drewbhoy
At the start of the walk we parked opposite Mains Of Cairnborrow and made our way to the two Backtack sites. After this we walked, climbed, fell and struggled to Newton Hill/Cairnborrow, no paths or roads here binoculars definitely needed. From here till the end of the walk snow was often at our waists and drifts very deep, emphasis on very. However the Mad Man had done his homework, mountain rescue had been phoned just in case. He is after all a member so I was in safe hands.
We made our way west, down the hill, thru a bog, jumped a burn and struggled manfully uphill. At the top a deserted farm hinted that long gone eyes watched, but only cows were visible.
This cairn at it’s widest is 27 meters wide and 4 meters tall at it’s highest. It is made from boulders and earth along with todays helping of snow. Some of it is natural which mean’t that the ancient builders had worked along with nature. The so-called tail is also natural. Situated at the top of the Park Burn, which runs into the River Deveron, valley it dominates the landscape along with it’s nearby pals.
To add to the fun I spotted another cairn perhaps a 1/2 mile away. We decided to attempt that as well. Still -10.
Visited 21/12/09.
All the details of the historic cairn and some pointers on why not to give anything to the local museum. Just joking, very helpful people.
This badly robbed cairn is about 15 metres wide and 0.5 meters tall. A walk of about 500 meters north is required from Backtack Farm, the cairn sitting on top of the rounded Backtack Hill.
Sadly the cairn has been badly trashed and only 1 earthfast kerb remains in place. Other kerbs can be found easily enough as they are lying all over the place. A serious amount of hacking has happened here and to add to the misery fencing is on the western edge.
A complete tragedy of a site considering lots of nearby excellent cairns. Still at least it survives for the time being unlike the nearby Hill Of Milleath (Gingomyres) RSC.
From here we walked, west, over to Cairnborrow.
Visited 21/12/09
Cairnborrow is only a few meters away so this is really easy to find, difficult to reach like it’s near neighbour. This cairn is some 18 meters wide and reaches a height of 2 meters. There are 3 kerbs on the western side but they hid in the snow.
Now the real fun was about to begin as we walked north to the three cairns in the distance. I’d no plans to go to these and at the time I’d no clue to their names.
Visited 21/12/09.
From the long cairn. The Shadows, Mad Man left, me to the right.
Image credit: drew/amj
After climbing up the Hill Of Backtack in what can only be described as dodgy conditions the Mad Man of Glass and myself took the decision to press on and cross the valley to Newton Hill. Although the snow was deep and cruel, we didn’t see King Wenceslas, we ploughed on and climbed the hill walking past the Newton Hill cairn to the Long cairn,
The cairn itself is some 50 meters wide and 35 meters in length. All the other details are in the Link below. As always, in this part of the Deveron valley, the views are spectacular as was the later sunset.
Looking north as well as the nearby cairn another three cairns loomed in the distance. Both of us are experienced climbers so we pressed on as it grew colder and colder. (-10)
Visited 21/12/09.
Loch Kinnord has an ancient crannog which was enlarged in medieval times. This was to be the prison for the adjacent Castle Island. The area around the loch has Kinord Stone, Pictish carvings, and several prehistoric settlements.
“The persistent tradition is that witches were executed here; this maybe a memory of the fact that a court did judge a witch at the stone. 1595 had a case from ‘This Court of ye Burgh of Kintore, holden at ye Cloven Stone’. In this instance the court acquitted two men of striking Isobel Cockie, on the self-defence grounds that she was ‘in ane distemper, and they were forced to put her out of doors’. This was at least a year before she was investigated for witchcraft.”
Extracts From The Record Books Of Kintore 1864
Walking along the Ythan bank, southern side with the aim of walking to Rappla Wood. Gave up!
Image credit: drew/amj
“A custom associated with the cairn in Cairnshee Wood (’cairnshee means cairn of the fairies’). Each midsummer’s eve herdsmen set a huge bonfire to exorcise evil spirits and ensure the safety and prosperity of their flocks. In 1787, in remembrance of the ceremony during his childhood, Aleander Hog donated money to ensure the ritual continued. The spectators came from all over and consumed bread, cheese and ale. The custom finally lapsed in the 1930s.”
Archibald Watt
The Highways and Byways Round Kincardine.
“Somewhere near Dinnet was the Kelpie Stone. Childless women passed through its 18 inch (46cm) hole to concieve. A noble lady performed the task to no avail; only when she repeated it in the same direction as the river flow did the charm work.”
MacPherson’s Primitive Beliefs.
“The Standing Stones of Strathbogie are two low stones at the rear of the Duke Of Richmond in The Square, are all that remain of a six-stone circle with a diameter of around 50 feet. The circle was clearly once a well-known landmark, as a court was held here in 1557 and in 1594 it was the rendezvous for the Earls of Argyll, Huntly and Errol before the Battle of Glenlivet. One stone bore a Pictish ‘horseshoe’ but this has now faded away.
The fountain, decorated with owls, is supposedly above a secret tunnel that leads to the castle; this is possibly a memory of the old well that once stood nearby.”
Mysterious Aberdeenshire – Geoff Holder
(BigSweetie of TMA gets mentioned in this book)
“Gallows Hill cairn is a substantial prehistoric mound re-used as a place of execution by the Gordons of Lesmoir. In 1651 Sir William Gordon of Lesmoir admitted that he had heard that a part of his home-farm was dedicated to the Goodman, and so it was not worked; ‘but he had a mind, by the assistance of God, to cause labour the same: Whereupon he was commended for his ingenuitie in declareing it, and exhorted to take paines shortly to have it laboured.”
Presbytery Book Of Strathbogie
“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)
Tie a yellow ribbon round an old tree stump.......tra, la, la
Image credit: drew/amj
“The second ghost said to haunt Hermitage castle is that of Lord Soulis – ‘Bad Lord Soulis’ or ‘Terrible William’. Lord Soulis had a ghastly reputation indeed, for it was widely believed that he practised black magic and used the dungeons of the castle to hold young children from the surrounding area captive before incorporating them into his hideous rituals and eventually murdering them. People from the surrounding area gathered in force and stormed the castle taking him captive and binding him in chains. We are told that he was wrapped in lead and then thrown into a boiling cauldron to meet a horribly painful death.
Another version of the story of Terrible William says that he entered into a pact with the devil. He traded his soul in return for a licence to live however he pleased, indulging in whatever debaucheries took his fancy. Then, as he grew older and faced up to the inevitability of his approaching death, he panicked at the thought of the fiery furnaces of hell. It was in order to protect him from this fate that he was wrapped in lead and boiled by loyal subjects. This story seems even less credible than the first one.”
Scottish Ghosts.
by Lily Seafield.
(a reworking of Rhiannon’s post)