I have frequently walked around Loch Kinord, near Dinnet on Deeside and, though I knew full well that there were a number of hut circles in the area, had never bothered to make their acquaintance. But with time on my hands on a warm and sunny March day, I diverted north in the direction of Loch Davan to view the hut circles at Old Kinord. They lie in a small clearing in the birch woodland, 110 metres east of the point where the boundary dyke makes a sudden right-angle turn to the west. The centres of the two larger of the three hut circles are shown on the Google Map below. The coordinates of the first circle are 57.08969°N, 2.91798°W.
These are massively constructed hut circles, the like of which I had never encountered previously. The westernmost circle (the largest) appears as a huge, sunken saucer. Standing at its centre, the surrounding rampart, which is two to three metres in width, rises to eye-level, and must be at least 1½ metres tall. It consists of a mixture of earth, large stones and quite massive boulders. Pacing across the central hollow, I estimated it to be between 10-12 metres in diameter.
The second circle, just a few paces to the east, is equally impressive. Slightly farther east is the third circle, slightly smaller than its fellows, and with a somewhat less impressive surrounding rampart.
If you view the area using Bing Maps, you can zoom in close enough to see the two larger circles quite clearly.
23/02/2013 - There's a few starting points for this one. Car park to the east, on the track to New Kinord is closest. To the west, the car park at Burn o'Vat is good if you want to visit the Vat as well. Today we took the sightly longer walk option and parked in Dinnet. Following the waymarked path, we walked a lovely circuit of about 7 miles round Loch Kinord with its crannog and the hut circles at Old and New Kinord. The weather was a bit cold but the sun came out now and again. The impressive Old Kinord settlement is just off the path that runs between Loch Davan and Loch Kinord. Pretty easy to find but not a great place to visit in the summer due to bracken. The settlement is quite large with well defined hut circles and nearby souterrain. If you like hut circles, this place is well worth a visit. A really nice walk in a birch wood. Canmore link below for more details.
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