Until earlier this year, the area of land immediately surrounding the Airthrey stone was a grassy, gently sloping and undulating field, which was outside the develoed area of the university campus on the edge of a golf course.
Two years ago, the University lodged an application to develop this land into rugby pitches. The original plans did not even refer to the stone.
After protests, the plans were altered and the stone was to be “protected” inside a tacky, fenced off, platformed viewing area. Thankfully the platform didn’t happen.
What did happen though was that, because of the sensitive nature of the site, the local council referred the plans to the Scottish Executive and then after a few months, and without any public announcement, the work to flatten the land started earlier this year. Thousands of tons of earth and rock were spirit-levelled in the land around the stone, irrepairably taking this monument’s immediate landscape from it. Now it stands, fenced off between the ironed flat pitches on one side and a golf course on the other.
Stirling University has both a history and an environmental science dept.!!?
What do you do when your spirit has been levelled by the hard, cold, yellow bastards (and I dont mean the JCB’s)?
You do what the Airthrey stone does – keep standing!
And it does, all of 15ft high and 9 ft. wide. It still has the Abbey Craig to the south and the Ochils on the north east for support – and the sun and the moon and the stars – and us.
I am a student studying environmental geography at stirling uni and I didn't know about the plans to move the stone. Frankly I am disgusted that there are rugby pitches and a golf course surrounding the stone now. It really annoys me how modern society do not see the importance of these amazing portals into to humanity's ancient past. Sadly, we are looked upon as sad sentimental imbeciles for worrying over such anti-capitalistic issues! Good! The more I annoy the masses the better I feel! If I had been a student at the time I would certainly tried to do something and yes the uni has a natural sciences department and a history department who should have been the first to defend such an ancient treasure! Lastly, Winterjc, I really enjoyed looking through your photos and comments, definately a man after my own heart lol!