west, in the middle of a lot of trees, so we spent a good bit of time ducking under branches trying to find it in the wrong place. We gave up and walked out of the wood into a clearing and there it was. So if you go looking for it, best to walk along the road until you see a ride and head straight up. Bit easier than our way!
As cairns go it’s not that exciting. Very overgrown and I couldn’t see any kerb stones. To be honest it took me a while to convince myself I was actually looking at a cairn at all.
Of more interest is what Canmore (link below) has to say about it and the two stones 27m and 35m SW of the cairn. Hints of astronomical significance maybe.
17/04/2016 – It had been a good day so far. A couple of hills, a couple of cairns, sunny weather for the most part and a nice area for a walk. The day was getting on but we decided to visit one more hill as it was too fine to stop just yet, even though I was starting to feel a bit sleepy. Looked OK on the map, quick bob up the hill and then three cairns on the way back down. Good parking at side of Loch Duntelchaig (NH 6450 3237) where the track heads NE through the forest. We left the track near its highest point, just as it turns W and followed the fence line N and then beside the deer fence E to the trigpoint (good views).
Retracing our steps downhill we had a look for the cairn at NH 6478 3320 (Canmore – Cairn Gollan). This one beat us at hide and seek in the trees and undergrowth so we gave up and moved W on the track, through hut circles and then SW alongside a fence. The path is W of the fence but stick on the E side as that’s the side Eastertown cairn is on.
Eastertown cairn is roughly at NH 6438 3295, in a small clearing just inside the trees along the fence (You can see the clearing on Google Earth). Look for the light of the clearing through the trees as you walk down the fence line. The cairn is a decent size but very overgrown. It has a small modern cairn on top, but I couldn’t make out any of the kerb stones.
We carried on along the track and then through the trees south back to the road, stopping to have a look for Stac Dearg kerb cairn. Not the best cairns round here but the walk along the track, through the trees is good.
17/04/2016 – We parked at Loch Ceo Glais and walked south along quiet roads to the start of the forest track just after Eudinuagain. Makes for a fine walk and parking isn’t that great nearer the hill. Follow the forest track round the hill W then S then take the ride SW and another ride E. Easy going and the cairn is not that hard to find in open woodland. I really liked this one. Nice size with plenty of stones. Canmore makes no mention of an exposed chamber but the middle looks like a collapsed chamber to me. Some pretty big stones in the cairn as well. Great vibe to this site and the top of the hill is worth a visit for the view as well.
17/04/2016 – Easy parking in the layby just after the end of Loch Geo Glais. The cairn is a steepish but short walk straight up. OS map 1:25000 has the cairn higher up the hill but it’s right next to the pylon directly above the layby.
The heather has been burnt in the area so the stones are nice and visible at the moment. It’s a small cairn but the kerb is good. I like that it was two-toned. One half of the kerbs are white stones, the other red. I didn’t think I’d seen this before until I revisited Balnuaran of Clava the day after and saw that the stones round the NE passage grave were two-toned as well. The location of this kerb cairn is good with great views for such a small gain in height.
We carried on up the hill as there is a cairn marked in italics on the OS map on the 442m top. It’s not on Canmore but I thought we’d have a look on the way to Beinn a’Bhathaich. It was small, pretty ruined and didn’t look that ancient so I’ve not added the site.
20/03/2016 – We were going to come off the hills just past Ditchling Beacon on our walk from Lewes but the pull of Wolstonbury Hill proved too strong. It had been an overcast day but the sun finally came out as we started the climb to the top. Good earthwork surrounding the large summit area. I liked this one. Nice place to while away a few hours. We headed down the steep north side and made our way to Burgess Hill. A fine site to finish our trip down south with.
20/03/2016 – The highest top on our walk from Lewes. Not too much to see round the trigpoint. We had a sit and took in the view north, which is very good. Lots of people there having Sunday strolls. Makes you wonder how long these paths have been walked.
