Glenalmond - Tomenbowie Burial Ground, Clach Na Tiompan Chambered Cairn and Drystone Sheep Stell in Perthshire
We’re often up at Sma’ Glen playing in the river with the kids, or walking along the track that follows the River Almond upstream. As drystone wallers we are always keen to visit historic sites that feature drystone or stone, especially local ones, and although there were quite a few things at Auchnafree that we wanted to see, we never made it that far (8 mile return trip). Recently we managed to pull our bikes from the back of the shed, pull off the spiderwebs, blow up the tires, load them in the van and drive them to Newton where we set off along the same bumpy track we have walked before.
Not used to cycling, I won’t lie, it all felt like a bit of a slog with the wind against us. Thighs burning, eyes watering, I saw something that looked like a drystone structure on the top of a nearby low hill. I was pleased for an excuse to stop.
Walking towards the structure, at first I thought it was a sheep fank. With sheep everywhere on these hills that made the most sense. However, when the gate came into view, its small size made me guess again. I guessed graveyard. Just two gravestones were visible, (the rest likely buried under earth or the long grasses) and a pair of blue skis. This is Tomenbowie burial ground.
Just five minutes of cycling later, we saw Clach Na Tiompan, (a Bronze Age chambered cairn) up ahead. The cairn is in a heavy state of ruination, but it’s size is impressive and interesting. It’s one of the longest I’ve ever seen, I’d estimate it at around 50 metres long. There are three visible cists, once still with a huge cap stone in place. There is also a small standing stone nearby.
Just a minute ahead on the road is the Auchnafree Millennium Circle. This is an old sheep stell that was rebuilt in 1999 by Norman Dawson, a shepherd on Auchnafree, to mark the Millennium. Sheep stells, an important part of Scotland’s agricultural past, were used for holding sheep, stopping them from straying and allowing shepherds to work on any animal that was injured etc. Some are still in use today.
The Auchnafree stell is huge, and the rebuilding work must have taken Normal, a solo waller, a very long time, but what a beautiful, lasting contribution Norman has made to the hills where he worked for many a year. Worth every day of hard labour.
I was dreading the return cycle but the sun had come out, and spurred on by its warmth, we started back. It was then I got some wonderful news…The reason the cycle had felt so difficult towards Auchnafree? It was actually uphill the whole way. On the way back, even thought the road didn’t look like it was going downhill, I barely had to touch my pedals, instead coasting the entirety of the four miles to Newton.
