I visited this amazing site on a freakishly hot day in mid July. What a location! Probably the most impressive views from a tomb that I've seen.
Unfortunately the tomb itself has seen better days, with only a few of the court stones still standing. The tomb is facing NE, and the court is about 6m wide, with the gallery stretching 9m to the SW. The cairn sits on top of a natural rise, and some of the kerb is still visible, dotted around the site. It seems to be about 11m wide, but its hard to be certain.
From around the site, I could see the Crannog at lough na crannagh, another little ruined wedge tomb, and with binoculars, several other tombs marked on the OS. a fun day indeed.
The site is marked on the OS map, and is about 2km NW of the top carpark at Murlough Bay, which is probably the easiest way to get to it, over pretty rough bog, past Lough Fadden and with no real paths, so be careful. Once at the site, the views are astonishing, and make up for the hike.
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A dumpy little 0.93m tall lump of basalt, perched on top of a little hill, overlooked by Knocklayd mountain. Not as impressive as the other standing stones in the area, but quite easy to find, and with great views to the west.
From the Round Tower at Armoy, head east, straight ahead at the crossroads, and take the second (concrete) lane on the left. (There's a little house at the bottom of the lane used to store wheely-bins) Just after a sharp turn in the lane, the road heads straight through a farmyard. The stone is directly behind the barn.
The stone is easy to pinpoint from the OS map, but I didn't spot it until speaking to the local farmer.
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A pretty poorly preserved Wedge tomb?? (I'm only guessing really), in a field just next to the road to Coolanlough Clachan, and Lough na Crannagh, with its Crannog. The cairn is aligned ENE-WSW, 7.5m long, narrowing on the WSW side to 2.5m, from 6m at ESE. Only one upright stone remains, about 1m tall, The rest of the site is a bit of a jumble of boulders, probably including field clearance stones.
According to the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record, a porcellanite axe was discovered on top of the cairn in 1991.
Will return with camera and take some proper shots. This one was taken from the court tomb on the hill above.
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Got a chance to search out another of the standing stones on the western slopes of Knocklayd mountain. A lump of basalt this time, almost 2m tall, and 1m thick, with a graceful angled cut towards the top. It stands about 1km north of the stone at Tober-bile.
According to the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record;
The current owner stated that no finds had been made when ploughing close to the stone& that his father had found a similar stone many years ago buried in the adjoining field to NE. The upper shape of this stone suggest that it could be a remnant of a megalithic tomb, possibly a portal stone, but the owner had never heard of any other stones at this location.
Another easy one to access, just 200m or so from a farm lane, with great views all around.
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One of the many standing stones encircling Knocklayd mountain, with the possible passage tomb 'carn an truagh' (cairn of woe) on its summit. This cairn marks the intersection of the ten townlands surrounding Knocklayd.
The stone is quite easy to find, on a small B road which branches off the main A44 from Armoy to Ballycastle. Just beyond the little crossroads at the hamlet of Cape Castle, the stone can be seen on the slope of a field about 300m to the east of this road, behind a derelict house.
Impressively situated, and leaning slightly to the south, the stone, like many in the area is of schist/quartzite, and the top half is encrusted with lichen. It stands around 2.25m tall, just over 1m thick at the base, tapering to about 0.3m at the top. From the side it is around 0.4m thick, giving the stone a slightly slab-like apperarance from the WSW. In fact the stone seems to be aligned from WSW-ESE, in line with the cairn on the summit of Knocklayd, which looms over the site.
I visited the site on November 2nd, and was treated to a moonrise over the summit of Knocklayd, whilst the sun set opposite. Moments like these make all the trudging about worthwhile.
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Headed out to visit Wateresk portal tomb on a crisp October morning, but due to heavy ploughing activity going on in the surrounding field, I decided to pay this stone a visit instead. I'm glad that I did. Quite close to a couple of modern bungalows, just west of Slidderyford bridge on a slight bend in the lane, and incorporated into a scruffy hedge. There is another, fallen stone of megalithic proportions hidden from view amongst the undergrowth. According to the DoENI Environment and Heritage Service website, this could be the remains of a tomb.
