Dun Telve & Dun Troddan - Highland, Scotland
Brochs
National Grid Reference: NG 829 172 & NG 834 172
How To Get There
Nearby Sites
Related Sites
Dun Telve and Dun Troddan are situated within sight of each other not far from the
coast of the mainland near Skye. To reach them by road you'll have to pass along the
A87 at some point. At Shiel Bridge by Loch Duich turn off the main road and head
Dun Carloway
west for Glenelg along an often serpentine mountain road.
Gurness
Notes
Broch :-
An Iron Age stone structure, bui
throughout Scotland and
concentrated near the coasts, a
defence against raiding parties.
Many are in a poor state of repa
but the most complete examples
look almost like the cooling towe
of a power station! Typically the
had one, small, easily blocked a
defended entrance leading to a
circular "courtyard" within. The
walls were double skinned,
providing small rooms and stora
areas between the inner and ou
walls. Steps were also built in th
gap between the walls providing
Dun Telve and Dun Troddan are easy to find, and though not in a remarkable state of access to upper wooden platform
They were not standard living
repair it is possible to get some idea as to the original structure. Dun Telve is in a
better state of repair out of the two, the entrance is intact and you can explore various quarters, people would take refu
rooms built into the cavity walls, even climb some of the steps that wound up between in the broch when a raiding part
was sighted, possibly taking som
the inner and outer wall.. There is a visible trace at Dun Telve of a ledge where it is
of their valuable live stock with
thought that a wooden platform would have rested giving a ground and upper floor
them (such as would fit through
within the structure.
entrance anyway).
Above is Dun Telve, the western most of the two brochs at this location. I'm sorry
about the quality of the photograph. My trips to Scotland never seem to deliver a good
crop of photographs and these are no exception. I found it quite difficult to get a good
angle on Dun Telve due to surrounding trees, and then I got the sun right down the
lens too! From this angle Dun Telve looks remarkably complete, but the remains are
semi-circular.
Dun Ringill - Isle of Skye, Scotland
Iron Age Fort
National Grid Reference: NG 562 171
How To Get There
Nearb
Sites
From Broadford take the B8083 heading for Elgol. This is indeed a "long and winding road" - take it slow, take it
Relate
easy - enjoy the scenery. When you reach Kilmarie take a left off the main road, signed to Kilmarie Old Burial
Ground. Park just around the corner by the graveyard. Just back around the corner is a bridge over the stream. Sites
Cross this and then head out along the coast. You'll need to follow the coast path for about a mile to reach Dun
Ringill.
Notes
This ruinous Iron Age fort is a place that I had long wanted to visit. I had tried to find it once before with
inadequate maps and after failing miserably vowed that I would return suitably equipped. Finally that chance
arrived during August of 1999. We were staying in a B&B at the south east coast of the Strathaird peninsular.
Dun Ringill was just a few miles up the road.
This site had long held a fascination for me. You see, I'm a fan of Jethro Tull. Ian Anderson used to live in the
house by Old Kilmarie Burial Ground and in 1979 he wrote a song inspired by Dun Ringill and the thousands of
years of human endeavor that surrounded his home. Once I had confirmed my suspicions that Dun Ringill was a
genuine site and not just a bit of poetic license I became committed to finding it.
The structure that awaited me bore more resemblance to a burial mound of some kind than a fort. It sits
precariously atop the cliffs and looks like it should crumble away into the sea at any minute. The walls describe a
rough "D" shape in plan measuring about 20 meters by 17 meters with an entrance to the northwest. The interior
was full of fallen stone, weeds and thistles and looked too dangerous to explore in detail without at least a sturdy
hard hat. I did explore enough to notice that there was space for a sturdy wooden door in the entrance and the
holes in the walls for the bar which would have once secured it are still there.
Dun Beag - Isle of Skye, Scotland
Broch
National Grid Reference: NG 339 387
How To Get There
Nearby
Sites
Follow the A863 south out of Dunvegan for about 8 miles. Just before you enter the village of
Struanmore there is a parking area on the western side of the road and the site is signed from here. Related
Sites
Park here, cross the road and walk up the hill.
Notes
Every time I visit Dun Beag the weather is against me. This time I just managed to snap some usable
pictures before the clouds and rain came down. It's not just Dun Beag - it seems to happen on Skye
as a whole. But then that's part of the beauty of the place. i Just need to remember to take some
faster film for the camera next time!
Dun Beag is regarded as the best preserved broch on Skye. You can see the remains of the
stairway, a side cell and the gallery built into the 4 meter thick walls. These still stand to a height of
around 5 or 6 feet. Much fallen masonry is still evident at the site, particularly on the eastward side of
the broch.