Cairn: OS Grid Reference – NS 92220 99205
Also Known as:
- Canmore ID 48266
- Eliston Hill
A helluva climb to get here. Take the last road up towards Mill Burn at the west end of Tillicoultry and go to the picnic area & carpark, just below the footpath that takes you up the eastern slopes of the gorge. Walk up and up the steep footpath for nearly a mile and, as the landscape begins to level out a bit and turns more into a slope, watch out for a split in the paths and make sure you hit the one that veers you to the right, towards King’s Seat instead of the one that runs alongside the edge of the Gannel Burn valley below you. Walk along this path for a few hundred yards and you’ll come across a large pile of rocks placed atop of a much older and overgrown mass of stones, right by the path side. .
Archaeology & History
Due northwest of the curiously named Elistoun Hill, is this seemingly isolated overgrown prehistoric cairn. Measuring some 8 yards across and more than a yard tall, this compacted fairy-mound of a hillock has the crown of many large, more recent blocks on top, thankfully highlighting it making it much easier to find! But its isolation here is truly curious – as is the location halfway along hillside, quietly hidden away, calling out for no attention to any ancient traveller. It was listed as an ancient monument when surveyed by Ordnance Survey in the 1970s, although I have to be honest in saying that I doubt the prehistoric prevenance of the site. I may be wrong, but an excavation here would prove worthwhile.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Thanks for producing a wonder site. If I had a pot of money, I would happily underwrite some a few archaeological digs.
Cheers Alex! – Thanks for the thumbs-up! If you ever get rich, gimme a shout and we’ll work where to begin! 🙂 All the best – Paul