This monument lies in the corner of a field and has the most amazing relationship with the trees growing upon it. The huge boulders of the cairn kerb form a nearly full circle, with just a few on the north eastern side missing.
The cairn remains to the height of the kerb stones, about 1.3m. The roots of the beech trees that grow around its circumference seem to ooze over the rocks and present some really alien forms.
The kerb contains 45 stones, each of which are green basalt.
From Antrim follow the A6 east towards Templepatrick. 800m after passing through Dunadry you will come to a farm lane on the left. The easiest way to get to this site is to drive up to the farmhouse and ask for directions. We found the farmer very helpful and welcoming.
This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |