Clach nam Breatann: The Stone of the Britons in Glen Falloch

Why it matters

High on the eastern slope of Glen Falloch, above the road from Loch Lomond to Crianlarich, a great block of rock sits on top of a mound of boulders. Its Gaelic name, Clach nam Breatann, means the Stone of the Britons. Tradition holds that it marked the meeting point of three early medieval kingdoms: the Britons of Strathclyde to the south, the Gaelic Scots of Dál Riata to the west, and the Picts to the east. Few places in Scotland are claimed as a three-way frontier, and the setting, at the head of Loch Lomond where the Highlands close in, suits the story.

The stone

The main block stands about 3.7 metres high and rests on a heap of boulders roughly 55 metres round at its base. Whether people built it or nature dumped it is still argued over. Canmore’s notes record both views: one describes a natural outcrop, while a later survey judged it at least partly man-made, a circular mound about 18 metres across and 8 metres high. Most writers accept that the great top stone looks deliberately placed, but nobody has excavated it.

The battle of 717

The early Irish annals record a battle in 717 between the men of Dál Riata and the Britons at a stone called Minvircc, in which the Britons were beaten. Some historians have suggested that Minvircc is this stone, which would make it one of the very few battlefields of that period that can be pinned to a spot. There is no direct proof, so treat it as a strong tradition rather than a fact. The name Clach nam Breatann itself turns up as a boundary mark in documents of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Local lore also places Robert the Bruce here in 1306, pausing to look back after his defeat by the MacDougalls of Lorn at Dalrigh, near Tyndrum, where he lost the famous Brooch of Lorn.

Finding it

The stone is on open hillside on the east side of Glen Falloch, between Inverarnan and Crianlarich. Walkers on the West Highland Way pass below it, and it can be reached by a rough, pathless climb from the glen. Canmore site 23884 gives the exact grid reference; take an OS map and expect wet ground. There are no facilities and no signs.

Around Glen Falloch

South of the stone, the glen opens onto the head of Loch Lomond, and the whole area sits inside the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park. North at Strathfillan, the ruins of the priory of St Fillan recall the healing saint whose relics Bruce carried to Bannockburn. East over the hills is Killin at the head of Loch Tay, home of the clan MacNab and the six Bronze Age stones on the Kinnell Estate. West through Tyndrum and Dalmally, Kilchurn Castle guards the head of Loch Awe. This was MacGregor country before the clan was outlawed. The nearest whisky is down the loch at Loch Lomond Distillery in Alexandria. For more stones with a story, see our guide to the famous stones of Scotland.

Sources

• Canmore — Glen Falloch, Clach nam Breatann (site 23884) and archaeology notes.
• Annals of Ulster and Annals of Tigernach, entry for 717 (battle at Minvircc).
• Wikipedia — Clach nam Breatann.