First stop and daylight pokes its head out near Brechin at Kintrockat Cairn. During the drive down there had been heavy snow and very heavy rain but when I park at the woodcutters hut the sun comes out. The snow I'd see later.
Leaving A90 take the A935 to Brechin, go round the roundabout until you are heading back to the A90 south. Just before reaching the A90 take the minor road heading south. This takes you past a lodge, I parked at the woodcutters place 200 meters approx south. From here I continued walking south and followed the road to Kintrockat House. Just before the house there is a track, or mudbath. Follow this round and the cairn will come into view. Unfortunately the woodcutter has been busy and branches are all over the place some on the cairn itself.
This well shaped cairn is almost 9 meters wide and 4 meters tall. It is made up of earth and stones. Local folklore mentions that markets were held nearby. So a lovely start to the day.
Back to Kintockrat. During the plague (bubonic) the people still had to continue selling their produce, with as little contact with plague victims as possible. It was decided to have a weekly market and Kintockrat became the trading area, but with the proviso that, as in other parts of the country, no contact would be made with the citizens of Brechin. Miss Knox (former owner) showed me an ancient cairn covered with copper coloured leaves from the surrounding birch trees. This had been left as a monument to the dreaded plague. Here country people would leave their produce, laid out around the cairn and a grassy space it. An ancient path is still evident leading to and from the area. A receptacle would have been left, probably one of the many stone bowls at Kintockrat, and the Brechiners would select the goods required and deposit their coins as payment in the stone receptacles. Whether water or any other means of attempting to sterilise the coins was used, e.g passing through flame, is unknown. The beautiful glade and large copper birch trees around it was a lovely are and of course one's memory goes back to the poor people who suffered long ago.
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Posted by drewbhoy
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