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Spittal of Glenshee

For years and years I’ve been meaning to visit this site and for years and years I’ve completely forgotten about it.

However no mistake this time, we parked at the outdoor centre at the Spittal of Glenshee, wished they would pull down the remains of the hotel and a shops, what an eyesore.

We walked across the A93 and over the burn onto the Cateran Trail. The four poster cannot be seen from the track, however as the track veers south head up the fairly steepish grass covered hill. After a short climb the circle will be staight in front perched on top of a natural mound. If old Diarmid was buried here, then what a spot.

The four stones are less than a metre in height and mark a very beautiful place.

I remember a long time ago the Spittal of Glenshee being a thriving ski, hill walking, fishing and mountaineering centre, the Devil’s Elbow was truly devilish. Modernisation and the upgrading of the road, the A93, may have improved driving, it most certainly destroyed the local businesses!

Visited 27/11/2018.

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Spittal of Glenshee

This is probably a site best visited in autumn, winter or spring. The stones are awfully wee, and were being dwarfed by the grass growing around them today. Access is via a farm track (no vehicles) and the stones are high up, so wet ground shouldn’t be a problem.

Although the mound on which the stones sit is was excavated in 1894 and reported to be a natural morain deposit, it does look very suspicious, and there are stones on the east side of it which could be the remnants of a kerb.

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Spittal of Glenshee

Although this mound looks like a barrow, it is in fact a glacial morain deposit. The four-poster sits neatly on top and has stunning views of Glen Shee from its vantage point. The mound lies about 500m ESE of Old Spittal farmhouse.

According to Canmore, “In 1894 the natural mound on which the stones are placed was excavated to a depth of 6.71m, and it is unclear if the stones are now in their original positions. The stones lie at the corners of a trapezium, with the two largest at the W end of the long axis; their heights are: A-0.75m, B-0.7m, C-0.3m, D-0.8m. No finds or structural features were recorded during the excavation, and the slight mound at the centre of the stones marks the site of the excavation.”

Pity, as it just looks so like a barrow – and what a dramatic place to be buried! The weather was a bit variable whilst I was here but at least it held off raining, though the clouds were well and truly gathering for a downpour. A really beautiful site, and the four poster, though small, is a real wee beauty!

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Miscellaneous

Spittal of Glenshee
Stone Circle

Directions – park at Spittal of Glenshee, and walk past the church and across the A93 to a stile in the fence, sign-posted Cateran Trail. Head down over the wooden bridge, and follow the farm track up past Old Spittal farmhouse (windows boarded up). The track climbs up and round a bend just after the old farm, and you will see a large flat-topped hill rising up to your left. Climb up it’s steep sides, and at the top you will clearly be able to see the morain deposit with the stones sitting atop.

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