Kammer

31st July 2004: I failed to visit this stone, even though we stayed the night in Uig. Just ran out of time. However, I did see it from the quayside in Uig, armed with binoculars and a Landranger map. As we sailed away on the ferry I watched it wistfully (the one that got away).

Visited 1st August 2004: Having missed this stone when I visited in ‘95 I was pleased to see it ‘in the flesh’. This is one of those extremely accessible sites that you can drive right up to. Compared to its neighbours (with the possible exception of Olcote) it’s extremely unglamorous, but there’s something intriguing about the contrast of old and new here. At least Stonefield hasn’t been chopped in two by a road!

Visited 30th July 2004: Armed with insuficient notes and a grid reference I tried to find this circle. I found some stones that weren’t conclusive, and subsequent research suggests that these are nothing to do with the circle.

So, where are the stones I was looking for? They’re not exactly tiny, so how did I manage to miss them? I was searching to the south of the little road to Cuidrach, but I’m not 100% sure that’s right. Hopefully someone else will have better luck than me.

Visited 30th July 2004: I left the others in the car and walked to the stones on my own (they were suffering from megalith fatigue). I made my way across the field without any adverse bovine attention, and got a few shots of the stones before running out of memory on the digital camera.

The stones are pleasantly perched on the edge of Loch Eyre. They’re not especially close to the water, and with the lower sea levels of the Bronze Age it would be a mistake to think of the stones as strongly linked to the modern loch. These two megaliths are big and bold. They leave you in no doubt that someone wanted to make a statement here!

Visited 30th July 2004: This is one of those sites where access couldn’t be much better. Wheelchair, pushchair and car friendly.

Three stones remain standing in the village of Borve, overlooked by modern houses on the other side of the road. They are thought by some to be the remains of a stone circle. The row is aligned approximately in a north-westerly (or south-easterly) direction, with the road running parallel. The smallest stone is in the north west but the other two are approximately the same height. Look out for the friendly sheep. They’ll want to know what you’re looking at.

Visited 30th July 2004: What a charming place! The views are great, but the site itself is also interesting. The remaining stones are relatively large, indicating something of the way it once looked. This must have been something special when it was in one piece.

Access to the site isn’t too tricky on foot, but the route in isn’t wheelchair friendly. Cnoc Ullinish is quite close to the road, and there’s space to parking isn’t a problem. You’re unlikely to bump into any fellow visitors.

Visited 30th July 2004: An Sithean is easy to find, sitting just off the B8083. Parking is easy, and it’s a short but moderately steep climb up to the stones (not wheelchair friendly).

The stones are dominated by the peak Beinn na Caillich, but no less significant is Broadford River which lies between the two. This landscape is not lacking in drama!

An Sithean sits enigmatically on top of a hillock, with one remaining standing stone on the very top. The rest of the stones are on the south side of the mound. What appear to be two or more natural ridges fan out from the central point of the mound.

What is this place? If it’s a chambered cairn then most of it became road building material a long time ago.

Visited 21st June 2004: We walked to Budloy Standing Stone from the Dyffryn Stones thinking that the footpath would continue to be relatively easy going. We were wrong. After Dyffryn it deteriorates, getting narrow and overgrown in places. There’s a stream to cross, then the path follows the bank of a tiny tributary with the inevitable insects. Lastly, after Budloy Farm, there were shoulder high grass and stinging nettles to get through!

The stone itself is elegant and feels relatively isolated even though it’s not far from the farm. By the time we got there the kids had had enough. We stopped to have a drink and apply sun cream (it was scorching!). I rattled off some photos and we made use of Budloy Farm track (not a public footpath) to escape further suffering and return to the car along the road.

Maybe this is a site worth visiting in the winter when the undergrowth and insects are less of a problem.

Visited 21st June 2004: This site was the highlight of our Summer Solstice. We parked on the little lane that runs to the south of the Dyffryn Stones next to a dilapidated set of farm buildings (SN05502825) Dyffryn Stones. The walk from there to the stones was pretty easy, but a bit on the muddy side.

The stones themselves are in a field adjacent to the public footpath. The size of them was surprising, and the fact that there are stones still standing. It’s much more circle-like than I anticipated. If the remaining standing stones are kerb stones, then this is a very unusual site. Was this once a circular chambered cairn? There’s quite a bit of foliage in the centre of the cairn, but it’s easy enough to see that there’s not much sign of a chamber. Very curious.

Another curious thing about Dyffryn are a couple of corrugated stones on the northern side of the cairn. In cross section they look like a ripple. It’s hard to imagine this effect being artificially created, so it’s likely that these stones were chosen specifically for their look.

Access to this site is reasonably good, and it’s well worth the visit. Not as glamorous as Gors Fawr, but more mysterious.