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Situated in a sloping field in the Glenshesk valley at the foot of Knocklayd mountain, just under 2km from another stone in Breen forest. Unfortunately the stone was toppled by a bull, according to the resident farmer and has been very crudely reset in concrete, with no real finesse. According to the NI Environment & Heritage Service, it once stood on top of a small mound, 17m in diameterx0.3m high. The mound was excavated, and was found to predate the stone.
The stone is 1.9m tall, and approx 0.5m wide, appears to be basalt, and has a quite interesting shape from certain angles. I'm not sure if the stone broke when toppled, or if it has always been this way.
The site is marked in the OS map, about 3-400m up a gated farm track just off the B15 from Armoy to Ballycastle, which winds along the Glenshesk valley. I was lucky enough to catch the farmer at work, who was kind enough to point out the stone, which isn't visible from the road.
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A 1.7m tall vaguely pyramid-shaped schist stone, with four faces tapering towards the top, which has a natural split.
There is a small pile of loose stones around its base, which can be seen in one of the photographs. I'm unsure whether these are just from a field clearance, or have any significance.
The stone stands in a field, in a clearing of Breen Wood, just off the B15 in Glenshesk, about 5km west of the round tower in Armoy. The dense conifer plantation nearby somewhat blocks the view of Knocklayd mountain, which looms over this stone, and the many others in the area, which encircle it.
The site is easy to find, only 100m or so from a forestry track leading into the forest, and is marked on the OS map.
Worth taking a detour to visit, even on a dismal grey day like today.
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One of those chance driveby stone sightings. I spotted this nicely shaped stone silhouetted against the sky on a bank above the west side of Coolkeeran Road, which runs through the village of Loughguile.
The large basalt stone stands about 2m tall, tapering up to a point in a kind of wedge shape, and contains some small seams of quartz. As you can see by the photos, its not in the most spectacular setting ever, but a fine standing stone nonetheless.
According to details from DoENI Environment and Heritage Service, the stone was moved a short distance to the west when the road was widened, and now stands only about 0.5m from the field boundary, not ideal, but at least it was saved.
There is also a mention in their notes on the site of
1.8m S is a recumbent basalt slab c.1m long. Its relationship to the standing stone is unknown & no-one knew if it had ever been upright.
I didn't notice this stone on my visit.
Being right by the road, its a very easy site to get to, with only a gate to contend with. Loughguile is clearly signposted off the A44 (Drones Road), which branches off the A26, the main road between Ballymena and Ballymoney/Coleraine.
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Visited the site carrying a camera with full batteries this time, which was a good start. After a short steep climb and a close escape from personal injury on a barbed wire fence, (farmers in North Antrim don't bother with stiles, they're more likely to be seen on a tractor the size of a small planet.) and a further short wander across pretty unspoilt bogland, I spotted the gleaming capstone of the still-standing tomb peeking above the peat and rushes.
Two portal tombs lie just over 15m apart, oriented E-W. The larger tomb to the east has collapsed, and lies below the present ground level. The western tomb is pretty well preserved. All the stones contain large seams of quartz, and there are a jumble of assorted stones scattered between the tombs which i assume may be cairn material. The capsone of the collapsed tomb is truly massive, measuring 3.75x3.5m, and just over a metre thick. The intact tomb's is slightly smaller, about 2.5m square.
The site would be even more incredible if the peat surrounding the tombs was lowered a little more, although i guess i should just be grateful there isn't a fence and sign three feet from them.
I opted against climbing fences on my return to the forest drive carpark, walking down along the fence to the next gate. On the way down the sloping field by the river i noticed a distinctly man-made, but ancient stone structure. I uploaded a picture in case anyone with more knowledge could enlighten me as to what it could be.
p.s. i live nearby, and have never paid just to use the carpark, although the gates to it are rather zealously locked at 8pm during the summer. If you want to drive to the rather disappointing dual court tomb further along the 'forest drive' you will have to cough up.
