20/02/2010 – Big car park at NT 55308427 on the west side of North Berwick Law. Path up the hill is short but steep. Fantastic 360 view, Bass rock etc. Very cold February day when we were there. Well worth a visit.
thelonious
04/03/2012 – I’ve lost count the amount of times I’ve driven past the turn off for this and said I must visit the stone circle up there one day. Well today we did. Reading the other fieldnotes I totally agree, this is a lovely little circle in a lovely setting. I can’t think of any similar round here. Well worth a visit. Stones seem to blend with the surrounding oak trees this time of year.
05/02/2011 – Remembered we had been here last year when we saw Carmont Hill from Strathfinella Hill yesterday (18/02/2012). Parked at NO 80868179 and walked through Wood of Fallside then followed fence line north to Carmont Hill and cairn. Not the best approach, we didn’t feel very welcome in the wood. Maybe better from the northeast. This is a lovely cairn and well worth visiting. Nice rounded stones and good view.
18/02/2012 – After visiting Smart’s Cairn we headed west on the main forest track to just north of this cairn. Again, like Smart’s Cairn, the last 100 meters was hard work because of wind fell but finally made it. This cairn is very overgrown and hard to make out from it’s surroundings. A few trees had fallen over to reveal the cairn material underneath. Windy and snowing quite heavily at times.
18/02/2012 – Parked car in car park (NO 69657988) next to Drumtochty Castle. Followed tracks south through wood to just east of Black Hill then path west to trigpoint on summit of Strathfinella Hill. Took ride south to col between top and the spur. So far so good. All went wrong after this. Last 300 meters to Smart’s Cairn took over an hour. The wind fell was terrible. Trees and branches everywhere. Cold and windy. Finally made it to cairn, which is hidden in the middle of quite dense wood. All felt a bit secretive. Best to use the rides from the south for this one. Cairn very overgrown but still nice. I don’t know who Smart was but the cairn is linked with the slaying of a huge serpent.
11/02/2012 – Parked at NO 8071 9447, north side of the Elsick Mounth. We headed south on this ancient trackway then left the track to go SE through trees to cairn. Bad mistake, very hard going through dense conifer. Best to stay on track till it emerges through the trees just past Bawdy Craig then follow tree line NE to cairn. Nice cairn this, bit out of the the way though. From here we headed to Curlethney Hill trigpoint (before the wind farm gets there) then SE to Campstone Hill ring cairns (great place) and then back north on the Elsick Mounth trackway via the Lang Stane. Good day.
11/02/2012 – Elsick Mounth is one of the ancient trackways that cross the Mounth hills from the Dee to the Mearns. We parked on the north side at NO 8071 9447 but just as easy from the south. Lovely walk south on the track today. On the south side you can visit the Lang Stane, Campstone Hill ring cairns and Raedykes Roman Camp.
05/02/2012 – Cold start to the day, very icy roads. We parked the car at the sawmill (NO 5907 9160), still going since 1820’s (Link to Finzean Sawmill). Plan was a walk up Peter Hill with a visit to the 3 hut circles and cairnfield on the way. Crossed the bridge over the Water of Feugh next to the mill and followed track south till the gate with sign for the hill. This leads to the area with the hut circles. Managed to find the western circle OK but then our way to the another two was blocked by cows. I stood for a while trying to move them with the power of my mind but the main cow, sitting on a hillock, just stared at me with a ‘not today thelonious, not today’ look. We retreated and went west to Peter Hill. The other two hut circles will keep for another day. Nice area around here, very quiet.
13/03/2010 – We parked the car at NO 4938 5230 and walked NE along track to Baldardo then followed path up hill to top. It can be climbed from north as well. Lots to look at here, see link to canmore below for details.
05/04/2009 – Last cairn of a good day. Walked from Cairn Motherie 1km north. Been a while since I’ve been here, too long.
05/04/2009 – After visiting Cat Law in the morning we went to the twin topped Creigh Hill in the afternoon with its two cairns. Parked car at NO 2603 5978 and headed up to top of Macritch Hill then south to Cairn Motherie. Nice rocky cairn. (summit of this top is approx 1m higher than the south top)
05/04/2009 – Parked at NO 2957 58634. Path leads straight up hill to cairn near summit. It’s a pretty big cairn with a good view. Visit was 3 years back, I had forgotten I’d been there till I was looking at the OS map today.
28/01/2012 – Glen Esk, I love this place. Stop the car anywhere in the Glen and walk, you can’t go wrong. Today we parked by the phone box (space for 4 cars, NO 5403 7896) at Millden Lodge. Loop of Mount Battock but on the way we stopped off at Red Castle cairn. This is a really great cairn, 18m diameter, ringed by lovely red sandstones (hence the name). Surrounded by a field system. Bit off the beaten track but well worth a visit. On the way back down the hill we chatted with a farmer who told us stories of illicit stills and witches’ covens. Good weather today, cold but no wind.
28/01/2012 – Parked at NO 5666 7783. Space for a couple of cars at entrance to drive. No access problems. Short walk up drive to circle. Stones a bit jumbled but I liked the 3 big ones that were standing together. Nice views.
