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<< Our Photo Pages >> Trestle Cairn - Stone Circle in Scotland in Scottish Borders

Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 27 February 2003  Page Views: 6559

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Trestle Cairn Alternative Name: Dere Street II, Plea Shank Cairn
Country: Scotland County: Scottish Borders Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Hownam  Nearest Village: Dere Street
Map Ref: NT75181612  Landranger Map Number: 80
Latitude: 55.438327N  Longitude: 2.393834W
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
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 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.
3 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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I have visited· I would like to visit

bishop_pam visited on 24th Aug 2017 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 2

Anne T visited on 23rd Apr 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Trestle Cairn, off Dere Street, Scottish Borders: Continuing north up Dere Street from the Black Knowe standing stone, the stone wall is continuous uphill. To get back to Black Knowe Cairn we either had to carry on to Trestle Cairn then double back to Black Knowe Cairn or walk back down the hill to a gate lower down the field at the lower field boundary and walk back uphill to Black Knowe Cairn. We chose the former. Continuing uphill, there is a gate in the next field boundary. At the time of our visit there was stock in the field and an electric fence which we had to duck under. A few yards to the left hand side there was a gate into the field immediately below Trestle Cairn. 50 yards along the stone wall to the left there was a gate into the Trestle Cairn field giving easy access to the cairn. The Canmore/RCAHMS records for this site (Canmore ID 57949 Site Number NT71NE 34) record in 1947 that this is a ‘Druidical Circle .... consists of 17 stones distributed within the circumference of a demolished cairn which originally measured 55’ in diameter’. There were clearly 2 ovals/circles of irregularly placed stones with banks and ditches around them. My impression was that this was a cairn, with some similarities to the Loupin’ Stanes which we’d seen near Eskdalemuir a few weeks before. The views to the west and south were stunning at this time of early evening, with the distant hills bleeding into the grey of the dusk. From here we could see the Five Stones Stone Circles down in the valley to the right of Dere Street, which we’d hoped to make it to that day. The walking had been slower than we anticipated so we stayed to photograph and appreciate the location of this cairn and made our way downhill to Black Knowe Cairn. There is so much to see in this area that we’re going to make another trip, with the Five Stones Stone Circles top of the list. Note for future visitors: returning to the gate in the field within Plea Shank, don’t go back to the gate onto Dere Street. Continuing down the field you will come to some smoothly mown pathways within the heavily tussocked grass. These lead back to Trestle Cairn and is easier walking than in the long grass.

h_fenton Andy B have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 3.5 Access: 2.5

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by minteddy : NT752162 Looking north over Trestle Cairn (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient site in Scottish Borders. More a cairn than a Stone Circle

Information about this impressive cairn can be found in Canmore ID 57949, which also refers to this as a Druidical Circle.

Canmore tells us that in 1947, it was recorded that: "Trestle Cairn stands on a ridge. Its remains consist of 17 stones distributed within the circumference of a demolished cairn which originally measured 55' in diameter. Only the two westernmost stones ... are now earthfast, both standing 2'5" in height and both at a distance of 8' within the margin of the cairn, which is marked here for a length of 20' by an arc of undisturbed material which still attains a height of 1'. Apart from this fragment, everything has been disturbed, and the remaining part of the cairn rises to a maximum height of 2'6" above ground level. The other 15 stones have been moved and in many cases broken, so that any arrangement in which they now lie is fortuitous."

In 1995, an update reported the cairn: "stands on top of an unnamed hill some 200m E of Plea Shank. It measures c.15m in diameter and stands some 0.7m high, with several boulders set on edge within the circumference along the S side of the demolished cairn. The cairn has an uneven surface and is badly disturbed."
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Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by h_fenton : Trestle Cairn viewed from the south west. Pole Aerial Photograph 27 April 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by pilgrim1812 : Trestle Cairn, Dere St, Scottish Borders (Vote or comment on this photo)

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by pilgrim1812 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by Anne T : This is my favourite shot of Trestle Cairn. Standing just outside the inner ring of stones looking west into the distant hills. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by Anne T : This photograph was taken standing in the outer ditch of the stone circle looking south west to capture it sitting on top of the hill (the view to the south is blocked by the adjacent stone wall). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by Anne T : This was my first glimpse of Trestle Cairn, peering over the stone wall from the field just to the south of this cairn.

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by Bladup : Trestle Cairn.

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by Bladup

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by minteddy : NT752162 Standing on east side of cairn looking towards Eildon Hills in background (2 comments)

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by minteddy : NT752162 General view to North East. Not sure if hill with Hownam (pronounced "who nam") Rings is in background

Trestle Cairn
Trestle Cairn submitted by minteddy : NT752162. Just a short walk north up Dere Street. Earth works of hill fort on hill in background can be seen like a coronet. Hill fort is at NT 745175

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 216m SW 236° Five Stanes B Stone Circle (NT7516)
 582m S 185° Black Knowe (Borders)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT75131554)
 611m S 191° Dere Street Cairn* Round Cairn (NT75061552)
 623m E 97° Dere Street stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT75801604)
 744m N 6° Five Stanes A* Stone Circle (NT75261686)
 1.4km SSW 199° Falla Knowe Cairn* Cairn (NT74711475)
 1.6km ENE 71° Chatto Craig* Hillfort (NT76701662)
 2.7km ENE 75° Dodlaw Burn* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT77791681)
 2.8km E 81° Dodlaw Cairn Round Cairn (NT77991655)
 2.9km ENE 71° Little Heuch Law Cairn* Cairn (NT77921705)
 3.1km SW 221° Dark Wood* Cairn (NT73111377)
 3.9km SSE 156° Woden Law* Hillfort (NT76771254)
 4.3km NE 50° Horseshoe Wood Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (NT78511891)
 4.5km SE 134° Standard Knowe Cairn (NT78411300)
 4.5km NE 52° Horseshoe Wood (Hownam)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NT78741890)
 5.0km NE 51° The Shearers* Stone Row / Alignment (NT79101925)
 5.0km NE 49° Hownam Rings Hill Fort* Hillfort (NT79041939)
 5.1km SSE 161° Hindhope Hill Hillfort* Hillfort (NT76811127)
 5.2km SSE 158° Hindhope Hill Cairn* Cairn (NT7710811310)
 5.7km SW 214° Moor Head (Brundean Laws)* Standing Stones (NT7193111439)
 6.1km S 175° Upper Hindhope* Standing Stones (NT75641008)
 7.4km NE 37° Hownam Law Hillfort* Hillfort (NT7964022000)
 8.1km WSW 243° Edgerston Hillfort (NT67981245)
 8.2km ENE 68° Calroust Hillfort* Hillfort (NT828192)
 8.3km SW 223° Knock Hill Cairn Cairn (NT69451016)
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