18/03/2016 – Walking over from Alfriston to Lewes we had only one chance for a coffee shop and that was when we passed through Glynde. Our luck was in as the Little Cottage Tea Rooms is located just across the road from the footpath up to Mount Caburn. Refuelled on coffee and carrot cake, we made the short but steepish climb up to the hillfort. I’d seen the hillfort from the train the day before and it had looked a good one. Crossing over the defences, we made our way over to the bench on the south side for a sit. This really is a nice hillfort and well worth a visit. The location and view is very good. We headed north to Cliffe Hill and then down into Lewes. There looks to be quite a few good walks round here that take in the hillfort. Top area.
18/03/2016 – Nice round barrow on summit of Firle Beacon (the long barrow is 220m west of the summit). The view is the main reason to visit here, it’s very good. Bit overcast today but the paragliders were enjoying the weather, the sky was full of them.
17/03/2016 – In a landscape full of tumuli, this bowl barrow stands out. Crossing Wilmington Hill from Jevington to Alfriston is a lovely walk. Just west of the top, this barrow is visible from a good distance away. Nice ditch and even though it’s been dug into in the past I loved the shape of the barrow. Great view as well. Completely forgot about the long man whilst there as I was in a bit of a daydream. Be good to go back someday as I would of liked to have seen it. Another fine day out walking and looking at old stuff.
17/03/2016 – Every hill seems to have a tumuli on it round here. This one on Wilmington Hill, ain’t much different looking to the rest but the location is fine and the walk to it is good. A place to stop and just sit by. No need to rush the view.
17/03/2016 – I liked this one. We had a fine walk over from East Dean Hill trigpoint to the south, passing a fair few tumuli along the way. Good view all around from the top and a nice blue sky. We sat for awhile before heading off west to Wilmington Hill.
25/12/2015 – Managed a quick bob up Moel y Gaer to see this hillfort on a wet Christmas day. Luckily the rain had stopped for the short time we were there. It’s a nice fort and the location and view is very good. Worth a look and not too much climb.
26/09/2015 – Good access from Dunnet Forest car park. Only a short walk across a field to this one. Down as a mound on the maps but excavation has found it to be a broch. Not much to see, just a small grassy mound with the odd stone. Just north of the broch is a hut circle I really liked. A few remaining stones make up a nice little cell within the hut circle, maybe a place to sleep.
26/09/2015 – Two cairns marked on the OS map just next to the main road and to be honest, not the most exciting. Both small grassy lumps in an area of larger grassy lumps and bumps. Be good to know if they are definite cairns.
27/09/2015 – Felt a bit fed up midweek, so as we had the next Monday off, we decided to revisit Dunnet Head for the weekend. I’d been before but after seeing thesweetcheat’s photo on here a few years back I couldn’t remember if I’d actually been to the top. Still it’s a fine place and well worth another trip, so off we went.
We took the train up. It’s a nice journey and my neck was aching a little by the time we reached Thurso from looking out for all the old stuff we could see from the window. I gave a little nod to Citizen Cairn’d as we went through Strath of Kildonan. Even saw a few of its cairns as we went by.
Started the walk from Dunnet the next day. A lovely circuit up the road to the Lighthouse then looped back west along the clifftops to Dunnet. About 12 miles and a really fine walk.
The cairn, at the high point of Dunnet Head, has been built over by a viewing area, so it’s not in great shape but the location is amazing. We were lucky with the weather and the view over to Orkney was great. Hoy looking so near. My GPS told me as I sat by the cairn that Ring of Brodgar was only 38km away in a straight line, not that you can see it from here but it felt close.
A fine visit and well worth going to if you are in the area.
We took the train home the following day. It always seems longer on the way back.
17/09/2015 – Binsey is one of the last humps and bumps of the Lake District going north. Good parking and access from the west, track all the way to the summit. Cairn on top is pretty trashed but must have been a good one when first built. The walk up is fine and not too steep. The view from the top is very good and probably the better reason to go then the cairn. Nice view of the north side of Skiddaw and looking north Dumfries and Galloway looks almost touchable.
