Lochbuie Standing Stone

Drive out to the eastern side of the Isle of Mull, past Lochbuie itself, and you'll stumble across a weathered slab of stone standing alone in rough moorland. This is the Lochbuie Standing Stone, Bronze Age work that's been marking the landscape for something like four thousand years. It's not dramatic or massive - more a modest pillar than a towering monument - but that's rather the point. You're looking at genuine age, no restoration, no fuss.

The walk to reach it is straightforward enough, though the final approach crosses boggy ground that'll soak your boots if you're not careful. Allow an hour for the round trip from the road. There's something properly moving about standing in front of something this old, alone in the heather with only the occasional golden eagle for company. It's the sort of spot that makes you think about what this landscape looked like when someone first raised that stone.

This won't occupy you for hours - fifteen minutes on site is realistic - but it works brilliantly as a detour if you're camping at Port nan Gael Campsite nearby. The drive around Mull's eastern coast is fine itself, with decent views across to Ben More, and you can string together several small archaeology sites and walks into a proper day out. Come when the weather's decent; there's no shelter, and the wind can cut through. Mull attracts walkers and history types mostly, and this stone appeals to both camps.