Aberscross

Also known as:
The Mound
Nearest town:
Dornoch (11km SE)
OS reference:
NH769991
OS sheet:
21
Latitude:
57° 57' 51.27 N
Longitude:
4° 4' 51.29 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Aberscross (Stone Circle) by summerlands

Possibly a fallen stone that’s ended up sliding down the slope?

Image credit: Nicki MacRae
summerlands
summerlands Feb 6, 2011
Image of Aberscross (Stone Circle) by summerlands

With my A5 sketchpad for scale, it is doesn’t seem that large, but it’s quite impressively chunky actually!

Image credit: Nicki MacRae
summerlands
summerlands Feb 6, 2011
Image of Aberscross (Stone Circle) by GLADMAN

Just a few stones upon a hillside......

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Aug 9, 2010
Image of Aberscross (Stone Circle) by GLADMAN

Easilly overlooked on the rush up north.... but what a pity that would be............

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Aug 9, 2010
Image of Aberscross (Stone Circle) by GLADMAN

Some landscape context, looking towards Strath Fleet at nightfall from The Mound... Aberscross stone circle is situated upon the hills to right of image.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jul 2, 2010

Articles

Aberscross

thelonious
thelonious May 8, 2017

02/05/2017 – Not quite sure why I hadn’t visited this circle before. Easy access and just a short distance from the road. I wasn’t feeling too well so a potter round a few stones, taking it slow was a good idea for the day. I really liked this one. The stones are nice and the biggest one interestingly shaped. I love the area round here, very peaceful and still.

Aberscross

summerlands
summerlands Feb 6, 2011

We had a bit of trouble finding this for some reason, even though we’d read here and had a map and know the road... Looking in a false location my hubby and son managed to get coated in cow dung hee hee (I can laugh, it wasn’t me!).

For others trying to find it the best advice I can give is... As previously mentioned it’s about 3/4 – 1 mile along the A839 driving from the A9 at The Mound. Count gateways / laybys on the right-hand / North side of the road... You’ll pass two almost-layby’s which are clearly actually gateways – park in the *first proper no other use but as a layby* on that side.

You can then either walk back along the road verge on the same side of the road, and enter the field through the gate (just a few metres around the bend of the road) *or* climb the small wire field fence to the side of the layby, follow the fence and there’s a spot to ford the burn. You’ll come out into the next field just below the circle.

We visited in Winter, so there was very little bracken, which was great for actually seeing what’s there. It also, I imagine, afforded us a much better view across the surrounding landscape, which has quite a lot of deciduous tree cover.

There are seven obvious stones in the circle, which is just a few meters across. Two upright a couple of meters high, another two smaller upright stones / boulders, one fallen which would have been as tall as the larger stones, and two more visible low in the scrubby ground cover, partly covered.

Another sizable stone lies a few meters down the slope where it appears to have tumbled. There’s a gap in the circle directly above, so seems likely it belonged in the circle rather than being an outlying stone.

If this stone is from the circle that would make 8, and there would then be an obvious gap for a missing 9th.

There is a ridge a few meters above the circle, with a further, possibly ‘placed’ (rather than natural) stone on it – just visible from the circle with the low Winter ground cover. It *could* possibly be a tumbled boulder from the craggy hillside above, but it seems to be of a similar shape and alignment to one of the larger stones in the actual circle. From this point, even though very close to the circle, the view completely opens up, and through the tree coverage you are able to see out to Loch Fleet.

Aberscross

L
LivingRocks Jul 25, 2006

Sited about three quarters of a mile down the A839 to Lairg from the A9 junction, on the Mound Rock, Aberscross is easily accessed being sited on a flat platform a short walk up the slope, however it’s definitely one to visit when the bracken is down, in early July it was completely swamped.

Sites within 20km of Aberscross

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