Backies Broch

Past a water treatment works and farmland north of Golspie, Backies Broch first merges with its rocky hilltop as a mound of stone. Its form becomes clear only from above and within.

Fine flat slabs of metamorphosed sandstone lie in regular, brick-like courses, their skill striking two thousand years later. On the southeast, original lintels still roof a low, dark entrance passage into the protected interior. A mural chamber opens from it, while a stair gallery shows that the tower once rose much higher.

The Duke of Sutherland's factor excavated the broch in 1846. That year pioneering Danish archaeologist J. J. Worsaae sketched exposed features since lost, including three lintelled voids above the doorway. Dunrobin Castle Museum holds the finds: pottery sherds, shale rings and ornaments, a jet armlet fragment, and a shale bead—evidence of domestic life and adornment rather than overt ritual.

Its survival, obscurity, and hilltop views across the Moray Firth, along the Sutherland coast, and inland to the mountains reward the search. Between earth, sea, and sky, the position may have held cosmological meaning for its builders and certainly carries atmospheric resonance now.

The climb from farmland and roads reaches an older, exposed defensive hillock chosen for elevation, open sky, and command of the landscape.

Inside, close stones and the still-roofed entrance create an intimate enclosure; from the rampart the Moray Firth, north–south Sutherland coast, and inland mountains open to the horizon. That contrast gives the site its threshold quality.

This is an unreconstructed ruin. Since the 1846 excavation, features recorded by Worsaae have continued to disappear, making impermanence visible within endurance and inviting reflection on building and decay, intention and entropy.

With no information boards, car park, or formal path, finding Backies requires local knowledge or careful map reading. Visits are usually solitary, creating contemplative conditions that infrastructure cannot manufacture.

Backies Broch functioned as a fortified dwelling for an Iron Age farming community. The thick walls, single narrow entrance, and commanding hilltop position provided defensive capability. The scarcement ledge and wall galleries indicate a multi-storey structure. Secondary buildings between the broch and an outer encircling wall suggest a small settlement complex.

The broch was constructed during the later Iron Age. Secondary structures were added within an outer wall, creating a defended settlement. At some unknown point, the broch was abandoned. The site lay undisturbed until the 1846 excavation, which cleared the interior but dumped spoil over the exterior walls. The broch was re-scheduled as a protected monument by Historic Environment Scotland in 2016, recognising its ongoing significance.

From the A9, a sign to Backies directs you onto a minor road north of Golspie. Follow this road for approximately two and a half kilometres until a sign for the Scottish Water Treatment Works appears. Park on the verge. Walk up the road eighty metres, then take a well-constructed track heading east. The track ends at a ruined croft, from which the broch is visible on its hilltop.

The final approach is across rough ground, heather and grass, climbing the hillock to reach the broch. When you arrive, the walls are immediately impressive: regular courses of flat sandstone slabs rising around you, the interior space open to the sky, the entrance passage dark and intact on the southeast side.

Walk through the entrance passage if you are willing to stoop. The lintel stones overhead have held their position for two millennia. Inside, the passage opens into the broch's circular interior. The scarcement ledge, a projecting course of stone that once supported an upper floor, is clearly visible. A mural chamber, accessed from the passage, opens into the wall thickness. The remains of a stair gallery indicate the tower's original height.

From the rampart formed by the banked excavation spoil, the views are extraordinary. The Moray Firth lies to the east, its waters reflecting the sky. The coast stretches north toward Brora and south toward Dornoch. On clear days, the mountains of the interior Highlands are visible to the west. Golspie lies below, its rooftops and streets visible from this vantage point, a reminder of the two thousand years that separate the broch from the present settlement.

You are almost certainly alone here. The silence is particular: wind, birds, the distant sound of the sea. This is a place that rewards stillness.

Approach from the A9 via the minor road signed to Backies, approximately one kilometre north of Golspie. Park near the Scottish Water Treatment Works sign. Follow the track east to the ruined croft, then cross open ground to the broch on the hilltop. Allow approximately ninety minutes for the round trip including time at the broch. Combine with Carn Liath Broch, three kilometres south along the A9.

No origin narrative survives. The name Backies derives from the nearby township. Like many brochs, the site was historically associated with the Picts, though modern archaeology places its construction several centuries before the historical Pictish period.

No continuous practice connects the present to the broch's Iron Age community. The structure was excavated in 1846, and its finds were deposited in Dunrobin Castle Museum. The broch was re-scheduled as a protected monument in 2016.

Evidence from comparable broch sites across Scotland suggests that Iron Age communities may have practised foundation deposits and structured decommissioning rituals. Finds at Backies, including pottery and personal ornaments, suggest everyday domestic life rather than overtly ritual activity.

No organised practices take place. The site is visited independently by those exploring Sutherland's archaeological heritage.

The walk to the broch rewards unhurried attention. At the site, explore the entrance passage and interior. From the rampart, take time with the panoramic views. Consider the choice of this hilltop by Iron Age builders, the strategic and symbolic significance of commanding such a view. The site invites silence and presence rather than activity.

Backies Broch contributes to our understanding of Iron Age settlement in Sutherland while raising questions that its limited excavation cannot answer. The site's value lies as much in its atmospheric setting and relative obscurity as in its archaeological record.

Continue through the atlas by country, tradition, physical form, or a focused search that combines this place’s strongest context.

Sacred places within a half-day’s reach. Pilgrims often visit them together: walk one, stay for the other.

Carn Liath Broch

Golspie, Scotland, United Kingdom

3.7 km away

Carrol Broch

Brora, Scotland, United Kingdom

3.7 km away

Brora Pictish Cairn

Brora, Scotland, United Kingdom

7.1 km away

Dornoch Cathedral

Dornoch, Scotland, United Kingdom

13.7 km away

Sources consulted when researching this page. Independent verification by readers is welcome.

1. 01Backies - Canmore National Record of the Historic Environment — Historic Environment Scotland / RCAHMShigh-reliability
2. 02MHG10886 - Broch - Backies - Highland Historic Environment Record — Highland Council Historic Environment Recordhigh-reliability
3. 03Backies, broch 300m north of Whitestone Croft - Ancient Monuments — Ancient Monumentshigh-reliability
4. 04Backies Broch - Highland Brochs — Highland Brochs
5. 05Backies (Broch) - The Modern Antiquarian — The Modern Antiquarian
6. 06Broch, Backies near Golspie - Am Baile / High Life Highland — High Life Highland