About
Two of the finest brochs in Scotland stand 500 metres apart in Gleann Beag, a quiet valley reached by a narrow road over from Shiel Bridge to Glenelg. These Iron Age round towers, built 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, are among just four brochs still standing close to their original height, with Mousa and Dun Carloway. Dun Telve is more than 20 metres across and still over ten metres high in part, its broken side showing the two concentric drystone walls tied by stone slabs that also floor the galleries between them, with a stair winding up inside. Its top was pulled down in 1722 for stone to build the nearby Bernera Barracks. Dun Troddan is lower but better preserved overall, its floor still showing post-holes and a hearth with a broken quern built into it. There are parking bays for two or three cars beside each broch; Dun Telve is on a level gravel path and Dun Troddan up a grassy bank.
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- Glenelg BrochsOpen all year; an unstaffed open site, no hours published
Opening times may change at short notice.
Historic Scotland: 'The Glenelg Brochs are free to visit and open year-round.' No hours, closures or notices on 20 October 2026.
Dun Telve, by the river, is reached on a mostly flat gravel path; Dun Troddan, on a terrace higher up the glen, needs a short, moderate climb up a grassy bank. Two interpretation panels; no toilets or other facilities.
Photo: Inside Dun Telve, its tall standing section showing the double drystone wall and galleries, with autumn trees in the glen. Tom Parnell, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dun_Telve_(16412626880).jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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