Geograph - photograph every grid square

Remains of a structure

According to the "Concise Scots Dictionary" (Chambers) a "sheep ree" (or "sheep-ree") is another term for a sheep fank, "a dry-stone enclosure where sheep are gathered for shelter, dipping, shearing etc".

According to my measurements, the one that is shown in this photo, with the Gallangad Burn behind it, is 8.5 metres long by 4.1 metres wide; its long axis is oriented east-west. The south wall (the nearer of the two long walls) is prominent in this image, but the course of the remaining walls can be discerned behind it as a low greenish ridge. A smaller enclosure, 1.7 metres square, is built into the south-eastern corner of the structure; from this viewpoint, the south-eastern corner is the one that is furthest to the right. For a closer look at the small enclosure, see NS4580 : Remains of a structure (detail).

For another view of the structure as a whole, see NS4580 : Remains of a structure.

The ruins are located in NS4580 : The valley of the Gallangad Burn; that photo shows a crag enclosed by a bend in the Gallangad Burn. The ree is located there, at the foot of the crag, on its sheltered northern side. To obtain an elevated viewpoint, I climbed partway up the slope at the base of the crag.