Knock Hill (Glenbervie)

Nearest town:
Laurencekirk (10km SW)
OS reference:
NO760798
OS sheet:
45
Latitude:
56° 54' 32.09 N
Longitude:
2° 23' 38.95 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Knock Hill (Glenbervie) (Cairn(s)) by drewbhoy

What remains of the cairn is in the middle of the photo. This looking straight east.

Image credit: drew/amj
drewbhoy
drewbhoy May 28, 2017
Image of Knock Hill (Glenbervie) (Cairn(s)) by drewbhoy

Looking south east, sadly not much remains of the cairn.

Image credit: drew/amj
drewbhoy
drewbhoy May 28, 2017

Articles

Knock Hill (Glenbervie)

drewbhoy
drewbhoy Jul 10, 2017

Sadly there isn’t much left to see of the small cairn on top of Glenbervie’s Knock Hill.

Heading west from the Glenbervie Mill I parked shortly after the bridge crossing the Bervie Water. From here I headed straight up the hill past the large quarries. This is a fairly decent if fairly short climb. At the top the fence might be a problem depending on the length of your legs.

For me it’s no problem and over I went. From the top of hill it is a short walk of about 30 meters to the site. All that is really left is the view but what is left is a small mound sitting at 6m wide. It would be lucky if it is over 0.m in height.

Cracking views up and down the Bervie Valley and over to the Mearns.

Visited 18/4/2017

Folklore

Knock Hill (Glenbervie)
Cairn(s)
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Aug 13, 2010

Canmore mentions the remains of a cairn here, 35m east of the summit. This hill is also where one of those excellent carved stone balls was found, carved with a spiral and chevron patterns.

It was first designed to build the church [for Fordoun] on the top of the Knock-hill, about a mile or more north-east of the village – a most inconvenient, and the reverse of a central situation; and there the work was actually commenced. As usual, whatever was erected during the day by the masons was destroyed at night by some supernatural beings, who took this method of testifying their aversion to the undertaking. After some time, when both builders and destroyers had perhaps become weary of their respective labours, a supernatural voice was heard to cry,-

Gang farther doun
To Fordoun’s toun.

The hint was taken; and in order to determine the proper site of the church, a mason was desired to throw his hammer at random. The hammer judiciously alighted on the beautiful mound where Paldy’s chapel was already pitched, and there the work was carried into effect without farther interruption.

It would be a very odd place for a church for Fordoun. From ‘The Topographical, Statistical, and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland’ (1845).

Sites within 20km of Knock Hill (Glenbervie)

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