Corrimony Chambered Cairn is a Clava-type passage grave about 4,000 years old, ringed by 11 standing stones, in Glen Urquhart 8.5 miles west of Drumnadrochit. Historic Environment Scotland runs it: entry is free and it is open all year. Unlike at Clava, much of the passage roof survives.
Corrimony Chambered Cairn is a burial cairn about 4,000 years old in Glen Urquhart, 8.5 miles west of Drumnadrochit off the A831. A low round mound of river stones covers a central chamber reached by a long passage, and a ring of 11 standing stones surrounds it. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) looks after it. Entry is free and it is open all year.
It is a “Clava-type” cairn, the same family as the Clava Cairns near Inverness. The difference, HES points out, is that at Corrimony much of the passage roof survives. The setting is the other reason to make the drive: HES describes pleasant surroundings of birch wood and cultivated land.
The cairn is about 18 m across and 2.5 m high, built of water-worn pebbles and boulders inside a kerb of larger stones set on edge. In the middle is a round chamber that once had a corbelled roof closing it in. That roof has gone, but the passage leading in from the edge of the cairn still has most of its roofing slabs.
On top of the cairn lies a large flat slab decorated with cup marks, a common form of prehistoric rock art. HES thinks it was probably the capstone of the chamber. One of the standing stones on the north-west side also has cup marks on its outer face.
The ring of 11 stones ranges from 1.5 m to 2.7 m high. Do not count them all as original: the HES scheduling record says 4 are modern additions and 2 have been reset in recent times.
Like the passages at Clava, the one at Corrimony faces south-west. HES says it may be aligned with a celestial event, but adds that nobody has investigated this.
Stuart Piggott excavated the cairn in 1952. Under a stone floor in the chamber he found traces of a crouched burial, which HES says was probably a woman. Nothing was buried with her, though a bone pin turned up elsewhere in the cairn.
Because there were no grave goods, the date is an estimate. HES notes that Clava has been dated to about 2000 BC and says Corrimony is likely to be about the same age.
HES also points out that Clava-type cairns seem to have been built on good farming land, close to where people lived, while earlier tombs sat at the edge of farmland. There may well have been a settlement nearby.
Checked October 2026:
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 8.5 miles west of Drumnadrochit (HES); about 14 km and 13 to 15 min by car |
| Road | A831 up Glen Urquhart towards Cannich; the cairn is just off it |
| Parking | Corrimony Cairns car park, shared with the RSPB reserve, open daily |
| Entry | Free, all year |
| Postcode / grid ref | IV63 6TW / NH 383 303 |
| Toilets and food | None on site; nearest toilets at Cannich Village Hall, about five miles |
| Bus | Stagecoach 17, Inverness to Cannich via Drumnadrochit, Monday to Saturday |
HES recommends strong footwear, because access through the farm can be wet.
Without a car, the cheapest option is the Stagecoach 17 bus up the glen, with a walk of up to 1.5 miles from the request stop. The other is a private half-day tour that stops here and at Urquhart Castle; it is priced per group, so it works best for families or small groups sharing the cost.
The cairn car park is also the start of the RSPB’s Corrimony nature reserve, a mix of moorland and Caledonian forest. Its 8.5-mile (13.5 km) waymarked trail passes through a working farm, so leave gates as you find them. The RSPB lists black grouse, Scottish crossbills, crested tits and golden eagles among the birds here. From 1 April to 15 August it asks you to keep dogs close, preferably on a short lead, because birds nest on the ground.
Glen Urquhart is the glen that runs west from Drumnadrochit, with the A831 along it towards Cannich. Corrimony fits neatly into a day heading that way. Carry on to Glen Affric, whose Dog Falls car park is about 4 miles beyond Cannich, or take the Tomich turn for Plodda Falls. Closer to the village, the crag of Craigmonie, where the Monie legend begins, is covered in the Drumnadrochit walks guide.
Drumnadrochit, about 15 minutes back down the glen, makes an easy base; see where to stay in Drumnadrochit.
4 hours
A private half day with a kilted driver-guide: a loch photo stop, 90 minutes at Urquhart Castle with tickets included, the Corrimony chambered cairn and an optional stop to meet Highland cows.
from$471 per group (up to 8)
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Yes. Historic Environment Scotland says Corrimony Chambered Cairn is free to visit and open year-round, which was still the case in October 2026. There is no ticket office or staff on site. The car park is shared with the RSPB's Corrimony nature reserve, and no parking charge was listed.
About 4,000 years. Historic Environment Scotland notes that the similar Clava Cairns near Inverness have been dated to about 2000 BC and says Corrimony is likely to be about the same age. No objects were found with the burial, only a bone pin elsewhere in the cairn.
Both are Clava-type passage graves of about the same age, and both passages face south-west. The difference is preservation: Historic Environment Scotland says much of the passage roof survives at Corrimony, unlike at Clava. Corrimony is a single cairn in Glen Urquhart, while Clava, near Culloden, is a group of cairns.
Stagecoach bus 17 runs from Inverness through Drumnadrochit and up Glen Urquhart to Cannich, Monday to Saturday. The RSPB says there is a request stop about 1.5 miles from the reserve on the Inverness to Cannich service, so expect a walk along the lane. Check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
William Mackay, writing in 1893, gave the Gaelic as Coire Mhonaidh, Monie's corrie. In local tradition Monie, son of a Scandinavian king, was defeated on the crag of Craigmonie above Drumnadrochit, fled up the glen and was killed here. Mackay recorded it as tradition, and there is no earlier source, so treat it as legend.
The Clava Cairns are a Bronze Age cemetery about 4,000 years old, 7 miles east of Inverness and a three-minute drive from Culloden Battlefield.
The best short walks from Drumnadrochit are the Craigmonie Trail (2 km, about an hour, with a viewpoint over Loch Ness) and the flat Urquhart Bay Wood loop (2 km, 45 minutes).
Glen Affric is a National Nature Reserve of old Caledonian pinewood, lochs and mountains west of Cannich, about 17 miles (25 minutes) from Drumnadrochit.
Divach Falls is a waterfall about 30 m (100 ft) high in oakwoods 2 miles south-west of Drumnadrochit.