Dùn Meadhonach

Fort

Explorer Tom

Dùn Meadhonach takes the top of a narrow rocky ridge on Colonsay, where steep drops help make a fort without charging the builders for extra walls. Tom says its name, Middle Fort, means there must be a First and Last Fort waiting to be found. The real attraction is simpler: stand back and watch how neatly this ridge was recruited for defence. The surviving enclosure is roughly oval, about fifty-eight metres long and twenty-three metres wide. A stone wall once followed its crest; the best surviving courses lie towards the eastern side. An outer line of defence covers a lower rock shelf at the more approachable end. Archaeologists have also recorded building footings inside, but their relationship to the original fort is uncertain. Treat them as a clue to later use, not proof that everyone lived here at the same time. A Colonsay archaeological survey places this fort north of Balnahard and notes how much walling has fallen down the steep sides. Old accounts mention small metal vessels and utensils supposedly found by rabbits nearby in the nineteenth century. Those objects are lost, so the tale cannot settle the fort's age or purpose. The hill itself remains the clearest surviving evidence. This is rough, exposed island ground rather than a staffed monument. A local Balnahard walking description includes the fort on a long, vigorous outing, but check current routes, land conditions and any guided walk before setting out. Keep away from unstable drops and loose masonry. You can admire the siting without winning a race to the highest stone; the old builders already won that one.