The Machrie Moor Stone Circles on the Isle of Arran

On the mystical Machrie Moor there’s an fascinating relic of the past waiting to be discovered. Used for religious rituals, cremations and burials, the Machrie Moor Standing Stones were once the centre of Neolithic life on Arran, and have stood in the middle of this sweeping landscape for over 4,500 years. Surrounding the stones are other remnants of the past, with the ruins of huts, chambered cairns and field systems also surviving on the moor. Why not spent a day exploring the Moor and discover links to the prehistoric past?

While there are a variety of stone circles across Machrie Moor, the ones closest to the now derelict Moss Farm are the only ones with two concentric circles of stones. Whilst they were erected as early as 2000 BC, archeological work has found that they were actually built to replace an even earlier circle made from timber as early as 2500 BC.

One of the stone circles even has significance in folklore, said to be the place where Fingal the giant tethered his dog Bran through a hole in one of it’s stones while he ate a meal in the inner ring. The circle is known as ‘Fingal’s Cauldron Seat’.

• Open year round for free
• Check website to plot your journey as some sites are further apart than others