Cashtal yn Ard

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

No entry fee; open access for everyone. Donations to Manx National Heritage welcome.

ParkingParking not known

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

Parking details

No car park. The MNH access guide says the road to Cashtal yn Ard is narrow and winding with limited parking options and asks visitors not to block access to neighbouring fields; a reviewer describes no formal parking. The site cannot be seen from the road: a signposted public footpath gate opposite a cottage on a sharp bend leads about 300 m to the monument.

Driving pin: the Google listing pin for Cashtal yn Ard (54.275463, -4.363224), which is the monument itself; the MNH grid reference SC4623 8922 converts to 54.27543, -4.36312, 8 m away. The footpath gate is on the lane to the east and could not be pinned, so satnavs will end on the nearest lane. From Douglas (about 35 minutes): A2 north, 1 km past Dhoon Glen take the second right signposted Port Cornaa and Cashtal yn Ard, cross the tram tracks, next signposted right, left fork through the ford, about 1 km on the narrow winding road to a sharp left bend with a cottage on the right; the footpath gate is opposite. From Ramsey (about 15 minutes): A2 south, left at the Hibernian on to the A15, first right towards Ballaglass Glen, past the glen, round the sharp right bend and up the steep narrow road to the cottage on the left.

No bus route is close to the site; one reviewer walked from the Glen Mona tram halt on the Manx Electric Railway.

About

Cashtal yn Ard, Castle of the Height in Manx, is a Neolithic chambered long cairn of about 3000 BC on a rise above the parish of Maughold, cared for by Manx National Heritage. Excavation in 1932 and 1933 showed it to be an exceptional example of its kind: the small stones of the cairn have been stripped away over the centuries, leaving the tall, well set stones of the forecourt and the entrance to what were five burial chambers. The view takes in North Barrule, the Maughold countryside and, on a clear day, the Cumbrian coast, with Ballafayle Cairn on the skyline to the north-east. Reviewers find it peaceful and atmospheric and suggest bringing a guide to the island's archaeological sites. Tips from visitors: the lanes are narrow with no formal parking, so do not block field gates, and the 300 m footpath from the signposted gate is uneven and may cross a field with ponies or cattle. Dogs are permitted on leads only.

Check today’s timesSee all times

Cashtal yn ArdOpen access

Opening times may change at short notice.

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

No toilets or facilities. The path from the signposted gate is about 300 m: narrow, winding and uneven with loose stones, enclosed by tall hedges and sloping gently up, then a rutted stony track along a field edge; a stone stile with a wooden rail or a metal gate leads into a field that may hold livestock (three small ponies when the guide was written), and a kissing gate 30 m further gives entry to the walled and fenced enclosure, grassy and uneven with protruding stones. The site can be viewed from the gate.

Dogs are permitted on leads only. Please observe the Isle of Man Country Code.

Dogs: Dogs are permitted on leads only, on the footpath and within the enclosure.

Photo: the forecourt and chamber stones of Cashtal yn Ard looking west along the long cairn towards the hills. Otter, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Isle_of_Man_-_Cashtal_yn_Ard_20240220_looking_west_from_halfway_the_long_cairn.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.