Wormy Hillock

Wormy Hillock is the name of the natural mound here. The henge itself is to the SSE of the mound and is 13.5m in diameter, with the oval inside the ditch approximately 6m in diameter. For more details see the Canmore record: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/17295/details/wormy+hillock/

Also known as:
Clashindarroch Forest, Ealaiche Burn and Hinglenny
Nearest town:
Huntly (11km NE)
OS reference:
NJ450308
OS sheets:
29, 37
Latitude:
57° 21' 51.83 N
Longitude:
2° 54' 51.99 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Wormy Hillock (Henge) by drewbhoy

Taken from the Tap O Noth, the shadow in the middle of the photo is were the henge and dragon’s grave are situated.

Image credit: drew/A/B
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Dec 27, 2024
Image of Wormy Hillock (Henge) by drewbhoy

From the bridge, the henge is in front of the hillock.

Image credit: drew/amj
drewbhoy
drewbhoy May 24, 2012
Image of Wormy Hillock (Henge) by drewbhoy

The Wormy Hillock, killed by some chancer called St George :-)

Image credit: drew/amj
drewbhoy
drewbhoy May 24, 2012

Articles

Wormy Hillock

tiompan
tiompan Jan 30, 2017

Crap pic , but it does show the horizon before the trees blotted it out . Worth comparing with Thelonius’ pic to see the changes 10 yrs approx can make .
This a one of the rare cases of a possible henge entrance orientation towards the winter solstice sun rise .

Wormy Hillock

drewbhoy
drewbhoy May 24, 2012

I parked at first track after Orditeach on the A941 and walked north hoping to find the Chapel cairn as well, sadly I didn’t and became lost instead. Now looking at a map (which I’d stupidly left in the car) I found I climbed the Hill of Oldmerdrum, down the other side and waded the Kirkney Water to get back onto the main forestry track. Good fun this if somewhat tiring. I doubled back to the bridge, found the wee car park complete with henge and hillock.

I’ve always wanted to come to this place. It certainly has superb views of Noth. The maze of roads offer superb walks. Take an OS map, helps a lot.

Visited 24/5/2012.

Wormy Hillock

F
FriendlyFire Mar 29, 2006

3 miles south of Huntly turn right onto single track road to Mytice. Keep driving until you run out of road then walk for 2 miles on main forestry track. The henge is on the right before you cross the bridge.

Bit of a hike but it’s a very peaceful place and you get good views of the Tap o’ Noth too.

Folklore

Wormy Hillock
Henge
Rhiannon
Rhiannon May 29, 2025

Wormy Hillock.
This is an exiguous or small mound, situated at the Southern base of the Hill of Finglenny, and overlooking the Ellachie Burn. Tradition hath it that a Hydra, which sprung, not from the Swamps of Lund as some people think, but from the flats of Morayshire, and among other notable exploids bit its way through Balloch Hill, and thus opened up the passage of “Glacks of Balloch,” from Mortlach to Cabrach.

From what Hercules it received its death wound, or by what destiny this monster met its fate, on the Ellachie Burn, tradition saith not, but merely that here the monster’s course was arrested. A worm of the same genus named the Python, perished by Apollo’s shafts.

I don’t know how he knew it was in the same genus but it was an opportunity to show off a bit of classical education I suppose. Anyway, then there’s some notes in a different hand (James McDonald), and you can’t say he didn’t look into it properly, having ‘dug all over the place’. But it’s interesting if the henge was indeed an adaptation of an naturally existing landscape feature.

“Note: I examined this hillock and believe it is simply a “round” for the protection of a few sheep during snow storms. It has been originally a naturally formed Knoll and a deep trench has been dug out round the base, the material being used to form the circular dyke. On digging here and there over the centre mound there was no evidence of the ground ever having been disturbed. It is no doubt possible that an urn containing bones was deposited here but I dug pits all over the place and found nothing but a natural layer of gravel. A fort it never could have been. An enemy might have climbed the hill beside it and pelted the ‘garrison’ with stones until they were glad to flee for their lives. I would leave the name Wormy Hillock and cut out tumulus. I believe in the Dragon story but not about the Danes!”

(The ‘tumulus’ actually seems to refer to somewhere else nearby, maybe the cairn near Rhynie).

From the Aberdeenshire Ordnance Survey Name Books (1865-1), volume 78.

Folklore

Wormy Hillock
Henge
drewbhoy
drewbhoy Dec 18, 2009

“The old road that ran through this area was known as ‘Wormy Howe’ because it was created by a giant worm as it set out to do battle with a rival near Bennachie. Worms or wurms are a type of dragon found folklorically in Scotland, Northern England and Scandinavia; they are hugh serpents lacking legs and wings, but otherwise well equipped with traditional draconic attributes such as jaws filled with razor sharp teeth, poisonous or fiery breath, and avoracious appetite for human flesh. Sadly the legend doesn’t say if the two worms met, or what happened when they did. Presumably the shape of the henge prompted the belief that the worm had coiled up to have a nap here.‘

James Taylor “The Cabrach” (1914)

Folklore

Wormy Hillock
Henge
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Oct 26, 2009

“In [Finglenny] there is a ‘mound’ known as the Wormie Hillock, which has long been regarded as one of the interesting sights of the place. Legend tells us it is the grave-mound of a dragon, which at one time infested the neighbourhood, and was slain at this spot by some unknown St. George.”

From ‘Place Names in Strathbogie, with notes historical, antiquarian and descriptive’, by James MacDonald (1891).

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