📌 Homestead near Blackwaterfoot, Isle of Arran
★
Superb views across Machrie Moor make the short but boggy, overgrown ascent to Kilpatrick Dun worth it – just! This complicated, multi-era homestead spreads over a gently sloping hillside south of Blackwaterfoot. The most visible landmarks are a Bronze Age short-cist and adjacent iron age dun (probably overlying a burial cairn), and more distant turf banks enclosing the wider site. There are further hut circles, field systems and a kerb cairn nearby, marked on Ordnance Survey maps. Even armed with this information, your first reaction upon spotting the Historic Environment Scotland sign might be “is this it?”, unless you have a serious interest in early history. The Preaching Cave is accessed from the same car park.
🌍 Location
📌 Access from the unclassified coast road 1 mi south of Blackwaterfoot, Isle of Arran
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NR 906262
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.484753,-5.315220
🚌 Infrequent bus stops at Carmahome turnoff, 300m north of car park (0.5 mi)
🚗 Tiny car park at 🧭 NR 903269 55.490329,-5.321141
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 15-min walk (each way) to the dun (⬤⬤ Easy to Moderate). Follow the minor lane away from the main road, soon taking the first right onto a track. This leads to fields, where faint paths / tracks (overgrown in late summer) with black / white wooden posts lead gently uphill to the fort. Posts are infrequent and can be hard to follow; there are some boggy areas, especially around a gate – waterproof boots recommended!
