Upper Gaskan

Nearest town:
Aberfeldy (17km SE)
OS reference:
NN747611
OS sheet:
42
Latitude:
56° 43' 28.94 N
Longitude:
4° 2' 52.44 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Upper Gaskan (Stone Circle) by BigSweetie

George Currie and I measured out this plan, taking the distance of each stone from the central cup-mark on the centre stone, and using a compass to work out each stone’s position.

Image credit: Andy Sweet
BigSweetie
BigSweetie Aug 13, 2003
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Articles

Upper Gaskan

nickbrand
nickbrand Nov 10, 2003
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We visited on 9th November – very interesting site, though the trees make it difficult to photograph, and the shade of the trees adds to the problems. Just NE of the site are the remains of 2 small cairns, robbed-out to help build a nearby wall, and largely ruined by foresting machinery. One of the pictures illustrates the southernmore cairn.

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Upper Gaskan

BigSweetie
BigSweetie Aug 13, 2003
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George Currie and I mapped out this circle with a tape measure and compass the other week, and I’ve drawn a plan for it. As you can see from my plan above, this is a much disturbed site, but when you are standing there the circles are much more obvious. There appears to be a circle of diameter approx. 25m which is the clearest, but there may also be the remains of a smaller one around the 14 or 15m mark inside it. We also saw what might possibly be the remains of two outer rings as well. We also spotted what looks very suspiciously like a pair of cairns that have been flattened by forestry machinery.

Looking at the plan, you can see that stones A, B, C and G are all the same distance from the central stone, and are equally spaced out 30 degrees from each other (G is 60 degrees from C, but it looks like E has been shifted from its original position halfway between G and C) which would suggest that they are close to their original positions in an original circle of 12 stones. However, there is a definite lack of stones to the E. Just over a metre from the central cup-marked stone is another large stone, and this is exactly due E – could there be some significance to this? Who knows? (I don’t!)

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Upper Gaskan

BigSweetie
BigSweetie Jul 28, 2003
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I saw this one on CANMORE when I was compiling my definitive list of Perthshire stones, and they had it down as a cup-marked rock with a possible stone circle:

rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/details_gis?inumlink=25168

Well there’s no possible about it, this is definitely a circle! The stone at the centre measures 1.7m x 2.0m across it’s top, and is between 0.7m and 0.9m high, depending which end you measure at. The upper surface is profusely decorated with many weathered cup-marks. CANMORE says at least 28, but I could only count 15 or 16 clearly.

Around this stone is a ring of 10 stones, with a circle diameter of about 18m (I was measuring with my feet, so it’s not exact!). These stones appear to be equally-spaced from each other at a distance of about 4m. There are a few other stones lying about which may or may not have formed part of the circle, but it’s difficult to tell exactly what’s what as there are trees growing all over the place (which is what you’d expect in a forestry plantation I suppose), and the stones have a considerable amount of moss and grass on them. Nevertheless, this site is still well worth a visit, as it has a good feel to it.

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Miscellaneous

Upper Gaskan
Stone Circle
BigSweetie
BigSweetie Jul 28, 2003
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Directions – Head N on the A9 from Perth, and take the Pitlochry turn-off (this is the easiest way to ensure you don’t miss the smaller turn-off further up). Drive straight on through Pitlochry, past the circle at Faskally Cottages to where the A924 becomes the B8019. Turn left at Garry Bridge (for Loch Tummmel & Kinloch Rannoch) and follow the B8019 west to Tummel Bridge. Instead of crossing the river at Tummel Bridge, stay heading W on the N bank of the Tummel, and take the next turn to your right, following the edge of the Tummel Forest. After approximately 2.0km is a track to the left which passes by the white cottage of Over Bohespic. Park down by the road here, making sure to leave enough room for people to get in and out. Walk up the forestry track past the cottage, and climb over the locked gate. Keep following the track up until it forks, and take the right hand track. About 200m along here you’ll notice that the tall, thick pines of the plantation give way to smaller, thinner pines. It’s just after this change that you can see the huge cup-marked stone down to your right. A path of sorts has been cleared down to it, so it’s easy enough to spot. I was on my bike, so I’m not sure how long the walk would be, but I’d guess 20 mins to half an hour from Over Bohespic.

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Sites within 20km of Upper Gaskan

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