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A round trip on 2 wheels from Garry Bridge

Sunday, 27th July 2003

I drove up to the car park at Garry Bridge, got my bike out the back of the car, assembled it, then set off over the hill by Tenandry. After a long climb, I was rewarded with an equally-long descent, unfortunately slowed down by an escaped spaniel in the road! Once at the bottom, I stopped at the bridge over the Garry to take some photos of the Soldier's Leap, before turning left onto the main road.

I was intending to get a good look at Claverhouse's Stone (Killiecrankie), but once again I was denied. Last weekend it was torrential rain, this week it was cows in the field (again!). One of these days I'll get in there!

Next on the list was Clach Na H-Iobairt (Clach Na H-Ioabairt) - I've looked for the other Clach na h' Iobairt before, down by the caravan park at Blair Atholl, but without much luck. I think I'll wait until the holiday season is over for this one. Anyway, onwards towards House of Bruar. Passing Blair Castle, I remembered just how wet I had been last weekend, and was grateful for the blazing sun which was overhead today.

After a bit of fighting against a strong wind, I laid my bike down by the side of the road and climbed up the small bank that Clach Na H-Iobairt (Clach Na H-Ioabairt) sits on. It's an impressive size of stone, and is aligned N-S. After spending quite a while taking photos here, it was time to move on again if I was to make it home by dark.

Continuing on by way of Struan, I followed Errochty Water through Glen Errochty as far as Trinafour, before curving back on myself to go round the south side of the Tummel Forest. There was a nice long, straight, downhill section, so I sped down that, but soon had to screech to a halt as I sped past the turn-off for Over Bohespic - thank god for disc brakes! It was off the road and onto a forestry track now, as I passed the cottage on my left. A padlocked gate across the track did little to stop my progress, as I lifted my bike over and continued up the hill, before taking the right fork. And there it was - the huge cup-marked stone at Upper Gaskan. The RCAHMS are being typically cautious on CANMORE, listing this as a cup-marked rock with a possible stone circle around it:

http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/details_gis?inumlink=25168

Well there's no possible about it - this is a stone circle! I counted 10 stones in a wide ring around the central stone, which is decorated with at least 28 cup-marks. The stones, none of which is bigger than about 0.5m x 0.5m x 1.3m long, stand on a ring of diameter 18m approximately, and appear (measured with my feet!) to be equidistant from their next neighbours, and also the central stone. This is a great site which I'll definitely come back to.

Heading back down and out of the forest, I turned left back onto the tarmac, and continued my downhill journey until Tummel Bridge. I followed the road along the edge of Loch Tummel as it undulates up and down, my legs by now feeling a little weary, and my poor nose a little sunburnt! There was no time to stop at the Queen's View, but it probably hasn't changed much since my last visit a couple of months ago anyhow, so I pressed on back to the car. I had intended to stop at Faskally Cottages on the way home, but fading light and a rumbling stomach made up my mind to save it for another day.

Upper Gaskan — Fieldnotes

28.07.03ce
I saw this one on CANMORE when I was compiling my definitive list of Perthshire stones, and they had it down as a cup-marked rock with a possible stone circle:

http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/details_gis?inumlink=25168

Well there's no possible about it, this is definitely a circle! The stone at the centre measures 1.7m x 2.0m across it's top, and is between 0.7m and 0.9m high, depending which end you measure at. The upper surface is profusely decorated with many weathered cup-marks. CANMORE says at least 28, but I could only count 15 or 16 clearly.

Around this stone is a ring of 10 stones, with a circle diameter of about 18m (I was measuring with my feet, so it's not exact!). These stones appear to be equally-spaced from each other at a distance of about 4m. There are a few other stones lying about which may or may not have formed part of the circle, but it's difficult to tell exactly what's what as there are trees growing all over the place (which is what you'd expect in a forestry plantation I suppose), and the stones have a considerable amount of moss and grass on them. Nevertheless, this site is still well worth a visit, as it has a good feel to it.

Upper Gaskan — Miscellaneous

28.07.03ce
Directions - Head N on the A9 from Perth, and take the Pitlochry turn-off (this is the easiest way to ensure you don't miss the smaller turn-off further up). Drive straight on through Pitlochry, past the circle at Faskally Cottages to where the A924 becomes the B8019. Turn left at Garry Bridge (for Loch Tummmel & Kinloch Rannoch) and follow the B8019 west to Tummel Bridge. Instead of crossing the river at Tummel Bridge, stay heading W on the N bank of the Tummel, and take the next turn to your right, following the edge of the Tummel Forest. After approximately 2.0km is a track to the left which passes by the white cottage of Over Bohespic. Park down by the road here, making sure to leave enough room for people to get in and out. Walk up the forestry track past the cottage, and climb over the locked gate. Keep following the track up until it forks, and take the right hand track. About 200m along here you'll notice that the tall, thick pines of the plantation give way to smaller, thinner pines. It's just after this change that you can see the huge cup-marked stone down to your right. A path of sorts has been cleared down to it, so it's easy enough to spot. I was on my bike, so I'm not sure how long the walk would be, but I'd guess 20 mins to half an hour from Over Bohespic.

Killiecrankie — Images

31.07.03ce
<b>Killiecrankie</b>Posted by BigSweetie<b>Killiecrankie</b>Posted by BigSweetie<b>Killiecrankie</b>Posted by BigSweetie<b>Killiecrankie</b>Posted by BigSweetie<b>Killiecrankie</b>Posted by BigSweetie

Upper Gaskan — Images

13.08.03ce
<b>Upper Gaskan</b>Posted by BigSweetie
BigSweetie Posted by BigSweetie
28th July 2003ce
Edited 28th July 2003ce


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