The Den of Boddam can be found just to the south of Peterhead near the A9. Enter Stirling, the real one in Aberdeenshire, and take the first minor road heading east, signposted Den Of Boddam. The village of Boddam and its power station are to the east. Follow the road west passing Lendrum Terrace and take the first farm track road south. This should lead to a small car park but today it didn't as the track was flooded so I parked at the first track heading west.
This would mean an alternative and interesting route to the first mines. Basically I followed the top of the eastern valley until I came to a lonely shepherd's house and headed west to bare slopes. Masts are also to the east.
Flint (chalky, yellow and brown in colour) can be found everywhere. Scrapers finished, unfinished, flakes, wee knife like objects are lying about everywhere. Heading half way down open cast surface mining can be seen and on the valley floor large areas have been worked. Basically the whole area is a large factory covered in hollows. This ridge of high ground runs ten miles inland to Skelmuir Hill near Auchnagatt, home to a standing stone (and in the past a stone circle).
After finding a few nice flints it was time to cross the valley floor or bog to the next flint factory area. Some place!!!
Now there is a big problem getting to this site if you visit the eastern site first. I looked for a path thru the bog and found one. It led straight into a bog. So back to the eastern bank and walk south to the manmade loch. Walk on top of the dam, heading west, as far as possible. A tractor tyre will be seen so take a jump and aim for that. The ground is drier so head towards the fence and climb towards what looks like a small rubbish dump. Climb over the next fence and head towards the track, the nearby croft is called Denside.
Looking west a small wood can be seen which contains the Neolithic flint mine. Several mines exist over quite a large area and once again flint can be found everywhere. Astonishingly these sites were discovered in 1991 and now have achieved 'show site' status. Several trenches and hollows can be seen. Nearby ploughed fields are littered with flint.
Now the sensible thing to do would be go back to the track and find the way back to the starting point. Somehow I managed to get lost, jump over burns, climb hills I hadn't seen and damaged a leg before eventually finding something that looked familiar i.e. the car.
To be fair recent storm weather i.e. the floods have wreaked havoc to the paths making some of them flooded at best and totally gone at their worst. The track to the car park could be best described as a mud bath. This does not detract from the significance of these places. These were a clever people with an eye on trading and they were obviously good at their job. Fantastic site and a must visit. Added adventures are a bonus!!