Barochan Cross

Trip No.10  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (Renfrewshire)
Visited: Yes on 25th Mar 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Barochan Celtic Cross :

The Cross is to the left when you walk through the main doors.
It has it's only little recess at the back of the Abbey. The Cross has carvings on all 4 sides, although most are worn away due to weathering.

It is a really impressive Celtic Cross, and it's position in the Abbey in front of the Wallace Window provides a nice peaceful setting for the cross.

*Getting There ; Only 400m from Paisley Gilmour Street train station.

Walk across the old County Square and onto Gilmour Street.
Take your first left onto Gauze Street and cross the bridge, take the first right into Abbey Close and the entrance is facing the White Cart Water.

Gleniffer Braes Menhirs

Trip No.10  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: Scotland (Renfrewshire)
Visited: Yes on 25th Mar 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Gleniffer Brae Menhirs :

Approaching the wall surrounding the field l notice a lot of medium sized Menhirs that have been used in the farmers wall. These were more than likely something to do with the Gleniffer Brae Menhirs, which might possibly be Alignment Stones.
When drawing a straight line through the centre of the 2 Menhirs they line up with the centre of Dumbuck Crannog 14.2km away

Dumbuck Crannog (situated between the Volcanic Basalt Plugs of Dumbarton Rock & Sheep Hill) is 1.4km from the settlement at Dun Bowie Hillfort, to the North.
The Dumbarton Rock settlement was only 1.6km downriver to the West, Sheep Hill Fort was 1.9km upriver to the East, and it is here that the substantial discovery of Greenland Cup & Ring Markings were found.

Where the people who aligned these Menhirs related to the Dumbuck/Dun Bowie community - Was it the same people who done both?
There was a Neolithic Settlement found on the South bank of the Clyde, as well as several Crannog remains discovered on the Southern bank of the River Clyde between Langbank and Erskine.

*Getting There ; From Paisley Gilmour Street train station, walk across the old County Square and onto Gilmour Street. Cross over onto St Mirren Street and get the Number 26 bus to Glenburn, get off on Gleniffer Road, at the Stanely Reservoir. From here its about a 1/2 hour walk.

From the reservoir you follow Gleniffer Road uphill for 2.3km. About 350m before the Menhirs you will pass a carpark on your left. You will have to climb a wire fence to enter the field, the area around the Menhirs can be boggy.

Craigston Wood Menhir

Trip No.10  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Renfrewshire)
Visited: Yes on 25th Mar 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Craigston Wood Menhir :

A massive Menhir in a clearing in Craigston Woods, surrounded by small cliff faces and boulders, it may have been an ancent quarry site.

This Menhir has a crack running the lenghth of it,and has a most unusual feel to it.
l found a few shells at the base of the Menhir, suggesting birds drop the shells onto the rock to smash them open and get the food inside.

It is about 2 or 3 minutes from the Cup & Ring Marks, in the same Woods.

When I spoke to an elderly couple walking their dog, they didn't know much about it, but told me it had been there for as long as they've lived there.

Site visits ;
1. 25/03/2019
2. 12/04/2019

*Getting There ; About a 20~25 minute walk from Johnstone train station.

Come out the station and take a right onto Thorn Brae, walk East up Thorn Hill and take your third right down Kings Road.
Walk up Kings Road for 440m and take a left when you reach Auchenlodment Road, follow this road for 470m until you reach the end of the housing.

Walk up the country road for 300m and you will come to a bend in the road, walk up the bend in the hill for a further 600m - you will see a carpark on the left handside of the road, across from this is an entrance path through the woods to the Menhir.

High Craigenfeoch Rock Art

Trip No.10  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Rock Art Country: Scotland (Renfrewshire)
Visited: Yes on 25th Mar 2019. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Craigston Wood Cup & Ring Marks :

About 20m from the roadside, through the tree's is a special Sandstone outcrop. This outcrop contains carvings that are 3,500 ~ 4,000 years old.

When we approached it l was a little disappointed, we couldn't see any Cup or Ring markings, the whole outcrop was totally covered in moss & dead leaves.
I grabbed a broken branch from the ground and started clearing away leaves and vegetation from the surface, and we started noticing a couple of Cup Marks, so we started scooping out the debris from the depressions, and noticed Rings around these Cups. We traced out the wavy gutters in a line of moss running from the Cup & Rings.

After much cleaning of leaves, moss and dirt, we had a rough shape of 3 Cup & Rings, forming a Triangular shape, all 3 were connected.

The one at the top right had a line connecting it to the one at the top left, which had a wavy line running downwards to the bottom Cup & Ring of the triangular arrangment, which in turn had a wavy groove running down to a crack in the rock. This crack in the rock seems to be natural, although it may have been deepened and widened by the creators of the Cup & Rings.

We noticed a Couple of likely Cup Marks above this triangular formation, so we cleaned them out and found these were also full Cup & Ring Marks. These must be the 5 as documented by J. Kirkwood in 1938 and by OS (WDJ) on 25 November 1964.

Previously Documented Records :
1. J. Kirkwood (1938) ; 5 Cup & Rings
2. OS 1:2500 (1964) ; 5 Cup & Rings
3. R.W.B Morris & D.C Baily in (1967) ; 4 Cup & Rings
4. OS 1:10000 (1973) ; No Mention
5. RCAMHMS (1985) ; No Mention

Site visits ;
1. 25/03/2019
2. 12/04/2019

*Getting There ; Around a 15~20 minute walk from Johnstone train station.

Come out the station and take a right onto Thorn Brae, walk East up Thorn Hill and take your third right down Kings Road. Walk up Kings Road for 440m and take a left when you reach Auchenlodment Road, follow this road for 470m until you reach the end of the housing.

Walk up the country road for 300m and you will come to a bend in the road, walk up the bend in the hill for a further 250m and you will see some trees to your right, this is Craigston Woods.