Revisited this today armed with a bit more information. There are two sites here, the row/alignment, and the remains of a four poster. Both of these contain cup marks.
nickbrand
Another one supplied by George Currie, he mentioned it on the Scotstone list and so I wandered out there today to have a look. It’s definitely a disrupted four poster, though there are several other stones lying nearby – field clearance or part of something else? I’m not sure. George thought he saw a cup mark on one of the stones, but I’m not convinced. Nice little placement though, and ignoring the trees it sits on a little platform just below the summit of the hill.
George Currie discovered this stone on our recent trip to Upper Gaskan – themodernantiquarian.com/site/4228
On the track back downhill, as we were nearing the road junction, he leapt off the track into the trees and began brushing pine needles off a large boulder. We stood, wondering what on earth he was up to. Then -“Aha!” – we all piled in to see what he had found. And there was a cup marked rock – one cup surrounded by a circle of several more. The photo’s aren’t too great as it was dim and dark in there, but George scores again! We think he can smell them....
We visited on 9th November – very interesting site, though the trees make it difficult to photograph, and the shade of the trees adds to the problems. Just NE of the site are the remains of 2 small cairns, robbed-out to help build a nearby wall, and largely ruined by foresting machinery. One of the pictures illustrates the southernmore cairn.
This is not exactly in the place indicated by Canmore, though it is rather difficult to miss. Easily visible from the road, a couple of hundred metres in, a small knoll with a very prominent stone on top. This has several cup marks on it, one being very large. They are all quite weathered.
Visited by the Scottish Megaraks on 9th November 2003, as part of a day out. This extremely large stone sits just beside the road, acting as part of a cottage’s garden wall. There are supposed to be cup marks visible on the top, but it was almost completely covered by ivy, so this could not be ascertained.
Situated by the side of the road running through Glencoe, according to the board at the Isles of Glencoe Hotel this is an Iron Age hillfort. I didn’t have time to have a good look but took a couple of photographs from a distance – into the sun, so they’re not too great. One to visit next time I’m in the area...
I had a look for this one but couldn’t trace it....
This lies just to the west of the road after crossing the Ballachulish bridge. Best accessed from the side road leading into the village, and following the track down under the bridge and round. Pretty destroyed now, and no sign of either chambering or kerbs, seems to be being used as a field clearance dump as there were a lot of rolls of wire and such like lying around on it. Pretty sad, except for its location – the views along Loch Linnhe are stunning.
Ask permission to visit this at the Golf Club, which lies just beside the wee road leading to Ballachulish House. This cairn is pretty rubbed out, and only a few of the kerb stones survive, but the cist is still in situ, with a slightly dislodged capstone. Apparently when excavated in 1972 no skeletal remains were found, though there was evidence of previous disturbance. Fragments of a food vessel found on the cist floor are in the National Museum of Scottish Antiquities.
Visited this one last Saturday around sunrise. It lies just south of the busy A82 Oban to Fort William road, and parking can be a bit awkward. Head for Oak Cottage, beside the field with the stone in it, as the field belongs to the owner. A lovely lady, originally from Aberdeenshire but who married a local Cameron man. She told me that the stone had been broken many years ago by a horse using it as a rubbing post, but that her husband’s grandfather enlisted the help of a local stone mason to pin and re-erect it. Permission to visit will readily be granted provided the field is not in crop or being used for livestock. She showed me a marvellous photo she was given by a previous visitor, with the stone framed by a rainbow. It’s a real beauty, and one of the few surviving holed stones.
I had a walk down to this on Sunday morning. It lies behind the Alltshellach Hotel in North Ballachulish. Please ask permission to visit, the owners didn’t know of the existence of this rock, although they do now. From the side door of the hotel follow the track down through the grounds to an old jetty with a couple of iron mooring rings on it. Look south, and you’ll see two iron fence posts on the rocks of the promontory. Head for the western (right-hand) one, taking care as the rocks can be pretty slippery. When you reach the iron pole, look down at your feet....
This is a pretty big stone, around 7-1/2 feet tall, and 4 feet wide. It stands in a commanding position on the south side of Soutra Hill, unfortunately now rather dwarfed by the pylons which march along behind it.
I’ve passed this one a few times but the field was always in crop. It’s a tall, thin stone, around my height (6’), and has pretty good all-round views of the area.
Ha! No bullocks today, only sheep – so over the gate and in. This is a pretty impressive lump of rock, stood on a couple of large flat stones and fenced in. The stone looks genuine enough, with streaks of quartz running through it.
