Clava Cairns
Clava Cairns, just outside Inverness near Culloden, is a beautifully preserved Bronze Age burial complex of passage graves and ring cairns dating back roughly 4,000 years, arranged among standing stones in a quiet stand of trees that gives the site an atmospheric, almost otherworldly feel. The cairns are aligned with the setting midwinter sun, a deliberate piece of ancient astronomical planning that shows real sophistication in how the builders understood and marked the solar calendar, and the site has given its name to an entire class of prehistoric monument, 'Clava cairns,' found across this part of the Highlands.
Clava Cairns FAQs
No, it's a free, open-access site with no staffing or ticket booth.
They date to the Bronze Age, roughly 4,000 years old, among the best-preserved prehistoric funerary monuments in the Highlands.
Yes, Clava Cairns is very close to Culloden and the two are commonly visited together in a single short trip from Inverness.
The name comes from this site itself, which gave its name to a wider category of similar Bronze Age monuments found across the region.
The ground is grassy and uneven in places, so it may be challenging for wheelchairs or those with limited mobility, though the core cairns are reachable via a short level path from parking.
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