
The view from beneath the north west wall.
The view from beneath the north west wall.
In the mist is Laggan Hill beneath which is Grantown On Spey.
The view south.
South side of the fort looking east.
The north face.
Looking north east towards Pityoulis Standing Stone (and barrows), in the centre top of pic.
Looking south to north, Creag Garten is somewhere on the other side of the River Spey.
From the centre of the dun looking north west.
The north west defences.
Some decent masonry remains intact!
The view from the east. In between, a bog!
Looking east up the Spey Valley towards Boat of Garten.
This dun had defeated me four times in the past, lost, exhausted, blizzards and a missing dog had contributed to previous attempts. A good thing because it meant we had to come back.
I parked near the Pityoulish Standing Stone and headed south east along the track towards Kincardine Cottage. From here head straight west. Underfoot conditions are fine if somewhat undulating along with a few sneaky hiding rocks. Once over the second ridge a bog will be reached, on the other side looking down is the dun.
A stunning location which for miles along the Spey beyond Grantown, north towards Carrbridge, west towards Aviemore, to the south Creag a’ Ghreusaiche looms.
The dun is oval shaped 8m by 9m. At some points the wall is almost 4m wide. Parts of the wall remain built but sadly most of it has fallen. Northern and eastern defences are further boosted by steep cliffs. The front door is in the west, which is how I swung up from the bog. As per usual the shepherds have made small wind breaks. Nothing detracts from this dun, a lovely place to sit and let your imagination run riot.
Going back down we headed north to look for a cup marked rock which remained invisible. On reaching a clearance, apt, we found the remains of a township, a ghost town.
After that it was head straight north which led straight back to the car. Much easier than the way up.
Visited 27/4/2018.