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Situated to the left of the lane to a disappointingly nearby holiday cottage, just outside Cushendun, overlooking the bay. Two very hefty stones stand about 5m apart. The largest is almost 2m tall, and over 1m wide, the other around 1.5m tall, and 0.8m wide.
Rumoured to have been part of a three stone alignment in OS memoirs, but there appears to be no evidence of a third stone.
About 200m NE is the remains of Castle Carra, a tower house from the late 13th Century, which is built over a Mesolithic flint-working site. Also very nearby is the Standing Stone in the driveway of Cushendun caravan park, now the feature of an unfortunate rockery garden.
Head through the village of Cushendun, out along the seafront, and take the next right, signposted 'Torr Head scenic route'. The stones are hard to miss, about 500m along this small road on the right.
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A fairly scruffy cairn of about 10m in diameter, with some of its large kerbstones remaining, seemingly uncovered during turf cutting, like most of the many sites in this townland.
An easy to find site, right on the shore of Loughareema, 'The Vanishing Lake' - so called because it only fills up after periods of heavy rainfall, on the A2 Cushendall Road, just before Ballypatrick forest. Just after the stone 'bridge' across the lough, the road bends sharply left. Just before this bend there's a lane to the right. You'll see the cairn from here, it's just 50 metres away.
From the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record;
The remains of this round cairn stand in a cut away bog, cut 2m outside the edges of the cairn. The cairn has a domed profile measuring 10m NW/SE x 9.8m NE/SW.It is composed of many stones of varying sizes, and has a max height of 1.7m. The kerb is visible in an arc from N-E-S. The site was excavated by Proudfoot (unpublished).
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The Druid's Stone, Magheraboy, Ballintoy, County Antrim.
This pretty little passage grave sits in a hollow on top of a small hill with spectacular views over WhitePark Bay and Benbane Head.
The tomb sits in what appears to have been a circular cairn of approx 10m diameter. I counted at least six remaining kerbstones, but it is difficult to be certain, due to a modern drystone wall which cuts through the cairn from NW-SE. I couldnt see any further stones beyong this wall.
The chamber (1.1x1.2m) is orientated NW-SE, with three large stones supporting a chunky capstone, about 2m square. The upright at the SW fits into a groove in the underside of the capstone.
The site is a little tricky to find, and is not visible from the road. I approached from the Ballycastle (Eastern) side of Ballintoy, on the B15. After passing through Ballintoy village, in about 1/2 a mile you will spot an unusually large white house to your left, set back off the road (Mount Druid Rectory). take a left up the concrete lane (also signposted for a guesthouse). As you drive up the lane, the wall of the rectory is on the right, continue up the rocky doubletrack lane for a few hundred metres until you come to a small holiday cottage on the left. (the first house you will see) If you are driving, its probably best to park up before this, the lane is pretty narrow and rough. Just after the cottage there is a field gate on the left. The tomb is about 150m up on the gorse covered knoll behind the cottage, although you won't see it until you're nearly on top of it.
Most should be able to access the site easily with a decent pair of boots. Its well worth a visit, on its secluded hill away from the main tourist trails. I'll be making a date to return in spring when the gorse is in flower.
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A very easy to find tomb, signposted from both ends of Presbetery Lane, just off the B16, about 3/4 of a mile SE of the village of Dunloy, in the townland of Ballymacaldrack. Known locally as 'Dooey's Cairn'.
The tomb is in State Care, and as such is pretty tightly fenced in, however this does little to detract from the stones remaining.
An impressive court tomb, with an amazing u-shaped forecourt at the SW end, comprising 11 massive, well shaped stones.