My local informant tells me that the cairn was said to have marked the spot of a battle back in the 1450’s between the Ogilvies and Lindsays, but the stone would appear to have been here from long before that date.
Revisited this today, four years on from my initial visit. The area round the stone has been cleared and walled off, and a small opening in the wall allows easy access. This is a great improvement on previously, when the stone was rather overgrown by various weeds and bushes. A lovely spot with amazing views to the north.
I’ve driven past this many times, and the field was always in crop. Today it wasn’t, so here it is. A simple, unadorned, 2m+ tall stone, known locally as the Grey Stane.
Amazing – I was born and grew up here, and knew nothing about these. Neither did anyone else till a couple of local lads saw some illustrations of cup and ring marks and remembered their old gang hut....
From the Cowdenbeat road, take the path signposted ‘To Standing Stanes Road’ (leads to Glassmount stones). Head uphill, over the first stile, cross the field and over the second stile. Bear up on the right hand path leading to the Binn, and cross the third stile. From here (depending on the length of your legs – my paces are just over 1m) take 50 paces up the path. Turn hard right (due S) and move into the wood to the fence. Cross the fence, take about 20 paces and there’s a large rocky outcrop in front of you. And there they are!
Visited here late this morning. It lies on the Carse Grey estate, so ask at the house for permission – this was readily granted, and after making friends with her 3 labradogs, the lady of the house took me up the track to show me the remains of the four poster. She turned out to be interested in dowsing, and a friend of hers apparently had dowsed the circle and found a line running from it directly down to the big house. There has been recorded habitation on this site since the 14th century, and probably long before that. An underground spring supplies the house – a spiral stair still survives of the original 14th century fortified house.
The circle itself is very overgrown, hundreds of fireweeds (rosebay willowherb) and a lot of brambles, unfortunately not yet ripe! Three stones survive of the four poster, no significant markings on any of them, though the largest seems to be a favoured spot for hunting owls, going by the debris left on top and round about.
Canmore says :“The westernmost of the three surviving stones of the is probable ‘four-poster’ was knocked down by a wind-thrown tree early in 1993. The stone was re-erected by the estate under the supervision of the area Inspector and warden. Investigation of the socket prior to re-erection revealed white quartz fragments and pebbles.”
Although this mound looks like a barrow, it is in fact a glacial morain deposit. The four-poster sits neatly on top and has stunning views of Glen Shee from its vantage point. The mound lies about 500m ESE of Old Spittal farmhouse.
According to Canmore, “In 1894 the natural mound on which the stones are placed was excavated to a depth of 6.71m, and it is unclear if the stones are now in their original positions. The stones lie at the corners of a trapezium, with the two largest at the W end of the long axis; their heights are: A-0.75m, B-0.7m, C-0.3m, D-0.8m. No finds or structural features were recorded during the excavation, and the slight mound at the centre of the stones marks the site of the excavation.”
Pity, as it just looks so like a barrow – and what a dramatic place to be buried! The weather was a bit variable whilst I was here but at least it held off raining, though the clouds were well and truly gathering for a downpour. A really beautiful site, and the four poster, though small, is a real wee beauty!
This mound and disrupted circle has an ‘Aberdeen’ feel to it. There’s a certain amount of field clearance here, but the small, tight circle and several of the surrounding kerb stones still have a nice aura about them. Not a typical Perthshire site though.
Class 1 Pictish stone, various symbols, plus large cup marks on lower rear of stone.
Hare cairn or the ‘Law of Keithock’ was a large, conical cairn of stones 20’ high and 45’ in diameter at base surmounted by the 6’ standing stone that now marks the site. The cairn was removed in the early to mid 19th century and two cists containing human remains were found about 26 yds SW of the present position of the stone. It is reported that before its destruction in the early 19th century this cairn measured 14m in diameter by 6m in height and was surmounted by a standing stone. Two cists were found about 24m SW of the present position of the standing stone, which has been re-erected on the site of the cairn.
Visited yesterday, but the field was full of young bullocks, so discretion won. Photographed it from the fence!
In the field adjacent to Dull chapel, the OS notes the existence of cup marked rocks. There are a few, and some of the positions are interesting, as they appear to point towards the circles at Carse Farm 1 & 2. A bit of fun for those who like to draw connections! Big Sweetie, Scotty and I were there today, and had a good hunt about. Scotty found the stone with two cup marks (pictured). Standing on a large natural outcrop in the NE corner of the field, this stone lined up nicely with Carse Farm 1. The second cup marked stone (also pictured) forms a line which, when extended runs from the site of the chapel down to Carse Farm 2 four poster. There are supposed to be cup marked rocks in the western corner of the field, but we couldn’t find them – many of these rocks are covered in moss and turf.