14/09/2015 – I don’t think I’ve been as excited for ages as I was when walking to this circle. Having seen so many lovely photos on TMA of Castlerigg before I went, I couldn’t wait to see it for myself. A nice walk from Keswick along good footpaths set the scene before getting there. I know I shouldn’t have been, but I was still surprised to see it was as lovely in real life as on the screen. A wonderful circle of stones, with a near unparalleled backdrop of hills. The setting is just perfect. Yes, it’s busy with people, but they come and they go and we did manage to get the circle to ourselves for a few precious minutes. A megalithic must visit.
12/09/2015 – Not much to add to everyone else’s fieldnotes apart from to say I’ve been here and you know, I thought it was just great. Weather was a bit dull and rainy on the way there but luckily it stopped just as we arrived. I don’t know why but I wasn’t that excited about this one beforehand. Really went because it is so well known and I liked the name. A few people there when we arrived but we soon had the circle to ourselves. The longer I spent just dawdling around the stones, the more the place grew on me. Long Meg is a lovely big stone and some of the stones that make up this massive circle are just great. There is one big dobby stone on the west side near to where we parked that I really liked. All in all, a great visit and a fantastic circle.
11/09/2015 – Started from the car park in Abington. A fine walk up the old roman road to visit Castle Hill then onto Tewsgill Hill before making our way across to visit the fort on Arbory Hill. A great place for a walk. As others have mentioned the straight up the hill approach is a steep one, it was tough enough on the knees on the way down. It does give you a good idea of how good a location the fort has. I wouldn’t have wanted to have been part of any attacking group from this side. The fort is a good one, great walls, but for me the location is what makes this one special. Well worth a visit.
04/08/2015 – Seeing the photos on TMA of this circle a few months back left such an impression on me. I knew that given the first chance I would try to make my way here to see the stones for myself. If you have access to a car getting there is no problem but it’s not too bad by bus either. There is a bus that runs to Ballynoe but it’s not that frequent. We instead took the 17A bus from Newcastle to Downpatrick. We got off at Ballydugan crossroads on the A25. A couple of miles walk on quietish country roads and we made it to the signposted path to Ballynoe stone circle. The overgrown path off the road to the circle is really lovely and at this time of year it felt like walking through a gateway to another realm. After a few minutes we reached the circle. To folk that have already been I’m sure it will come as no surprise to read that I found Ballynoe stone circle to be as wonderful as I had hoped. A fantastic circle of stones surrounding a cairn with its own kerb. Some lovely outliers as well. Lots to look at and a great location. We sat just outside the circle to have our sandwiches. Just looking across to the stones and the landscape beyond. A perfect few hours spent doing not much of nothing.
03/08/2015 – After visiting the cairns on Slieve Donard it was nice to walk the quiet ground on Slieve Commedagh. Just us and the hill. A small cairn is situated on the summit. Not much to look at maybe but the location and vibe/feeling was just wonderful. Lovely views all round. My sort of place.
03/08/2015 – Really liked this cairn. Good size and the view of the landscape far below is fantastic. Much quieter than the summit of Slieve Donard just a short distance south. Top site.
03/08/2015 – We had a few days holiday spare so decided to make the trip to Ireland to visit Slieve Donard. A big hill with a couple of cairns on top sounded good to me. I’d had my eye on this trip since looking across at the Mournes from the Isle of Man a few years back. Good to finally make it.
Starting from Newcastle (great place to stay, ice cream and chippy heaven) it’s a pretty straight forward climb through a lovely wood and then alongside Glen River up to the Mourne Wall. From there the path steepens to the top of Slieve Donard. I’m a bit under the weather at the moment but even on a good day I think I would have found the climb hard going. The last 200 metres gain was tough and I was glad to reach the top. Great Cairn on the summit is quite a size and the view was amazing when the cloud lifted for a brief time. Better still to walk the short distance north to Lesser cairn, great place for a sit and quieter than the top
26/06/2015 – I wasn’t that keen on this one. I think my mood was a little low from the rain so I didn’t give it a fair chance. The location felt a bit odd, not farmland and not really hillside. Heading back over the rise to Strathgarry there was some nice limestone to look at which cheered me up a little.