22/01/2012 – Woke up to snow this morning. Not deep but didn’t fancy driving so we had a walk up Tyrebagger Hill and onto the stone circle. Many ways to get there but if you have time, it’s nice to combine it with a walk up to Tappie tower on top of Tyrebagger as well. Great views, all the way to the Cairngorms. Bennachie was all white in the distance as we reached the top but a few hours later it was just on the summit. I had hoped for a bit more snow at the circle but it was all melting fast. Still the sun was out and there was a nice blue sky. This is one of my favourites.
15/01/2012 – Last RSC of a great day out. Parking is a bit tricky for this one. Space for a car at start of track to circle (NJ 9561 4704). We headed NE up the track to information board then SE through wood to circle. Aikey Brae is a must see. The size of the stones and setting get me every time. I love the way you emerge from the dark of wood onto the circle. Great view from here as well.
15/01/2012 – 4th RSC out of the 5 we visited today. Normally just go to 1 or 2 places on a day out but the weather was just so nice. Cold, clear and sunny skies. Parked at start of track to Gaval farm (NJ 9802 5155). Not much left of this one. The one remaining stone can to found in the field south of parking. Access could be a problem with crop or livestock, OK today. Nice countryside round here. Don’t think this would make many people’s top 10 recumbent stone circles though. Reminds me of the Hole Stone near Wigtown but without the hole.
15/01/2012 – Parked at NJ 9384 5488. We took the signposted path south under old railway line, across a stream then followed path between fields to circle (ground was frozen so not muddy today). Nice stroll and not too far. Couple of stiles to get over though. Restored RSC but well done. I like Buchan ring RSCs and I think this one has a real peaceful atmosphere. Picnic table next to circle comes in handy if you want to stay awhile. Cold today, no wind and a nice pale blue winter sky.
anyone know anything about the ‘standing stone’ just over the wall, about 100m north of circle? Guess it’s modern?
15/01/2012 – Parked car at entrance to Mid Cloch Forbie farm (NJ 7965 5869). Through gate and walked SE down field edge to stone. Just the recumbent left (the Gray Stone). Nice stone and the views from it are great, Ben Rinnes and beyond. No voice from under the stone for me either but I did say hello just in case.
15/01/2012 – Cold again this morning, roads a bit icy. Parked in same passing place as Drew (NJ 8824 4510) and a short stroll to circle. Just two stones left, recumbent and one flanker. Both fantastic, white quartz. This one more than any of the other RSCs I would love to have seen complete. Winter sun looked good on the stones. Look out for OS benchmark on recumbent. No access problems.
14/01/2012 – Morven can be climbed from a few starting points. Today we started at NJ 4186 0582. After visiting Blue Cairn of Ladieswell stone circle we continued on north then west through the wood. Followed track to Preas Whin (great eagle sculpture here) then south up hill to summit. Cold today but very little wind and clear sky. Very good views from cairn. Snow lying but not deep. Headed east down the hill to Little Cairn then north back to wood.
14/01/2012 – We left car at NJ 4186 0582. Walked west then north past Ladieswell cottage. The circle is 400m further on, just off to the left of the track. Last time here the RSC was nearly hidden with bracken. Today it was easier to see with everything died back. Very cold start (-5). This is an odd circle with a recumbent but no flankers. The recumbent seems to lay below the cairn on the slope of the hill. The rest of the stones are nearly lost in the cairn. Lovely setting in a wood. Winter visit (if possible) is better for this one, due to the amount of bracken.
07/01/2012 – Not much to add apart from there is new fencing and gates on the road north that gives access to the hill. Parking is now tricky where the track meets the road near Dikehead Cottages, looks like they are getting ready to build something so access to track could be a problem in future. We parked further east on the road at NJ 5976 1419. Walked south up track between fields then SW up hill through broom. Bit hard work in places. West to circle. A lot of cows here today but luckily they slowly moved away from the circle so we could approach. This RSC is different. The recumbent and the rest of the stones are quite small and a lovely dark pink colour. Great view of Bennachie and surrounding area. Well worth a visit.
02/01/2012 – Car Park at NJ 8443 1473. Through gate and head SE over Blue Hill. Pass through cairnfield to hut circle which is on the east side of Blue Hill. I’ve walked past this a few times but it has always had cows in the field. not today :) Great hut circle (my new favourite). Good view from it. Very near the Slacks Cairn and hut circles.
31/12/2011 – Good place to park car at NO 53194 90592 at the end of the road through the Forest of Birse, west of Finzean. The hut circle marked on the OS map is only a few minutes walk west of here. Another hut circle just west of that. Forest of Birse is worth a visit just for the scenery alone. Very quiet. Ancient highways, the Fungle Road and the Firmounth Road, connecting Deeside to Glen Esk pass through here. Nice place for a stroll.
18/12/2011 – Car park at NJ 4856 0508. Sign posted circular walk. Robbed burial cairn with modern cairn on top of it. Go on a clear day as the views are fantastic.
