greywether

Said in some accounts to be the remains of a stone circle demolished in 1836, this stone stands 2.7m high near the road.

There is another 2.7m stone nearby (Sannox Bay at NS016456).

Visited 10 May 2005

One of the few chambered cairns in the mountainous N part of Arran.

The remains of a three-compartment chamber and a cist can be seen. Great views of both the surrounding hills and over the Firth of Clyde.

Access Head for the S end of Sannox village. Climb the rocky slope behind the seat and keep going to the top of the slope. Head for the gate in the deer fence. There was a stile here but it is broken. You can still squeeze through over the gate. There is a prominent stone on the rise in front of you – head slightly left of that towards the cairn.

Visited 10 May 2005

As I walked up to this site, I thought “You’ll not see much here. It’s in a forest, Morris couldn’t find carvings seen by an earlier researcher and the last report in Canmore talked about advancing heather growth.”

How completely and utterly wrong I was!

Both panels are completely clear of vegetation and you can see not just the art recorded by Sommerville and Morris but also superb designs discovered in 1982.

Altogether, there are about 20 cup and ring motifs all deeply carved and with some interesting variations on the more “normal” designs. The length of the “tails” in some cases is particularly striking.

Altogether, this has to rank amongst the best rock art panels in Scotland. It was certainly the highlight of my trip.

Access There is a forest road and path to the site. Access is off the B880 and there is room to park two cars just off the main road. The forest road has a barrier across it but, otherwise, no obstacles.

Visited 10 May 2005

Not much to see here and, judging from the amount of dead bracken around, there would be even less to see once it starts growing again a few weeks after my visit .

The low-lying stones of a S-facing chamber can be seen with, possibly, a stone to the W representing the end of the facade.

Access Just to add to the notes from Paulus, there is a stile on your left as you approach the ruined house which you should take and then continue in the direction of the house. When you are level with it, turn left and head for the clearing which has been left at the forestry edge – about 100m to the cairn.

Visited 10 May 2005

You can still see the trenches here of the 1961 excavation of the forecourt area which produced a date of approx 2250 bce for the blocking and end of use of the tomb.

The three-compartment chamber is still open but rather overgrown. The main feature is the pair of portal stones – one 2.4m high.

Worth a visit.

Access In a forest walk near Lamlash and at the other end of the cycle path to Carn Ban.

Visited 9 May 2005

This “perfect four-poster” (Burl) sits by the side of a branch of the cycle track to Carn Ban. It is signposted.

Could never really get very excited about four-posters, personally. Too low and too few stones. This one is surrounded by trees and was in the shade so it didn’t really change my opinion.

Visited 9 May 2005

You need a bike or a long, long walk to get to this one. It’s around a 5 mile trip including the long walk in at the end.

I’m not sure it’s worth it. Carn Ban is probably more interesting for what it was than what it is now. It was excavated in the early 20C when the chamber was more or less intact but the excavation was filled in and there is little surface remains to be seen now.

Access The cycle route leaves the Arran circular road (A841) at NR970214. If you continue along it, you will also reach Monamore.

Visited 9 May 2005

Of all the chambered cairns in Arran (around 25), Historic Scotland have to pick this pathetic specimen as the example to display to the public.

OK, the views are great but there are much better sites than this to demonstrate the architecture and use of these monuments. Giant’s Graves, for example, could benefit from some on-site interpretation especially as that and Machrie Moor are the two sites most visited by the general tourist.

Visited 9 May 2005

This Clyde chambered cairn was not discovered until the mid-1970s so is not included in Henshall’s great corpus of Scottish chambered cairns.

It is in reasonable condition. The W lateral chamber still has a roofstone and there is a suggestion of a facade at the S end of the cairn.

Access Not easy to get to. It can be reached from Giant’s Graves by heading NE into the forest until you reach the hill of Torr An Loisgte. Contour round the hill towards the N. On a good day, you should be able to spot the clearing in which the cairn stands. A GPS helps!

Visited 9 May 2005

First site in a three-day trip to Arran and a return visit to the Giant’s Graves after 16 years. I’m sure the climb wasn’t so steep the last time!

Two Clyde chambered cairns. The worderfully megalithic N one being the better preserved with its facade and forecourt (facing N) still clear enough. The main chamber is a joy and there is also a ruined S chamber.

The second cairn faces W.

Visited 9 May 2005

Two round cairns – one of them amongst the best preserved in Scotland.

The Nether Cairn is 15m diameter and 3.5m high and retains its pudding-bowl shape from all angles. Such a joy to see one not mutilated for building dykes or sheep shelters. No trace of a kerb.

700m to the NE is the Upper Cairn (NT11005091), a bit higher than Nether Cairn but it has suffered from stone robbing.

Access Off a Right of Way running NE from Garvald Farm. Rough track with several gates but all can be opened.

Visited 2 May 2005