Dun an Fheurain

Dun an Fheurain

This fort lies 550 m south of Ardalanish Farmhouse.  It occupies the summit of an isolated headland a short distance behind the shore at the west end of the lovely Ardalanish beach.  It is protected on all but the south-west side by sheer cliffs that are highest on the north east, rising to 27.5 m.  On the south-west side the summit is accessible via a series of sloping rocky shelves.

The summit is surrounded by a wall, which varied between 3.7 m wide on the WSW where the entrance is located, and 2.5 m where it runs south across the head of a natural gully.  It appears largely as a band of rubble, except to the north where no traces of it remain.  There are intermittent exposures of both faces and, on the north-east side, where it is best preserved, ten courses of stone are still in place on the outer face standing 2 m high.  The wall encloses an area measuring 65 m by 15 m.  The entrance is about 1.5 m wide

On the south-west side, below the level of the fort wall, are the remains of an outwork that, originally, would have encircled the most of the lower part of the headland connecting with the fort wall to the west and south.  However, now traces exist only on the south and south-west sides.  Seven courses of stone remain in place on the south side where the wall stands to a height of 1.2 m.  It encloses an area measuring 18.3 m by 15.3 m.  The entrance is to the south west, where the wall is 1.8 m thick.  Here, parts of both faces are still in place and, unusually, the south side of the entrance passage is bounded by a single very-large boulder.

A short length of narrow, ruinous wall outside the fort entrance on the north side is probably the remains of a comparatively recent barrier built to prevent stock straying too near the cliff edge.

                           Grid Reference NM 358 495