Kilmartin – Standing Stones, an Old Road and a Ruined Tower
About 3.7 miles on foot.
Before the main road was built, the way up Kilmartin Glen is thought to have been an old coach road on the west side of the burn, the stream that runs down the glen.
It still runs for just under two miles from the glen's primary school, a few minutes beyond the Nether Largie standing stones, to the ruined tower house of Carnasserie. Walked there and back from the car park by the stones, it fills a morning.
- Time
- About two and a half hours from the car park and back. The old road is 3 km, just under two miles, each way; the car park is about a quarter of an hour's walk from its start.
- The path
- A boardwalk and a grass field to the stones, a tarmac lane, then the old road, improved in 2006 as a route to the school.
- Where to start
- Lady Glassary Wood car park, on the B8025 about a mile south of Kilmartin: free, with about twenty spaces. The old road starts at Kilmartin's primary school, about a quarter of an hour's walk north by the standing stones and the lane.
- When to go
- All year. From mid October to March the field by the stones is wet and the days are short.
- Dogs
- On a lead: sheep and cattle graze the fields of the glen.
- Children
- Nearly four miles there and back, on a road for much of it.
- Toilets
- None on the walk. The nearest public toilets are in Kilmartin village, beside the hotel.
- Before you set out
- In December the sun sets at about a quarter to four. Historic Environment Scotland keeps the standing stones, Temple Wood and Carnasserie Castle.
The walk
Leave the car at Lady Glassary Wood car park, on the B8025 about a mile south of Kilmartin. It is free. A wooden boardwalk crosses the field to the Nether Largie standing stones, tall and grey with lichen. The lane beyond passes Temple Wood's stone circle and, a quarter of an hour from the car, reaches the primary school, where the old coach road begins.
This is thought to be how coaches went up the glen before the present main road. It runs north for just under two miles to Carnasserie Castle, a roofless tower house on a green rise, built for John Carswell, whose Gaelic prayer book of 1567 was the first book printed in the language. Come back the same way: a little under four miles on the old road, and about two and a half hours in all. Wear boots for the field by the stones.
From November to January set off by 12.30pm. Sheep and cattle graze the glen, so keep dogs on a lead.
If it rains
The glen floor is open, with no shelter on the old road. Kilmartin Museum, in the village, is the place for a wet day: check its hours before going.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.