Watch Stone

Watch Stone is an archaeological site in Orkney Islands, Scotland. Watch Stone is situated nearby to the archaeological site Stone of Odin (probable site), as well as near Standing Stones of Stenness.

Photo: will craig, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Type: Archaeological site
Description: menhir in Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK
Also known as: “The Watchstone” and “Watch Stone (Orkney)”

Places of Interest Nearby

Highlights include Standing Stones of Stenness and Barnhouse Settlement.

Standing Stones of Stenness

Archaeological site

Photo: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Standing Stones of Stenness are a Neolithic monument five miles northeast of Stromness on the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. This may be the oldest henge site in the British Isles. Standing Stones of Stenness is situated 610 feet southeast of Watch Stone.

Barnhouse Settlement

Grassland

Photo: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Neolithic Barnhouse Settlement is sited by the shore of Loch of Harray, Orkney Mainland, Scotland, not far from the Standing Stones of Stenness, about 5 miles north-east of Stromness. Barnhouse Settlement is situated 690 feet east of Watch Stone.

Ness of Brodgar

Protected area

Photo: profile, CC BY 2.0.

The Ness of Brodgar is a Neolithic archaeological site covering 2.5 hectares located between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. Ness of Brodgar is situated 1,200 feet northwest of Watch Stone.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Stenness and Cairston.

Stenness

Photo: Nachosan, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Stenness is a small, scattered village in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, on the A965 main road between Kirkwall and Stromness. It has several UNESCO World Heritage Listed neolithic sights: the Stones, Maeshowe and Ring of Brodgar, with Skara Brae a few miles further north.

Cairston

Locality

Photo: Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Cairston is a village on Mainland, in Orkney, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Stromness. Within the village is located the Castle of Cairston which is said to have belonged to the House of Gordons, and may have been built in 1152, as contested in a Saga. Cairston is situated 2½ miles west of Watch Stone.