The field was empty of stock, radioactive sheep or otherwise, when Big Sweetie and I passed on our way back from the dig at Dull church. So we wandered in to have a look. This is one solid chunk of rock, a good 7-1/2 feet tall and four feet wide. No cupmarks visible, though on an earlier excavation I believe seven were found, about a foot below ground. This sits in a fine open plain, and if the rest of the reputed circle were the size of this remaining one, it must have been a pretty impressive sight!
Quite a sad little site this. Follow the sign for the circular walk up the glen, and about 150m in there’s a branch to the left across a wooden bridge. Take the path to the right after the bridge and less than 50m later you pass the outlier. It’s a fair size, around 1.6m in height and 1m across at the base. It stands around 10m from the 3 remaining stones of the circle, all fairly low and half-hidden in the grass. These 3 lie on the NE arc, and the circle probably contained ten stones originally, being around 6m in diameter. 3 stones around the right size and shape lie in or by the burn running alogside, and there is another appropriately sized stone at the foot of the outlier. The whole area’s a bit overgrown and untidy.
This stone stands in the graveyard at Torphichen Preceptory, a few metres inside the gate towards the left. It is a re-used neolithic stone, which was turned into a marker for the Preceptory. Canmore states “This square sandstone pillar stands 2 1/2’ high, in Torphichen churchyard. It has been shaped, the sides swelling uniformly from the ground to the top, which is 12 1/2” square. There are 5 cup marks and a 6 3/4” long channel on the E face; on the top is a circular socket 2” in diameter and 1 1/2” deep, connected with a cross-shaped channel, 6 1/2” over the arms. The latter features probably have no connections with the cup marks. It is thought to mark the centre of a privileged sanctuary ground attached to the preceptory.” The cup marks are clearly visible.
This stone stands around 1.2m tall, and appears to be sandstone. At some point in the past it has been reinforced by cementing in some field clearance stones around the base. It hasn’t been moved, however, as I saw it marked on a map dating from around 1740, in the position it occupies today. Some pretty good views from where it stands.
There are the remains of an old priory a couple of hundred metres WNW, and another nearby hill is called Temple Hill, apparently the Knights Templar owned the area at some point in the past.
I had a good look round at this location today, and couldn’t identify anything as a stone circle or the remains thereof. The hillside is bracken, and doesn’t look to have been cultivated in a long time. There are a few flat platform areas which might (might!) be ancient housing platforms but I’m not enough of an expert to be sure. There certainly doesn’t appear to be any megaliths left. I did spot a standing stone on West Blair nearby, so I visited it instead.
The Scottish Megaraks visited this area today during a tour of Perthshire. We had a look at the cairn, which according to Canmore was surrounded by kerb stones. Only one was visible, but on pulling back some of the turf and generally nosing around, we discovered that there are still at least eleven in situ. The cairn itself is fairly unremarkable, only being around a metre tall. It is visible from the road if you know what you’re looking for.
This stone is in a field which also contains a long cairn and a circular mound (ringed by a ditch) known locally as Pontius Pilate’s grave. The cup-marks are fairly large, we tried to illustrate them better by applying what remained of our water bottle... without great success.
As can be seen from the photos, the views are well worth the climb. The site had been ‘added to’ by some idiot who had built a small cairn/altar in the centre. This had been removed by the time we left.... (see my last photograph) leaving the original 6-stone site as it is meant to be seen, allowing for the fact that a wall had been built through it in the past!
My mistake – should have done more research! Big Sweetie and I visited again today, in the company of 2 other Scottish Megaraks. The stump of one of the other stones in the group is visible 5m east of the survivor. Hidden down in the turf again about 5m south lies a recumbent pillar which was probably part of the group. I have uploaded 3 photos, 2 showing the relationship of the survivor and stump, and one showing the recumbent with turf peeled back (thanks, Milgi!).
Original entry: This is incorrectly marked on the OS map as the ‘Refuge Stone’, which in fact is some 2/3 km away. It is a small piece of sandstone, around 3 feet tall and perhaps 2 feet wide at the base, standing in a field a couple of hundred metres in from the road. There are no markings of any type discernible.
