Broogh Fort

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Open access all year round with no admission fee; donations to Manx National Heritage welcome. English Heritage membership is not needed here.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

No car park. The MNH access guide says there is a small parking area at the site after the staggered crossroads at the Rheast on Moaney Road (U67), with a parking space directly in front of the green gate, and a second option on Moaney Road itself; do not block the gateways. No charge or restriction is published, so the status is recorded as unknown.

Driving pin: the Google listing 'Broogh Fort' (54.1357596, -4.577417) on the mound beside Ballacorris Road, which agrees with the Gatehouse Gazetteer and Wikipedia positions; the access guide's map reference SC 3154 7436 converts to about 250 m north-west, near Moaney Road. MNH directions: from Douglas take the A5 towards Castletown for about 5 km, pass the Mount Murray Hotel turning, after 500 m turn right onto the narrow Moaney Road for 1 km, straight on at the Rheast crossroads, then walk towards the Clay Pigeon Range to the green gate on the right.

By bus: Douglas to Castletown routes 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 11, 12 and 12A stop at Newtown, Old Chapel (both carriageways; use the crossing island); walk 10 to 15 minutes down Moaney Road, not always with a pavement, bear right at the bottom, follow the Clay Pigeon Range signs and go straight on at the next junction to the green gate.

About

The Broogh Fort is an unexcavated earthwork beside Moaney Road at Newtown in Santon. It consists of a flat-topped mound 20 metres across and 4 metres high, ringed by a ditch 8 metres wide, with further banks and ditches to the south and east; nothing survives on the summit. Cared for by Manx National Heritage, it is most likely a medieval motte, the artificial hill for a small timber castle, though a Bronze Age burial mound or an Iron Age ringfort later converted to a motte remain possible until it is properly investigated. A green gate off the lane opens straight onto the site, only a few paces from the road, with a single small plaque. Reviewers say it takes some imagination to picture the palisade and roundhouse that may once have crowned it, and one simply asks for it to be excavated. One practical tip: the nested mound and ditches make the centre awkward to reach, so walk round to the right where the ground is smoother.

Check today’s timesSee all times

Broogh FortSee opening notes

Opening times may change at short notice.

Open access all year round; no admission fee. Donations to Manx National Heritage are welcome. The land is not owned by MNH and visits are at your own risk.

No toilets or visitor facilities; interpretation is a single small plaque. The site is enclosed by a green gate, which must be closed properly on leaving. The mound is about 20 feet inside the gate, but the layout of mound, ditch, bank and outer ditch makes the centre hard to reach; it is easy to walk round the mound to the right-hand side where the ground is smoother. No vehicular access onto the site.

Observe the Isle of Man Country Code: wear stout footwear, expect changes in weather and do not rely on mobile reception.

Photo: the flat-topped mound of the Broogh Fort with its outer bank in front, looking towards the hills. Otter, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Isle_of_Man_-Broogh_Fort_20240221_mound_with_bank_in_front.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.