This huge hilltop cairn, on the top of Knocklayd Mountain, almost certainly contains a passage tomb, but there are no external signs of an interior structure. It is over 3m tall and about 20m in diameter. Most of the stones that form it are covered by a layer of peat and tough grass, but on the south and west sides the prevailing winds have exposed the stones and a large section of the huge kerb.
Oddly, the kerb is not formed by stones that are set into the ground, but that are lying against the slope of the cairn itself.
On a good day the views from here would be spectacular. Today I was in a hail and snow storm on the summit and so could not enjoy them. The climb up from Ballycastle Forest to the east is straight forward, but steep with several false summits that make you think you're nearly there only to make your heart sink when another climb is revealed.
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. |