Carn Ban

About Carn Ban

Rising from the southern moors of Arran, this modest summit offers far more than a simple tick for hill-baggers. It is home to an exceptionally well-preserved Neolithic chambered tomb. The steady ascent through Kilmory Glen leads to a site of ancient significance, framed by expansive views across the Firth of Clyde.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Carn Ban translates from Gaelic as 'White Cairn,' likely a reference to the pale appearance of the stones that once made the Neolithic burial mound a gleaming landmark on the hillside.
• •The summit area is dominated by a 5,000-year-old 'Clyde-type' chambered long cairn, measuring roughly 30 metres long, which served as a communal burial site for the island's earliest farming communities.
• •From the top, you can look south across the water to the distinct, rounded profile of Ailsa Craig, while the dramatic, jagged granite peaks of Northern Arran, including Goatfell, dominate the inland horizon.
• •The approach from Kilmory follows a relatively gentle gradient along forest tracks and moorland, though the final section requires a tolerance for the soggy, peat-rich terrain typical of the southern island.
• •It is one of the rare hills where the archaeological remains are more substantial than the actual summit; you are essentially climbing a hill to look at a slightly smaller, man-made hill.