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<< Our Photo Pages >> Clach-a-charra - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Scotland in Highlands

Submitted by Nick on Sunday, 14 December 2003  Page Views: 14711

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Clach-a-charra Alternative Name: Clach a' Charra; Stone of Vengeance; Stone of Charra
Country: Scotland County: Highlands Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Ballachulish  Nearest Village: Onich
Map Ref: NN02566134  Landranger Map Number: 41
Latitude: 56.701907N  Longitude: 5.226613W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Alta-Falisa : One of the most tormented standing stones I have ever seen. May 2015. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Standing Stone in Highland

I visited this one on Saturday 18th October just around sunrise. It lies just south of the busy A82 Oban to Fort William road, and parking can be a bit awkward. Head for Oak Cottage, beside the field with the stone in it, as the field belongs to the owner. A lovely lady, originally from Aberdeenshire but who married a local Cameron man. She told me that the stone had been broken many years ago by a horse using it as a rubbing post, but that her husband's grandfather enlisted the help of a local stone mason to pin and re-erect it.

Permission to visit will readily be granted provided the field is not in crop or being used for livestock. She showed me a marvellous photo she was given by a previous visitor, with the stone framed by a rainbow. It's a real beauty, and one of the few surviving holed stones. According to folklore, it is traditionally associated with the slaughter of the two sons of Cummin of Inverlochy, in revenge for wrongs perpetrated on the bride of one of his clansmen.

< Important update since the visit of Nick in 2003:
May 2015. The ever increasing number of visitors is now perceived as a nuisance by the landlady ; in particular those who enter her property without even asking. The landlady explictly told me that she granted me access to her field "just because I had asked for it". If it may help her, I have uploaded a photo in full definition on Wikipedia Commons : Stone_of_Vengeance

Update January 2019: This standing stone is recorded as Canmore ID 23579, which tells us the stone: "measures c.2.2m high by c.1.1m wide by c.0.2m thick. A complete fracture, c.0.3m above the base, has been repaired. The holes appear to be natural".

The Journal of Antiquities also includes an entry for this standing stone - see their entry for Clach-a-Charra, Onich, Inverness-shire, Scotland, which includes directions for finding this stone, together with a drawing of the stone and local folklore.

Note: Please note this stone is located on private land. Please ask at Oak Cottage before visiting.
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Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Alta-Falisa : Clach-a-charra, Onich standing stone A most dramatic composition, by Marcin Sikora, November 2010. Image copyright: skorekgfb (Marcin Sikora), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Alta-Falisa : Braving the elements, May 2015. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Alta-Falisa : A 19th century drawing by James Drummond. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Antonine : 2019 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Alta-Falisa : Standing guard and braving the elements, May 2015.

Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Alta-Falisa : What James Drummond would have seen in May 2015.

Clach-a-charra
Clach-a-charra submitted by Nick : Onich, near Fort William NN025613 I visited this one on Saturday 18th October just around sunrise. It lies just south of the busy A82 Oban to Fort William road, and parking can be a bit awkward. Head for Oak Cottage, beside the field with the stone in it, as the field belongs to the owner. A lovely lady, originally from Aberdeenshire but who married a local Cameron man. She told me that the ...

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"Clach-a-charra" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Re: Clach-a-charra by Anonymous on Thursday, 02 June 2022
Hi, do you have any contact details to access this standing stone??
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