Free preview of our Stone
Circles CD-ROM in the new Stone Circle Shop
Megalithic Mysteries - Scotland Navigation: [ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]
Barpa Langais
Chambered Tomb, North Uist
- Nearest town: Loch Maddy
- Nearest village: Clachan a Luib
- OS Map: 18
- OS Map reference: NF838657
More than just a
pile of old stones!
This is a stunning construction, about 50 feet across, and 15 feet high.
The exterior is a huge pile of stones, but it's the interior structure which is really
impressive. A short corridor of about 8 feet opens into a small chamber, which is
apparently hexagonal. I say apparently because I didn't venture inside, for two reasons.
One was the sign near the monument which says that it's not safe to enter - when you look
at the huge pile of stones being supported this doesn't come as too much of a surprise.
But the main reason was that it really didn't feel right to go in there. The atmosphere
the place had when you stuck your head into the opening at the base of the monument was
intense, almost overpowering. This was and is a sacred place and I didn't feel that I had
any right to go in there. It's a feeling I often have at burial chambers. Sometimes I go
in, and sometimes there's something powerful stopping me from entering. So I took a photo
of the chamber and retreated a few yards to take in the grandeur of the whole place.
Access: Situated on North Uist, near Loch Langass. We
got the ferry from Leverburgh, on Harris, to Newtonferry (a.k.a. Otternish - this caused
some confusion, as Caledonian Macbrayne, the ferry company, refer to it as Otternish,
while all the maps we had called the place Newtonferry. when we pointed this out to one of
the ferry crew, he smiled and said "Oh, so you noticed then.".) From the ferry,
it was about a ten mile bus ride - the bus doesn't have a particularly strict timetable
and it will usually wait until the ferry has arrived before setting off. The driver let us
off near the site; there's not a bus stop as such, but most people know where things are
and the best way to approach them so it's always worth asking. From the road it's about
half a mile uphill on a path of sorts to the Barpa Langass burial chamber.
Click here for full page map
(use your browser's "back" button to come back)
Rating: General Impression 4, Ambience 4, Access 2
Text and photos on this page by and copyright of Alastair
Fletcher and Jocasta Barrett
Megalithic Mysteries - Scotland Navigation: [ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]
|
|
Price �20 ($30)
Order now |
Stone Circles and Rows - a
photographic tour on CD-ROM
  |
 |
Over 500 entries with photographs
Map based interface
Windows and Mac format
270 Hi-res images and maps available for personal use |
 |
|
Above photographs � Andy Burnham unless otherwise stated
You are free to use up to
20 of my photographs on your web site provided that:
1 - they are not images credited to another photographer
2 - you put a link to www.megalithic.co.uk
and credit Andy Burnham near every image used
For images credited to
other photographers please ask permission by contacting me
for their e-mail address.
Using material in any other way without the author's permission is strictly
forbidden.
