<< Our Photo Pages >> Wideford Hill Cairn - Cairn in Scotland in Orkney
Submitted by howar on Sunday, 29 April 2007 Page Views: 6377
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Wideford Hill Cairn Alternative Name: YairsayCountry: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Cairn
Nearest Town: Kirkwall
Map Ref: HY419121
Latitude: 58.992057N Longitude: 3.012771W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
Redfun has visited here
George Petrie notes excavations of a circular arrangement of ten mounds close to Wideford farm, three 'large' and the rest smaller. He excavated three of the latter, about 10-12' across by 3' high, and found in each a short cinerary cist (one NW/SE, a second WNW/ESE). Later he dug another three of the barrows, but only mentions one result, cist-less. It is unlikely that such a seasoned investigator would confuse Wideford with Wideford Hill (the latter then pronounced Whyteford), but coming down the saturated NE slope of the hill to the north end of the reservoir I saw white stones at the edge of a low mound to the right of the track/streambed I came along.
This spring I came for a better look at this, but maybe left it too late in the season as all I found were lumps of stone atop a mound of vegetation. Lower down I had also noted a large 'trench' last year, about man deep and littered with stones including some more the dull colour and shape of ones used as a field boundary in Orkney. I thought perhaps it pertained to the gairsty dyke that gave its name to Yairsay in the plantation by the main road. It is unfortunate that I took no photos last year as it has since been filled in as part of work by the Water Board. To one side of it there was, and still is, a large area scattered with many white stones that are mostly longer than they are broad, perhaps removed from the trench alongside. Though they aren't in straight lines it has the feel of a loose linear array.
One benefit of the removal of the trench is that this time I could see a concentration of stones in and over a grassy mound [George Petrie described one of second trio of Wideford tumuli he looked at as a turf-covered mound of "large lumps of stones jammed together", with a mix of burnt bones and fine clay beneath at the level of the ground about it]. These are of different form to those just upslope, being more stone blocks rather than long slabs. If this were some clearance cairn one would expect that the rest of the area would also comprise of these rather than the observed scatter. And many of the stones look to me to be squared off rather than "au naturel'. The mound measures 8.5 x 4.7 x 0.9m above the surrounding vegetation, with further stones apparently underfoot in places about the perimeter. The long axis aligns uphill, but lacking a compass I cannot positively state that this points to the tomb on the other side of the hill. [The vanished St.Duthac's chapel used stones from the Pickaquoy burnt mound settlement, and the latter when excavated had two building slabs with rock art that must have come themselves from elsewhere - I suspect there may have been a tomb this side of the hill just as we have the Wideford Hill Cairn the other side and Cuween Hill facing that].
Unless you are sure-footed and wearing wellies you approach through the Wideford Hill water treatment works, keeping to the track that goes through the northern end (all else is no-go). Beyond the Water Board fence the new works are the fenced-off area at the end of the fieldwall to the track's right. The covered 'trench' etc. are on the other side of the track about half-way up. Do not be tempted to climb to the hilltop, the way up is either water-logged or non-foot-friendly heath, and it is a lot further and steeper than it looks.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
©2024(licence)
©2024(licence)
©2024(licence)
©2024(licence)
©2024(licence)
The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
Please Submit an Image of this site or go out and take one for us!
Click here to see more info for this site
Nearby sites
Click here to view sites on an interactive OS mapKey: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed
Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)
To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.
Turn off the page maps and other distractions
Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
499m SW 232° Heathfield Chambered Cairn (HY415118)
823m NNW 345° Quanterness* Chambered Cairn (HY417129)
997m W 270° Wideford Hill* Chambered Cairn (HY40901211)
1.7km SW 233° Smerquoy ancient settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY40501109)
1.7km ENE 65° Saverock (2)* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY43481280)
1.8km NNE 15° Ramberry Cairn Chambered Cairn (HY42401383)
1.8km ENE 60° Lower Saverock* Not Known (by us) (HY43511300)
2.2km WNW 282° Rennibister Souterrain* Souterrain (Fogou, Earth House) (HY39731260)
2.3km E 99° Grain Earth House* Souterrain (Fogou, Earth House) (HY442117)
2.4km ESE 113° Pickaquoy* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY44071116)
2.8km W 263° Nabban* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (HY391118)
3.0km WNW 283° Ingshowe* Broch or Nuraghe (HY390128)
3.2km ESE 113° The Orkney Museum* Museum (HY448108)
3.2km ESE 112° Tankerness House Museum* Museum (HY44851086)
3.2km SSE 153° Nevada Cott* Artificial Mound (HY433092)
3.2km ESE 107° Kirkwall Sculptured Stone (HY450111)
3.3km ESE 111° Kirkwall Sculptured Stone (HY44941087)
3.5km WNW 298° Site C Circular Feature from the Rising Tide project Standing Stones (HY3882313776)
3.7km SSE 153° Broch of Lingro* Broch or Nuraghe (HY435088)
3.7km SSE 158° Lingrow* Chambered Tomb (HY43240863)
3.7km SE 145° Crantit* Souterrain (Fogou, Earth House) (HY440090)
4.2km SE 137° Scapa* Barrow Cemetery (HY447090)
4.5km SE 141° Hillhead* Ancient Village or Settlement (HY44720855)
4.6km NW 318° Burness* Broch or Nuraghe (HY38821557)
5.5km W 276° Cuween Hill* Chambered Cairn (HY36421277)
View more nearby sites and additional images
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.