21/10/2018 – First time back over from Kirkhill Forest side since the start of the construction of the Aberdeen bypass. Access is fine now and the road doesn’t really effect the circle too much (though it’s not open quite yet). The October sun was lovely today and the stones looked so nice. Just a wonderful circle.
17/10/2018 – Bennachie – Astronomical Twilight. Looking over to Mither Tap from Oxen Craig. The glow in the far distance is from Aberdeen. Different feel to the hill at this time. Not a sound to be heard. I like the dark. Clear sky this evening, many stars, Milky Way and a shiny half moon. Starting to get a little cold now.
23/09/2018 – I just love everything about this kerb cairn hidden in the vast dune system at Sands of Forvie.
06/09/2018 – Just a lovely peaceful location. If you come, plan not to rush.
06/09/2018 – Long day walk visiting the various tops on south Vatersay today. On the way back we just had to visit the wheelhouse at Allt Chrysal. I just love this place. We visit a lot of the old sites and every now and again we come across one that for some reason just grabs us and stays. Standing in the middle of the wheelhouse I felt very lucky to be back. A special place. It’s a site for daydreamers.
05/09/2018 – We missed these stones last year. Looped walk from Castlebay over the tops of Hebhal and Hartabhal to visit them this time. The still standing one is just great. Close to 10ft tall I’d guess. Unlike its fallen comrade nearby, this one’s still hanging on. Maybe not as straight as it once was but it had a defiant air about it. Like it was nowhere near ready to be beat by the tag team of time and gravity. It was evening by the time we reached the stones. Meant a lot to get there. A happy visit. If you go to Barra these should be on your list of things to see, easy access by the way from the road.
04/09/2018 – The Whispering Stones at Totronald. They are a good size, I’m hiding (just) behind the near one :-)
04/09/2018 – These two decent sized and fine shaped stones some 10-15 metres apart are very nice. Easy access from the quiet road nearby. Lots of cows about but most seem quite friendly.
04/09/2018 – Easy enough to get to. The walk up to the top of Ben Feall is quite short. Remains of a cist on the summit. What a view from the top. There’s a fort on the west side of the hill too. Well worth going for the walk alone. The beaches nearby are fantastic.
Getting about on Coll is a little tricky if you don’t bring your own car. No public transport so we took a brave/stupid decision to hire bicycles from the Post Office. I’d not been on one for well over twenty years but they say you never forget! The ride to and from the site was a little interesting to say the least but the roads are quiet so not much damage done. Think I’ll stick to walking from now on though.
04/09/2018 – Standing stone near Loch na Cloiche. It’s a bit leany nowadays.
03/09/2018 – Cairn marked on OS map 1:50000. Very overgrown now and not much to see. The view’s nice though.
03/09/2018 – Easy enough to find as the summit has a phone mast on it now. Just head for that. The top has the remains of a cairn on it. Not much to see apart from two sides of a cist. I liked the place and the feeling of a wide open landscape is impressive from here.
03/09/2018 – Dun Anlaimh crannog in just a lovely landscape (bit hard to walk in though).
03/09/2018 – Excellent crannog and remains of a curved causeway. Makes me wonder if the causeway was always just below the water and curved so only those living in the crannog would know the safe way to cross? Really liked this one. One thing worth mentioning is that it is a pig of a walk to get to. Underfoot very hard going on east side of the loch. We came from Ben Hogh and left NW to climb Cnocan na Ban. Tough day.
The name for this crannog – Dun Anlaimh might seem a little odd. This crannog is actual on Loch Nan Cinneachan not Loch Anlaimh to the south (which does have its only crannog). This crannog was named way back when the two lochs were just one, called Loch Anlaimh.
03/09/2018 – Standing Stone west of Loch Nan Cinneachan (with crannog in the distance).
03/09/2018 – Standing Stone west of Loch Nan Cinneachan.
03/09/2018 – Standing Stone west of Loch Nan Cinneachan.
03/09/2018 – Interesting little area this overlooking Loch Nan Cinneachan. On a level terrace west of the crannog there is a couple of cairns (both with kerb stones showing) and a standing stone. The whole place has a feeling that it has been lived in over many years. A little tricky to get to, go on a dry day.
03/09/2018 – Clach na Ban-righ. Just a wonder stone in a lovely location.
03/09/2018 – The three little stones that somehow hold up Clach na Ban-righ
03/09/2018 – Clach na Ban-righ. It’s very big. Thinner folk than me can go underneath it, probably not recommended though!
03/09/2018 – I’m sure this is the stone mentioned in Rhiannon’s folklore post elsewhere that Mr giant threw up to Mrs giant.
It’s just so fantastic I had to give it a little hug when I got there. It’s massive and just resting on three little stones – impossibly wonderful.
A must see place.
If you are going or have been to Coll, Boswell and Johnson’s accounts of their visit to the island are well worth a read.
Most of Boswell’s accounts miss out details of his visit to the stone, just saying it did not repay the trouble in getting to it! Link to his full account – tinyurl.com/y733kfha
