Barnhouse Stone

Also known as:
Barnstone
Nearest town:
Stromness (6km WSW)
OS reference:
HY313122
OS sheet:
6
Latitude:
58° 59' 29.83 N
Longitude:
3° 11' 44.31 W

Images

Image of Barnhouse Stone (Standing Stone / Menhir) by wideford

taking photo of Barnhouse Stone aligned with centre of Maes Howe noticed the field boundary coming straight down Syra Dale. This means the alignment continues to the Setter tumuli in the neighbouring parish of Firth

Image credit: wideford
wideford
wideford Jul 30, 2010
Image of Barnhouse Stone (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Hob

June 2004. A smart stone with a fancy hairdo.

Image credit: IH
Hob
Hob Jun 24, 2004
Image of Barnhouse Stone (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Hob

June 2004. Tall and thin and covered in flora.

Image credit: IH
Hob
Hob Jun 24, 2004
Image of Barnhouse Stone (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Kammer

Taken August 1997, looking north west, this photo shows the Barnhouse Stone, with Maeshowe in the background.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Aug 13, 2002

Articles

Barnhouse Stone

harestonesdown
harestonesdown May 14, 2019

Visited 13/5/19. Was only there a couple of minutes when the farmer +1 pulled up in his little buggy pick up type thing and told me in no uncertain terms “get out of our fucking field”.
I gave him a thumbs up and quickly jumped on the very timely approaching bus.
Nice!

Barnhouse Stone

C
CARL Jul 9, 2012

Visited 4.6.12

The stone stands in the middle of a field but you really can’t miss it.

The field in which it stands was in crop so I settled for a roadside view so not to cause any damage.

Although the stone lines up with the entrance to Maeshowe it was strangely not mentioned by our guide when we visited Maeshowe later in the evening.

Barnhouse Stone

Jane
Jane Jul 5, 2004

This stone is unmistakeable and incredibly significant as it is in perfect alignment with the entrance passageway to Maeshowe.

Typically Orcadian, being tall and flat, Barnstoneworth United, as I took to calling it, was always topped with a perching curlew or oystercatcher.

As you travel around the Stenness landscape, this stone always seems to be visible.

Barnhouse Stone

Hob
Hob Jun 22, 2004

This is a smart stone.

It’s tall, has buckets of lovely lichen and moss, and despite the sheep protector fence (I assume it’s there to prevent sheep from rubbing the stone and making it fall on them), it has an air of stateliness. It knows that it gets seen from the road, and is self assured in it’s role as the blocking stone of Maeshowe.

Take the time to stop and get out of the car, or nip over if you’re at the stones of Stenness, it’s not far, though the main Kirkwall-Stromness road is busy at times. It can be easily reached through the gate, though as Kammer suggests there is no path. I tried to check for permission with the house directly across the road, but no-one was in (or not answering).

Probably not good for wheelchair users, or anyone with mobility issues.

Barnhouse Stone

Kammer
Kammer Sep 26, 2002

Visited August 1997: With all the megalithic action going on in this area, the little old Barnhouse Stone gets a bit neglected, and looks a rather sorry for itself sitting in it’s enclosure.

I’m afraid I can’t remember much about how we got to the stone, or where we parked. I think the visit involved climbing over a gate and wondering across a field. Having looked at the map I’m guessing that there’s no footpath to the stone.

Topics

Big upright slabs 9
FourWinds
FourWinds
Jun 2004

Sites within 20km of Barnhouse Stone

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.