Images (9)
Fieldnotes (2)

Images

Image of Achvarasdal (Broch) by LesHamilton

Panoram over Achvarasdail from the northwest.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Jul 5, 2019

The entrance passage to Achvarasdail broch, viewed from the interior.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Jul 5, 2019

A view out of the broch along its entrance passage.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

The entrance doorway from within Achvarasdal broch.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

A view across the central court towards the entranceway.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

Rebuilt walling on the east of the broch, possibly closing off an intra-mural space.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

Close-up view of a section of walling, built from a few of large boulders, but mainly brick-shaped sandstone slabs.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

This stitched panorama illustrates Achvarasdal broch from a vantage point above the wall on the west.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

Part of the Giant Hogweed ‘jungle’ surrounding Achvarasdal broch.

Image credit: Les Hamilton

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

Articles

Achvarasdal

Broch

LesHamilton Jul 5, 2019

Revisited: June 18, 2019

I revisited Achvarasdal broch once more and was impressed by the improvements made since a year previously.

The entrance passage and the central court of the structure have been cleared of weeds, particularly plants of giant hogweed, and are now tastefully laid out with pink gravel chippings to create a much more pleasant visitor experience.

Members of tbe Caithness Broch Project and Caithness Countryside Volunteers are to be congratulated on their efforts, which include installing layers of geo-textile to inhibit future regrowth.

But the battle is not completely over as a number of mature hogweed plants were spotted within a few metres of the broch wall on the northwest. Hopefully work will continue to achieve total eradication of this dangerous, invasive species.

Broch Clean-up
You can read about the clean-up process in these articles from The John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier on April 4, 2019 and April 24, 2019

Achvarasdal

Broch

LesHamilton Aug 11, 2018

Visited: June 29, 2018

Just a few hundred metres from the village of Reay on Scotland’s far north lies one of the largest brochs in Scotland: Achvarasdal. After heading east on the A836 out of Reay, the road dog-legs sharply northward. Almost immediately, turn right following the road for about 600 metres and park outside the woodland surrounding Achvarasdal Care Home. It’s just a short walk along woodland paths, following ‘broch’ signs, to the broch.

Achvarasdal Broch is, in area, one of the largest in Scotland with a court diameter of 9.8 metres. The interior of the broch was excavated during the latter part of the 19th century, but the external wall face was not cleared, and remains concealed beneath a sizable vegetated mound. The walling, which rises to 1.6 metres above the central court, is composed in the main of quite small slabs of light-coloured sandstone, giving an appearance rather like brickwork. Achvaradsal has a most impressive, quite narrow entrance passage, a little short of 4 metres long on its east-south-east.

At the time of my visit, the broch was besieged by a major infestation of Giant Hogweed. Even with a walking pole fully extended above me, I could not quite reach the hogweed’s flowering heads, which must therefore have been at least 4 metres tall. Achvarasdal is one of the brochs promoted by the Caithness Boch Project, whom I contacted about the problem. They replied that they were aware of the situation and would be taking measures to tackle it. I’m pleased to report that, just three weeks later, I was sent a photograph showing that clearance work had begun. Hogweed, however, is not easy to erradicate, particularly if it has been seeding the area for years, so it may take several seasons to render the site hogweed-free.

You can read much more about Achvarasdal Broch on the Canmore website, including details of finds from the site.