Friday 16 October 2009
Ballafayle Cairn
Good news for Maughold residents and visitors to the Parish.
Good news for Maughold residents and visitors to the Parish.
The ancient burial mound above Ballafayle has recently been cleared of the trees which had fallen during the big storm. The neolithic remains are now fully accessible and are well worth a visit. It is thought that the site may have once extended across the road and encompassed the Quaker burial ground, Rhullick Ny Quakeryn, in which William Callow is buried.
Ballafayle Cairn is a fine place to visit with spectacular views to Maughold Head and over the Irish Sea to the fells of the English Lake District. Combine a visit with a trip to Cashtal yn Ard at Rhenab, another internationally famous example of a neolithic burial cairn. Both cairns are thought likely to be over 4,000 years old and are amongst the largest examples of ancient burial monuments in the British Isles.
The adventurous visitor could also include a trip on the same day to see what is one of the finest collections of Celtic/Norse crosses in Europe. These are in the church yard at Kirk Maughold. Unfortunately these these are comparative youngsters and have only been around for about the last 1400 years!
They are nonetheless very impressive!
By the way click here to access the excellent 'virtual tour' of Cashtal yn Ard on the Manx National Heritage Website: http://www.gov.im/MNH/heritage/monuments/cashtal.xml and here to find out more about the crosses: http://www.gov.im/mnh/heritage/monuments/stoneCrosses.xml
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