Ballochmyle, Ayreshire
Carved stones
NS 512 255

We couldn’t resist the opportunity of visiting this site as a small diversion to our route home took us there. Take the A76 Dumfries road south of Kilmarnock and head to Mauchline. Just after this village you will see a golf course on the left and the road goes into a cutting. The lane you want is the next right. When we went this lane was closed as a bridge had partially collapsed and there was no way down it so we took the next right and parked as this goes to the same place. Walk about ˝ mile along the lane, over the bridge and continue to a field. (Don’t be tempted to go up the first path you come to on the left just before the field when you can see sandstone crags, we did and spent ages walking along forest paths studying each outcrop in the wrong place). Cross the stile and walk to the next stile. Go downhill into the trees and cross a wooden bridge. Immediately over the bridge take the narrow path on the right. Go uphill for a short distance and it meets a path that crosses it, turn right and follow this. After a while you will see a couple of dumped fridges to the right, carry on and the track leads to the correct outcrops. This took a lot of finding but it is really worth it.

The first sandstone outcrop

  

Cups with grooves and a deer shape

In Stan Beckensall’s book “British Prehistoric Rock Art” he says this site is “one of the most outstanding in Britain” and we certainly agree. There are very clear carvings in the red sandstone and they are in a good state of preservation. There are about 150 motifs that were only discovered in 1986 including cups and multiple rings, a star shape in a ring, three animal forms that are unusual and a variety of grooves leading from cups. Some of the rings are cut deeply and several are joined together or superimposed on each other. A previous visitor had chalked in some lines.

Section of the second outcrop
Some of the photos of the second outcrop just beyond the first are a little dark as it was 8.00pm when they were taken as it took a while to find them. This is a site well worth re-visiting a little earlier in the day.

  

Star shape in a ring (left of slab) and curved grooves (centre of slab)

   

Deeply carved multiple rings in the second outcrop

View of the path beside the outcrop

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Summer 2002
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