Auchagallon Stone Circle

Auchagallon Stone Circle stands on a gentle slope above Machrie Bay on the Isle of Arran. It is the remains of a Neolithic or Bronze Age burial cairn surrounded by fifteen standing stones. The circle sits on a narrow ledge facing west, giving views across the bay. The stones vary in height from half a metre to over two metres, most made of red sandstone with two of pale grey granite. The circle measures about fourteen and a half metres across, with a large stone cairn at its centre. Antiquarians excavated the site in the 19th century and found a burial cist inside the central cairn. No other human remains were recorded during their work. Archaeologists now think the circle was originally built as a kerbed cairn, a type of burial mound edged with stones. The site shows how people in the Neolithic or Bronze Age treated their dead and marked the landscape. Visitors walk among the upright stones and see the central mound of smaller stones. The setting overlooks Machrie Bay with views of the sea and distant hills. The red and grey stones stand stark against the green slope, a quiet reminder of ancient practices. The site is small but striking, offering a sense of connection to the people who built it long ago.