Cup and ring is a form of prehistoric art found widely throughout the world. There are many cup-marked stones in the Kilpatrick Hills and throughout the west of Scotland.
Cup and ring marks were sculpted into local stones or slabs. The earliest probably date from the late stone age, but the tradition may have continued much later. Some of them are quite basic and primitive decorations, others are made with considerable style and precision. They are often concentric rings - like ripples on water.
There are also some examples of ‘portable rock art’ where cup and ring marks have been carved on large stones that can be moved. No-one knows why they were made.
The cup-marked stone at Lang Craigs can be quite tricky to find, and we’re not giving you any clues, except to say it’s not that big and it’s near the top of the hill – there are five cups around a centre cup. The summit of Round Wood Hill also contains traces of a pre-historic enclosure, marked by the rushy area.
Round Wood Hill gets its name from a small circular pine wood planted on it by the Victorian owners of Overtoun Estate. It was felled in the mid 20th century but you can still find the odd stump in the grass. In the new woodland planting the Woodland Trust have left the summit bare so that visitors can continue to enjoy the fantastic views towards the Clyde.