Forglen Round Barrow(s) View all content for Forglen

This is an incredibly hard place to find if you follow my path. Leaving Turriff head west on the B9025 and pull in at the old Forglen manse, just up the road from the Auld Forglen Kirk and graveyard. (made famous by George Findlater VC, the bagpiper who became known as the Cock Of the North). Looking at the OS map this seemed to be a short walk thru trees. Wrong oh so very wrong. Basically it was a scrap between the trees and me, often resorting to being on my knees but eventually I came across a track but no tumulus. However I did find a mausoleum to the west. So I re-tracked a little and found a track heading south. The tumulus/round barrow appeared as if by magic. Older trees had been chopped down with younger trees growing in their place. How I'd missed this on several previous visits beats me but I'd obviously didn't think about deforestation. The barrow is 25 meters and 1.7 meters high. Sadly this will vanish in time as it is taking a severe battering. It also has been dug into which revealed that no stones had been used in it's construction just sand and clay. Three burials had also taken place here with various beakers and urns being donated to the Antiquities of Scotland. Now the barrow has little trees, whins, jabby things and turf growing all over making it very hard to spot. I left with a depressing feeling that this place had been forgotten about. I've told the local heritage people, who knew nothing, so they might tidy the place up with permission. Somehow I doubt it. To get back I followed the path south into the trees and found a very easy route back to paths which led back to the manse and the car. Visited 25/4/2011.

Posted by drewbhoy 26th April 2011ce

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