On further investigation, this may indeed be one of the refuge stones marking the preceptory of Torphichen. Canmore states:
“This quadrilateral upright boulder stands on the summit of a low flat-topped ridge. Of hard red grit, it is c. 4’ high, 2’ 8” x 2’ wide at bottom, and 3’ 5” wide at top. The ONB notes that the outline of a Maltese cross, almost obliterated, may be seen on the N face of the stone, when viewed from a few yards away. This is one of the stones marking the area of the sanctuary associated with Torphichen Preceptory RCAHMS 1929, visited 1923”
I visited this stone today on the way back from a trip round West Lothian. This is a large block of sandstone, seven feet tall and approximately 3 feet wide, and runnelled in a fashion very reminiscent of the Tuilyies main stone only a few miles away. The field it stands in is usually home to some horses, so ask at the stables here before going into the field. The lady there told me they will soon be erecting a fence around it to stop the horses rubbing on it, at the behest of Historic Scotland.
This excellent little four-poster requires a bit of effort, as it’s up the top of a wooded hill. Surprisingly, the OS map tracks turned out to be relatively accurate this time, which is a bit of a first...
The stones form the corners of a 3m square, graded to the SW, where the largest (1.2m tall) stands.
It was a bit misty today, as you will see from the photographs, and I could only make the stones out when I got within around 30m. Pity, as the views are supposed to be pretty spectacular from here. I’ll have to wander back on a good day!
This magnificent little circle stands on the spur of Airlich hill just above the farm of Meikle Findowie. It consists of two circles, the larger outer one being around 8.5m in diameter, with 6 of the 9 stones still upright. The 3 largest (on the SW arc) are now recumbent. There is a smaller ring of stones inside these, all of which are very low, and only 5 remaining.
These are the sad remains of what was once a four-poster, which enclosed a cairn. Only two stones now remain, though excavation of the site in 1954 found the sockets for the other two. It was dated to approximately 1600 bc.
This stone stands around 50m to the SE of the chambered cairn, visible in the background in one of the photos. It is around 1.4m in height, and about 0.7m in width at the base.
A large chambered cairn, but very ruinous now. Enough remains that the general shape and size can be made out. It was excavated in 1954, when it was measured at 190 feet in length, with width varying from 38 feet at the SE to 20 feet at the NW – it is oriented along a SE-NW axis. Four lateral chambers were noted from the SW side. Even in its present condition it is quite impressive, although walkers in the Glen have started a small cairn near the SE end, visible in the photographs.
This little group of sites lies within a small area of Glen Almond, up a private track. Permission must be sought to use this road. The group comprises a single standing stone, a very ruinous chambered cairn, and two remaining stones of a four-poster. It was quite misty the day I visited, and very peaceful in the glen.
I didn’t know this was here, it’s (needless to say) not marked on the OS map... I spotted it whilst we were driving along Glen Lonan, and stopped for a closer look. The eastern stone is about 1.5m tall, and the western just under a metre, aligned approximately E-W.
We stopped here on the way home from Mull. Although rather dominated by Clach na Carraig, the huge standing stone just adjacent to it, the kerb cairn is in pretty reasonable shape, with 12 of the original 15 stones surviving.
I visited this on the way back from Mull. The farmer has provided a sort of wire step arrangement to allow those with long legs to get over the fence! This is a big stone – 3.8m tall.
Set in a group of trees around 100m NW of the stone circle, this rather ruinous kerb cairn still retains sufficient structure to make it worth a look. It is about 6.5m across, and has a ‘false’ entrance to the SE. The stones on the northern and southern arcs are still pretty much in situ.
This second outlier stands about 100m SW of the circle, in line with the first. It is over 2m in height but has been broken at some point in the past.
This is the nearer of the two large outliers, which stands around 40m SW of the circle. It is 3m in height, and fairly dramatic!
This circle originally consisted of 9 stones, one of which has disappeared and been replaced with a small boulder. It has a grand total of 3 outliers, the nearest of which lies just to the SE, less than a metre in height. The largest stone is 2m tall, and all the flat faces of the stones face inwards. Set in a natural amphitheatre formed by the surrounding hills, this is a magical place.
This stone stands on its own around 350m NNW of the stone circle here, and about 200m away from the kerb cairn. It is 2m tall, but the top of the stone appears to have been broken in the past.
Just under 2m in height and with a pronounced northerly lean, this stone has a stunning outlook over Loch Tuath and Ulva. Seems to be pretty popular with the sheep, too!