The following text is taken from the information board at the forecourt end of the tomb...Dooey's Cairn is on the east side of Long Mountain, a prominent north-south ridge, rich in prehistoric remains. The cairn, in the Ballymacaldrack townland, is a court grave. It was excavated in 1935 and 1975. A flat-topped cairn of stones with traces of a retaining kerb on the long sides has at its south-west end a U-shaped forecourt of 11 uprights. Broken fragments of plain and decorated round-bottomed pottery bowls were found in the forecourt, suggesting that some ritual may have taken place there.
Two portal stones mark the entrance from the forecourt into a small chamber, with a roughly cobbled floor. A polished stone axe found between the portals during excavation has been called the 'magic guardian' of the grave. On the floor of the chamber were found fragments of pottery, flint arrowheads and a stone bead. Beyond the chamber, through another pair of stones, was a cremation passage with boulder walls and a flagged floor, interrupted by three pits. The first pit held a wooden post, and pit 3 at the end of the passage was full of cremated human bones, the remains of 5 or 6 adults, both male and female. Radiocarbon has dated the cremated remains to around 3,000 BC and the blocking of the forecourt to about 500 years later. The cremation passage is the only one known so far in Ireland, but similar features are found in Scotland and north-east England.
Court graves were built as communal burial monuments by early farming communities of the Neolithic period (4 to 5,000 years ago). In Ireland they are mainly confined to the northern third of the country. There are at least 18 court graves in County Antrim, two of which, THE BROAD STONE at Craigs on the west side of Long Mountain and OSSIAN'S GRAVE near Cushendall, are in State Care.
Dooey's Cairn is named after the family who generously placed the monument in State Care in 1976.
Further Reading: A E P Collins, 'Dooey's Cairn, Ballymacaldrick, Co. Antrim' Ulster Journal of Archaeology 39 (1976), 1-7; E E Evans, 'Doey's Cairn, Dunloy, Co. Antrim, Ulster Journal of Archaeology 1 (1938), 59-68.
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This is a very special little passage tomb. (minus the passage) Located on a lightly sloping field below the ridge of Long Mountain, with wide views over the landscape of Co. Antrim & Co. Derry.
Seven beautifully shaped, and closely spaced orthostats hold a substantial, but quite crudely repaired capstone of about 2x1.5m aloft.
The capstone is reported to have been shattered by lightning (!) (more likely frost) in 1976, and was repaired in 1985. The whole height of the tomb would be approx 1.7m
The site was excavated in the mid-nineteenth century, and there are records of the cairn being removed then, and the burial urn removed. About 5km west in Co. Derry, across the river Bann is a similar-sized tomb at Moneydig, which still has much of its cairn intact.
The site has very easy access, a few yards from the road, over a stile. It is in the care of the state, and they have deemed to erect an information post a little to close to the stones for my liking, but at least it hasn't been closely fenced in like so many other tombs in the area.
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A well-preserved example of a Court-tomb, situated on a basalt plateau at a height of 190 metres on the west side of the Long Mountain. The more easily accessable 'Craig's Dolmen' Passage tomb lies 600m SW.
When I say 'well-preserved', the remains of a north-south aligned court tomb is set in the remnants of its oval cairn (approx 15x12m) with traces of the stone kerb defining the perimeter. At the south end is the semicircular forecourt, mostly missing, facing SSE, from which the burial gallery opens between two large, slablike portal stones, separated by a septal. The gallery seems to be divided into three chambers with stone jambs and sills, with the farthest chamber being almost circular in plan.
This is where things get confusing. According to the Historic Monuments and Buildings branch of the DOE (NI), the large capstone was a mid-19th century addition, giving the false impression of a 'dolmen'.
Apart from the strange additions, and the rather restrictive fence surrounding the site, it really is worth seeking out for a visit. This is one of three tombs in the area (out of at least 18 in County Antrim) which are in State care, and the grass surrounding the stones had just been cut when i visited.
