Whiteholme Rig

Trip No.4  Entry No.3  Date Added: 7th Aug 2016
Site Type: Stone Circle Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 31st Jul 2016. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 3

Log Text: Seven Brethren Stone Circle, near Lockerbie: I was surprised to find this was so near where we used to live at Corrie. But when we lived here, with three young children, we didn't have the same interests as we do now, so (although the kids say we traumatised them by taking them to so many monuments) we never visited. We parked by the gate to the disused quarry near Standburn farm, hopped over the gate and followed the track up to Whiteholm Rigg. At present, along the top of this low ridge, a row of trees follows the trackway. Right at the end, motorway barriers have been erected to form a large, robust enclosure, gated at both ends, which looks as if it's used as a stock enclosure. Beyond the gate at the eastern end, cows and their calves grazed in the lush grass on the hillside below. Walking along the edge of the field, small toppled stones could be seen in the grass, which had been left to grow long and untended around the stones, but mown in the area beyond. Walking around the tussocks we spotted the remains of 6 stones, but how unimpressive this site is. If we hadn't have known that this was a stone circle, we would have thought these were just a few outcrops in the grass. Such a shame.
A funny (now) moment occurred at the end of our visit. Going back to clamber over the gates into the enclosure, the bulls in the field (of which there were several, excitable!) came to investigate. One stood pawing the ground with its front hoof. Husband climbed the 8 ft tall motorway barrier, which left me stuck in the stone circle field. However, husband managed to distract the cattle whilst I climbed over two gates to get back to safety!

Burnswark Hillfort

Trip No.4  Entry No.1  Date Added: 7th Aug 2016
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 31st Jul 2016. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Burnswark Hill Fort, Dumfries & Galloway: A week of being stuck in the house contemplating on, and preparing for, the building work to come I was glad to escape the house for a walk in open countryside with few people around. Considering we’ve lived in this area for 10 years, we never visited this impressive and enigmatic hill fort. It was as good as (if not better than) Edlingham Castle, and in my view, more interesting. There was such a lot to see. Exiting the A74(M) at Ecclefechan, we headed off up the narrow one track rock up past farms called ‘Paulsland’ and ‘Relief’. There is a small parking area just before the gate to Burnwark Farm at grid reference NY 18788 78332. We then plunged into the darkness through a track through the forest, to emerge onto a grassy hillside filled with large sheep. It was strange and nice to make the transition from English ‘stick to the footpaths’ to the Scottish ‘responsible right to roam’; different rules for only a few miles apart.

From the forest track, a trackway follows the hillside upwards to the hillfort. The first things to come into views were ‘the three bretheren’, which we took to be burial mounds surrounded by ditches, although the Canmore record below describes them as possible Roman artillery positions for attacking the fort.

On top of the plateau, there were huge views around 360 degrees, including the sun shining off the Solway Firth. Neither Andrew or I have ever been at a point where it’s been possible to see both Criffel and the Lake District (Helvelyn was the tallest peak) at the same time. There are also the grassed over remains of structures, although I found it impossible to interpret what they were.

Having walked over to the north-western side of the fort to see the Roman fortifications below, we made our way over to the nearby cairn on the next hilltop.

Burnswark Hill Cairn

Trip No.4  Entry No.2  Date Added: 7th Aug 2016
Site Type: Cairn Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 31st Jul 2016. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Cairn at Burnswark Hill, near Ecclefechan: After walking around the hill fort, we spotted this cairn on the next hill top to the north east and followed the tracks over. There were great views down to the Roman fortifications on the north western side of the fort. Whilst Romans usually leave me cold, the juxtaposition between the hillfort, the fortifications and the cairn, together with the views of the Solway Firth, Criffel and Helvelyn in the Lake District beyond, were stunning. A great afternoon, and well worth the visit.