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January 16, 2025

Closed for winter

Ballindalloch Castle and grounds were only open Tuesday 26th March – Thursday 26 September 2024 according to visitscotland.com and when I passed by in December 2024 there was a closed gate and a big sign saying closed. I suppose greywether when saying park on the A95 is talking about the layby a bit to the south. I thought I might come back but had such a great time at nearby Upper Lagmore that I didn’t bother.

January 12, 2025

January 9, 2025

January 3, 2025

December 30, 2024

December 20, 2024

December 12, 2024

December 2, 2024

November 29, 2024

November 23, 2024

Abandoned £4m visitor centre on sale for £150,000

An abandoned visitor centre in Aberdeenshire, which cost £4m to build in 1997, is on the market for offers over £150,000.

Archaeolink Prehistory Park at Oyne, near Insch, shut down in 2011, after Aberdeenshire Council withdrew funding due to poor visitor numbers.

(As most who lived in Aberdeenshire knew, great idea, great site, wrong place)

November 18, 2024

Spittal broch to continue preservation inside enlarged workings

The Spittal Broch in Watten is to be preserved when the quarry is extended johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/will-the-spittal-quarry-extension-destroy-an-ancient-broch-366079/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGoSwtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHT6gG62i4oxDUPtQPisS0u68QZhigPDOEOFGivPTE874CPqysV3L-AS9zw_aem_wRE0m3xn93AAQz4cQjYApw
Spittal Farm aka Spittal 2 survives to 1.7m but has been damaged by ploughing canmore.org.uk/site/8336/spittal-farm

November 11, 2024

Developed into housing

The windmill is currently (2024) being developed into housing ... not sure how I feel about that but the cairn is of course long gone so perhaps it’s good it’s restored and repaired.
pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/3128305/historic-north-east-windmill-could-be-turned-into-unique-family-home/

I did like the plan to turn it into an underground whisky bar and aurora borealis viewing station better, anything with a public function really.
napier.ac.uk/about-us/news/cup-and-saucer-could-be-transformed-into-leading-tourist-attraction

November 6, 2024

King Arthur site five times older than thought.

A historic site in Cornwall linked to King Arthur has been found to be up to five times older than previously thought after a new survey was carried out.

Historic England said the findings of the dig at King Arthur’s Hall, on Bodmin Moor, were the first to confirm the site dated back to prehistoric times.

The monument was previously listed as dating back to the medieval period but it is now believed to date back 4,000 years earlier to the Neolithic period by a group of specialists from UK universities.

Dr Tim Kinnaird, from the University of St Andrews, said the findings were a “major revelation”.

He said archaeologists would “now have to re-appraise our understanding of the prehistoric landscape of Bodmin Moor”.

“It’s extremely exciting that we’ve finally been able to date construction of this enigmatic monument, previously grounded in myths and legends,” he said.

Archaeologists from UK universities were joined by local volunteers for the dig.

Historic England said there had been speculation the site dated back to prehistoric times because of its standing stones, but the new survey was the first to confirm this.

Researchers working on behalf of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) were joined by volunteers for the dig, which began in 2022.

Samples taken from the monument, including pollen, insects and parasite eggs, were radiocarbon dated, Historic England said.

The results were combined with other dating techniques, such as Optically Stimulated Luminescence, to give a date of between 5,500 and 5,000 years ago.

Geological examination of the standing stones suggested they came “from within 250m (820 feet) of the site and were possibly dug out from the interior rather than from a distant tor”, Historic England said.

James Gossip, from the CAU, said the site had been used and upgraded at various times in its history, up to the medieval period.

“Knowing when King Arthur’s Hall was built will help us understand this unique monument form better, how it might have originally been used and how it could have been used over time,” he said.

He said the findings would help answer questions such as whether the stones were “placed there at the time of building or later in prehistory” and if the site was used “as an animal pound or reservoir”.

Dr Rob Batchelor, director of Quest, an archaeological unit from the University of Reading, said: “The wild, remote landscape of Bodmin Moor has inspired centuries of legends, but this extraordinary new finding shows how science can help deliver stories that are just as intriguing.

“Further analysis of these sediment cores may yet reveal more about what our Cornish ancestors were doing there and their impact on the local environment.”

Historic England said visitors to the site should be careful not to disturb the monument as it was at risk of erosion.

The site is on the body’s At Risk Register because of overgrown vegetation and the risk of erosion from visitors and livestock.

October 25, 2024

October 21, 2024

Farley Moor under threat

As noted previously Forestry England have now cleared all around the stone leaving it isolated. It was taped of for a short while but now is next to deep tracks filled with water where the machinery went in. The second stone is just visible but flat and almost buried. The Moor is the subject of a large planning application to build holiday lodges.

September 7, 2024