Getting here is a little tricky, I approached from the A26, heading NW between Ballymena and Ballymoney. About halfway along, pass the junction to the right with the A44 (Armoy, Ballycastle) and take the next left, a few hundred metres further on, signposted Dunloy. This is where the road numbering ends. head straight into Dunloy over the level-crossing and at the crossroads in the village go straight ahead (bearing slightly right) Carry on down this undulating road for about 3.5km until you come to a crossroads at Mullan Head, and turn left. This road is called 'Mullan ___?' (sorry for my poor memory) Continue down this road for approx 1km, and take the third lane on the left. The lane heads straight to a private house, but bear right at the entrance, and the lane deteriorates into a rocky track up the side of a disused quarry pit (marked on OS map) after bending to the right, the track emerges onto open hillside. Keep your eyes peeled around the third field gate on the right, the site lies about 200m west of the track. (Oh, and watch out for the bull...)
**EDIT 05 Sept. - was passing the site today, and found the lane to the site securely padlocked with a stern notice posted forbidding entrance.
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Ballynaglogh Standing stones, 08 June 2006.
Townland - Ballynaglogh ('Baile-na-gcloch', 'the town of the stones')
Parish - Culfeightrin ('Cuil-eachtrann' [Coolaghtran] 'the corner (cuil) of the strangers')
I decided to visit these stones after seeing the images posted by FourWinds. I live within a couple of miles of the site, and drive past it most days, but have never stopped to explore, so on a pleasant June evening I set off with my camera. Its probably the most easily accessable site that I have ever visited, right in the churchyard of Culfeigtrin (St Patrick's) Church of Ireland, on the Cushendall Road (A2), just before the village of Ballyvoy. Ballyvoy is about 2KM east of Ballycastle, on the North Antrim coast.
A Massive three metre tall basalt stone stands guarding the church door, and another lies, seemingly broken in half, at the eastern end of the building. The broken portion appears to have been removed. Why this stone was defaced and not the other remains a mystery. Perhaps its phallic appearance was too much for the nineteenth-century congregation. There are reports of a third stone nearby, but I didn't have the time to search for it as the light was fading.
The church was built in 1831, but amazingly I can find no details anywhere regarding the age of the stones, or their local significance. They don't appear to be listed on the Archaeology data service website, but to my eye at least, appear to be perfectly genuine. FourWind's theory about them being linked to the other outlying stones around Knocklayd mountain seems to make sense, although they are probably the largest standing stones that I have seen in the area, and a little further away from the mountain than some of the other stones. It certainly made a change from the usual toil up squelchy hillsides to visit the other megaliths in this area. Although never as impressive as stones left in their natural setting, they are certainly worth a quick visit. I will return, and try to locate the elusive third stone (if it exists) when I get a chance.
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Lough Na Cranagh is one of three small loughs nestled on the summit of Fair Head, an impressive foreland with 100m vertical cliffs formed from a sill of dolerite.
The crannóg has remarkably well-preserved circular stone walls, rising approx 3-4 feet from water level in places. Reports seem to differ on the age of the crannóg, ranging from Iron Age, to Early Christian.
There are incredible views from the hills surrounging the lough, over Rathlin Island and towards the Mull of Kintyre.
Townland - Cross
Parish - Culfeightrin
From Ballycastle, take the A2, towards Cushendun. At Ballyvoy, take a left at Hunter's Bar and follow the signs for Fair Head along the Torr Road. There is a car park at Coolanough Clachan (Restored by the National Trust). The lough is hard to miss,(you'll have spotted it before you reach the carpark) and an easy five minute stroll from there.
From the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record;
Crannagh Island lies in the centre of Lough na Crannagh. The crannog is very much as depicted on the OS map; it is oval in shap, 30m x 25.5m across. The outer edge of the crannog is faced with a drystone wall. It stands 1.5m above the lakebed & is surmounted b a stoney bank, 7.2m wide & 0.8m high. The crannog has been built up with boulders overlain with a layer of laterite. There are 3 possiblelanding places on the perimeter of the crannog, at N, SE & NW. At N, 2 lines ofboulders extending from the crannog below the water form a small harbour. "Extensive excavations" by McHenry in 1886 produced only flint and animal bones.
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retired monkey trainer, living on the north antrim coast.
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