Don't panic! It's around here somewhere! It has to be! All the books say it's a really good five-stoner, so don't give up looking.
I nearly did. The fields nearby are littered with stones pushed into piles or into hedges. It's very confusing. I finally saw it, up on a little shelf on the side of the hill 20m above me. It's hardly surprising that I didn't see it ... it was hiding behind a calf. Yes, behind a calf. This is a very small, yet perfect, stone circle .
I really like five-stone stone circles. To me they are the pinnacle of stone circle building. The axial stone clearly defines the axis, five stones is enough to make something feel round. They are the Philip Glass of stone circles. Minimalist and functional. This is one of the best I've seen.
What's more, like Gortanimill (County Cork), there is a fantastic view of The Paps on the horizon. Oo-er! I can see why this spot was chosen.
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. |