26/06/2015 – Cairn marked on OS map. Not much to see. Small cist just showing through the heather. If you want to get someone interested in prehistory I’d maybe pick elsewhere for their first site :-)
26/06/2015 – Parking area at Balrobbie Farm. Good access onto the hillside (steepish path). We then headed west past Ardtulichan, some lovely cup marked rocks round here. The path marked on the OS map takes you pretty close to the 4 poster. Nice site with great views. Weather by this point was rubbish so we thought we can’t get any wetter so decided to walk on over the rise to have a look at the standing stones on the other side. A soggy but fun(ish) walk.
26/06/2015 – I liked this one. Thanks to George and others for making my soggy walk to Strathgarry 4 poster a bit more interesting :-))
26/06/2015 – On the way to Strathgarry 4 poster. Nice split rock with cup marks, Great view.
26/06/2015 – Possible cup marked rock (NN 91061 64289) above Lettoch. Rock is about 100m to the south and downhill from a hut circle (?) (NN 91065 64401). If you are passing I would be interested in another opinion :-)
Fine area for a walk.
21/06/2015 – After a visit to Glen Clune cairn, a short walk north of here, we had a look for this cairn. Canmore has entries for two different cairns very close to each other, Sithean Na Cluana and Strathgroy. I had a look about for a second cairn but I think both entries refer to the same cairn. This ‘fairy knoll’ is great. Fantastic location overlooking the River Garry. We did have a close encounter with some cows on the way which involved a stand off, a little bit of fast walking, a brief moment of jogging and quick jump over a wall. As luck would have it we ended up in the correct field. There were cows in this one but these were a bit more laid back. Still we didn’t push our luck so the visit to the cairn was short. Well worth a visit just for the vibe and views.
21/06/2015 – Sometimes two stones are enough. It might not look much but I was really taken with this cairn. Location is great with fine views all round. Easy access from a few starting points. We combined it with a walk over Meall Mor, starting from Lettoch. A peaceful place.
22/06/2015 – About 10 years since I was last on Schiehallion. It was a lovely blue sky day last time. Today was windy, misty and cold. I even sat next to a patch of snow for my sandwiches and cuppa. It didn’t feel much like the end of June!
What can I say about Schiehallion that you need to know apart from it’s just a great hill with a fantastic view. If you are in the area and like a walk, it’s a must visit. Good parking, nice path and great boulder hopping to be had near the top (if you like that sort of thing).
This hill must have been special to people since the first time humans laid eyes on it.
A good day.
13/05/2015 – Nice chambered cairn on top of Cnoc Na Maranaich with nearby standing stone and cairn. The walk from Dunbeath is a good one. Passing a couple of brochs as we walked up Dunbeath Water then onto the chambered cairns of Carn Liath and Loedebest. Finally a short pull uphill to Cnoc Na Maranaich. Makes for a good day trip and the view from the top is great.
13/05/2015 – The area round here is full of cairns, brochs, settlements etc. It was hard to pick which way to go. This chambered cairn was my favourite of the ones we visited on our walk. Canmore describe it as ‘Orkney-Cromarty, long, horned, with Camster-type chamber’. Well worth a visit combined with a few of the other sites nearby. Easy access from Dunbeath.
13/05/2015 – Just a short walk upriver from Dunbeath broch are the remains of Balantrath broch. The walk along the bank of Dunbeath Water between the two is lovely. This broch is pretty overgrown but the location is good.
12/05/2015 – Nice chambered cairn on the south side of Langwell Water. A lot of the stones have been removed but enough of the stones that make up the chambers remain to still get a good idea of what it was like. Well worth a visit, I liked my time there (only slightly spoiled by the caterpillar tracks right through the middle of cairn)
11/05/2015 – On the way back from Backlass stone circle we had a look at these stone rows at Dirlot. Parking in a nearby passing place, it’s a short walk to the site. The stones are small and quite hidden in the heather. It was fun walking the side of the hill trying to find the rows. Canmore state ‘possibly twenty rows’, we didn’t find that many but there are a good few visible. Two small cairns are situated on the knoll just above the rows. Worth a look.
