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Lingdowey Burn E Cairn is a robbed-out cairn c. 0.3 miles SSW of Cairnerzean Farm SW Cairn. All stones have been removed leaving a grassy circular footprint in open moorland. It is “situated on top of a natural knoll” as described in Canmore ID 61552 (go to Links). The cairn has a diameter of c. 18 yards with a central platform c. 12 yards across and up to c. 1 foot in the centre. There is an intermittent earth bank up to c. 1 foot high in the W half of the cairn but the E half has an outer ring of reeds obscuring the perimeter. In the E Arc there is a gap in the reeds. There are several earthset possible kerb stones on the edge of the 12 yard platform on the SW, W and NW points of the circle. The platform has an irregular grassy surface with a concentration of grassed over stones c. 1 foot high in the centre. These stones may be the protruding cist stones noted in the 1985 visit by RCAHMS.

Lingdowey Burn E Cairn is c. 0.4 miles NE of Lingdowey Burn N Cairn over rough moorland.

I have made an alternative shorter route including a new cairn, Cairnerzean Fell E, which I propose to visit soon. Cairnerzean Cairns II is 3.3 miles long, starting at the Cairnerzean Farm Cairns. It is viewable at osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/11462554/Cairenzean-Cairns-II

Directions: Take the A77 S from Ayr to Cairnryan. Drive 2.5 miles S from the 30mph speed limit on the S of Cairnryan. There is an unsigned left turn into a single track road to New Luce in the middle of a long straight at NX 0859 6374. Travel on this narrow road for c. 7.5 miles to a parking place at NX 1503 6754. This large parking space is c. 0.25 miles S of Cairnernerzean Farm Track on the right.

Directions: Take the A77 S from Ayr to Cairnryan. Drive 2.5 miles S from the 30mph speed limit on the S of Cairnryan. There is an unsigned left turn into a single track road to New Luce in the middle of a long straight at NX 0859 6374. Travel on this narrow road for c. 3.5 miles to a parking place beside an old WWII bombing target at NX 1142 6753. Cairnerzean Fell lies c. 2.5 miles E of here. My walking route is viewable on osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/11356088/Cairnerzean-cairns
Good walking boots, a GPS device and good stamina are requirements for this 5 mile walk over pathless open moorland.

Visited 14.02.22

Giant’s Dike Hillfort consists of a ruined wall surrounding the upper slopes of Barstobrick Hill c. 1.75 miles N of Ringford in Dumfries and Galloway. According to Canmore ID 64189 (go to Links) there are remnants of the wall running from N to S on the hill, the E Flank relying on a steep craggy slope for natural defence. The internal area of the fort has no significant features beyond the modern addition of Nielson’s Monument on the summit of Barstobrick Hill.

Visited 08.02.22

Cairnerzean Farm SW Cairn is c. 350 yards E of Cairnerzean Farm. It lies c. 15 yards SW of Cairnerzean NE Cairn. The round cairn measures c. 10 yards across but the interior has been entirely robbed-out. There is an earth bank on the N half of the cairn up to c. 1.5 feet high. The S half of the cairn has been eroded reducing the earth bank to ground level. Canmore ID 61507 (go to Cairnerzean Farm NE) describes the features of the Cairnerzean Farm Cairns.

Visited 08.02.22

Cairnerzean Farm NE Cairn is c. 350 yards E of Cairnerzean Farm. It lies c. 15 yards NE of Cairnerzean SW Cairn. The round cairn measures c. 15 yards but the interior has been entirely robbed-out. There is an earth bank round the cairn up to c. 2 feet high with a gap in the N Arc. The only feature in the interior is an earthset stone measuring 1x1x1.5 feet in the E Arc. Canmore ID 61507 (go to Links) describes the features of the Cairnerzean Farm Cairns.

Visited 09.02.22

Lingdowey Burn S Cairn is c. 250 yards SE of Lingdowey Burn N Cairn. The round cairn measures c. 20 yards but has been extensively robbed especially in the N quarter. The other quarters are covered in a scatter of small to medium stones. The centre of the cairn has two unfortunate additions: a Modern Cairn and a small shelter constructed c. 3 yards W of the Modern Cairn. Canmore ID 61530 (go to Links) furnishes further details of Lingdowey Burn S Cairn.

Visited 09.02.22

Lingdowey Burn N Cairn is c. 0.5 miles E of Cairnerzean Fell Summit Cairn. It is a large round cairn with grassy areas in the S half exposed by substantial stone robbing. It measures c. 25 yards in diameter. The NE Arc of the cairn is relatively intact leading up to a c. 10 feet high summit. A full description is available in Canmore ID 61519 (go to Links).