South Brideswell

Nearest town:
Ballater (20km SW)
OS reference:
NJ50971001
OS sheet:
37
Latitude:
57° 10' 41.97 N
Longitude:
2° 48' 39.89 W
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Sites within South Brideswell

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Images

Image of South Brideswell (Ring Cairn) by drewbhoy

This is slightly misleading but handy. This is a difficult place to find in the maze of the Don valley. The sign is a mile from the path, another mile plus to the site.

Image credit: drew/amj
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Nov 27, 2009

Articles

South Brideswell

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Nov 27, 2009

This place is a bit of a nightmare to find within the maze of roads in the Cushnie valley. Leave the A980 just south of the Muir Of Fowlis taking the minor road, west, to Leochel-Cushnie. Keep going until this road ends, then turn north, the next road east and don’t turn the corner keep going. The signpost, on the photo, can be seen at the top of another minor road, follow this until it turns into a farm track. From here you can drive to South Brideswell or walk. I took one look at the road and walked.

I counted 14 stones remaining in place of the outer ring, others having been robbed their places still noticeable by holes in the ground. It is almost 23 meters wide, unfortunately agriculture has caused damage to the southern side, tractor tracks. Canmore suggests that the central round cairn, some 14 meters wide, was made during a second phase of building. Whenever it was built it isn’t very high coming to less than a meter after the usual destructions.

Nearby is another cairn, and the hut circles of an ancient settlement. A hard place to find but well worth the effort. Some beautiful countryside is an added bonus, no rain was an unexpected bonus!

Visited 26/11/09.

Sites within 20km of South Brideswell

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