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Caves of Kilhern, New Luce. |
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Description
The Caves of Kilhern are actually a much-robbed and disturbed
long chambered cairn which is overgrown with bracken and
heather. It measures some 34.00m long by 20.00m wide at the
north eastern end and 11.00m wide on the south west end and
reaches an overall height of about 1.70m. The cairn contains the
remains of four chambers with indications of a possible fifth.
The cairn is not obvious at first glance, looking like a pile of
stones but a signpost by the track indicates the direction to
take.
Directions
Starting at New Luce in Dumfries & Galloway, park your vehicle outside the village hall
and proceed south, taking the first tarmac road on the left. After
about one mile you will cross the Southern Upland Way. Follow the
Way south for about one quarter mile where a timber post indicates
the cairn to the left. Follow the south east side of the dry stone
wall to the cairn. Note, there is a local designated walk taking
in this route and leaflets are available from local tourist
centres.
Parking
There is no parking at the site and vehicles should be left in New
Luce.
Fieldnotes
I was actually on holiday at the time of this visit and myself
and my wife had picked up a leaflet of walks from the tourist
office. We found the cairn quiet easily and the setting is
rather splendid with wide open views all around. The atmosphere
of the place is good but was slightly spoiled by people working
on something nearby. A good time to visit this site would be
when the mist was rolling across the moorland with the cry of a
curlew your only company. I would have liked to spent some time
alone here as I felt there was more to the site than appears at
first glance.
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