11/05/2015 – A visit to Backlass stone circle makes for a lovely walk in the wide, open landscape of Caithness. We took the good single track road (plenty of passing places) from the A9 at Mybster to a parking area about 1 km west of Strathmore Lodge. From there it’s about a 7 mile round trip to Backlass, nice flatish walk, track all the way. I love this area and the walk alone is worth going for. A real feeling of loneliness in a big landscape where everything looks so far away. The stone circle is in the long deserted township of Backlass. Five stones remain but a few more potentials are in the surrounding stone walls. The weather was good and we sat for a while by the circle and had our sandwiches. It was hard to leave and make the slow walk back to the real world. Great site and day.
10/05/2015 – Afternoon walk up Beinn Dubhain from Baile an Or. We took a slight detour on the way down to visit this stone. Well worth the effort. Great cup and ring marks and a lovely view from it.
10/05/2015 – If you fancy a trip along Strath of Kildonan to visit the many fantastic sites there, this one is a good way to start your day off. Easy access across the golf course just outside Helmsdale. It’s a nice location and a decent long cairn.
05/04/2015 – After our trip down to Avebury last week, me and my feet were still not talking to each other but the sun was too nice to stay in. Sheldon stone circle is one I’ve not been to before. I’d been saving it and today felt and looked a perfect day to visit. With a lovely blue sky and warmth in the air, we made the short trip to the circle. Sometimes I get a little sad at sites when I think about the stones that have been lost and the neglected and forgotten state the circles are in, not today. Looking from the circle there are farmlands and fields as far as the eye can see, I just felt lucky that what is left is still just so wonderful. Like a little stone oasis. Maybe it was the weather or just how I felt today but the circle has a very calm and sleepy feel to it. We sat for awhile looking and not looking, from the stones to the landscape beyond. Bennachie, as ever, wonderful in the distance. When folk ask why I go to stone circles I never really know what to say. Days like today give me the answer, I now just have to find a way to put that into words. A wonderful circle and visit.
28/03/2015 – It must be 20 years since I was on The Wrekin. I remember it being a tough climb up and 20 years on it still felt pretty hard work. I was glad to get to the top for a sit even if the wind was pretty chilly. Maybe not the best hillfort in the world but the walk through Hell Gate and Heaven Gate is good. The view from the top is fantastic. Last site we visited on our trip and as I walked back down my feet were telling me it was time to go home.
28/03/2015 – Now this is my sort of hillfort. Same way up as postman. Great way to spend an afternoon. Nice fort near the start, lovely but steep walk over Pontesford Hill then onto the open ground of Earl’s Hill. Great fort, like a mini Caer Caradoc which it has a lovely view towards. Bit overcast whilst we were there but the sun did pop out now and again.
28/03/2015 – After a visit to Old Oswestry, we were making good time so we played our hillfort bonus card and went for a quick nosey at Nesscliffe Hill Camp. I liked this one. Little bit of up, nice trees to walk through, good ramparts and a fine view. Worth a visit if you are passing.
28/03/2015 – Rain started to clear as we arrived and there was a lovely rainbow over the ramparts to greet us as we walked through the west entrance and up to the top of the fort. Old Oswestry is one big place. If ramparts are your thing this is the place for you. Nice circuit of the top (clockwise), stopping occasionally to shake my head at the sheer number and size of the ramparts. It’s a must see site but I’ve got to admit not one of my favourites.
27/03/2015 – I drove down to Cornwall a few years back and remember looking across from the M5 and thinking the Malvern Hills looked a great place to visit. Finally made the trip on our little grand tour last week.
British Camp is such a famous site, it was great to get a chance to walk the ramparts. Luckily the weather was good and the views from the hill are very good. The hillfort is amazing, one of my favourites, I think. Would love to have spent more time there but Worcestershire Beacon and St Ann’s Well Cafe were calling. Time ain’t my friend sometimes.