19/11/2011
Parked in Tillicoultry (NS 9143 9745). Walked up path, right side of Mill Glen. Cairn on slope halfway to top of King’s Seat hill. Path passes right next to it. Grass covered with modern cairn on top. Great views from cairn plus Mill Glen is lovely.
19/11/2011
Parked car at NO 00810398. Took Downhill Farm track to just passed pond. Through 2 gates and straight up hill. Steepish 150m climb. Good place to have a hillfort. Best visited on a cloud free day as the views of the surrounding hills are nice.
23/10/2011
Weather forecast looked a bit windy so I thought I’d stay low today and have a look for these hut circles on the east slopes of Culblean hill. Parked at the Burn O’Vat Visitor Centre. Started by popping to the Vat. Meltwater pothole, well worth a visit. The place must have been known to the people living in the hut circles which are only about 600-800m away.
Next stop was a great little stone circle (NJ 42667 00004), uphill, halfway between the Vat and the main group of hut circles. 0.85m stone, circled by 8 smaller stones. In the middle of trees now but the view from this circle south would be fantastic.
200m east from the stone circle is a large oval enclosure (NJ 4286 0008). Great view of this today as unlike the rest of the hut circles this was not covered in bracken.
Next I headed 200m NE to what Canmore describes as a rock carving (NJ 4300 0030). Sandstone rock set in granite, with a number of rectilinear grooves and cup marks. I didn’t know what to make of it really (See link below to Canmore for more info).
Walking downhill, east from the carving we saw 4 more hut circles but the bracken was terrible. We couldn’t see the circles till we fell over the walls.
Gave up on the rest but will be back once everything has died back. Fantastic place. All within about 800m of each other. GPS helps as the whole place is covered in trees. You could easily spend all day here.
16/10/2011
The Priest’s Well is in the middle of nowhere. South of Braemar in the Cairngorms, but it’s a pretty easy walk to get to it. Car park where Glen Callater meets Glen Clunie. Nice track next to the Callater burn for about 3 miles to the Loch. Walk left round loch till you see the boulder that marks the Well. lovely place anytime of year. Also halfway along Glen Callater near a wood bridge is a hillock where fairies where once seen dancing, if you like that sort of thing.
I don’t know if there is any trace left of the stones that dropped through a hole in the Devil’s apron near Huntly (see folklore below) but the Cloven stone is still here and a great stone it is. Walked NE from top of Knock Hill to stone.
Interesting Loch. This is the crannog marked on the OS maps (going back to 1st edition) but oddly only classed as possible crannog on Canmore. There is another one at the east end of the loch, not marked on OS but scheduled. great area.
There is a smaller cairn 300m north of Upper Shampher Round Cairn. Very robbed compared to it. I walked in from the north over Scolty Hill but if you’re just visiting the cairns, Drew’s directions for the main cairn are best.
nice cairn in a nice wood. I parked in Boat of Garten next to a little loch and walked north to cross A95. You probably can park on the verge on the A95 where the track meets it but it’s a busy road. good walk along a track through Deishar Wood to the cairn. It’s quite easy to miss though. Saw Capercaillie flying through trees near cairn.
26/09/2011
Nice walk to see this cairn and the one on Carleatheran, about 6km east of it. Parked car at NS 652922, just at bridge. Walked up track passed Ballochleam (means Hollow of the Dead) and onto hills. Great views from the cairns but bit wet underfoot.
16/05/2010 – Ever since I visited Tap o’ Noth, Scotland’s second highest Hillfort I’ve always wanted to visit here, Ben Griam Beg – Scotland’s Highest.
Ben Griam Beg with it’s brother Ben Griam Mor make for a great walk, starting from near the Garvault Hotel.
It’s hard to believe people stayed and built a fort here. Remote is a good word. Great place.
10/04/2011 – Nice enclosure on top of Hill of Keir, Aberdeenshire. It was a lovely day here on Sunday and the views from the top were very good for a little hill. Best way up is probably from the east but I parked on the B979, due west of the hill, crossed a field, over a fence and a nice little walk through trees to the top.
12/03/2011 – I’ve love going to Tyrebagger hill, with it’s little tower on top and great views inland and of course it’s fantastic stone circle on the east side. Today, after reading about a ‘recumbent’ stone, Bishops’s Cross and The Great Stone on the south side I went to have a look.
The ‘recumbent’ stone (NJ 8431 1212) is one big stone with the odd cup mark. corner of a wall and hard to miss. I couldn’t find the Great Stone, think it’s probably gone now but about 250m east along the track, the Bishops’s Cross (NJ 8438 1187) is still there. All worth a visit if you are in this neck of the woods :)
ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_060/60_269_273.pdf
canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/19561/details/tyrebagger+hill/
Whilst on Oxen Craig look out for a square-cut hole – see story below, near the cairn.
from ‘Bennachie’ p41 Alexander Inkson McConnochie 1890
Oxen Craig has acquired quite a local history — and almost even a name, for sometimes it is spoken of as ” Robbie Deson’s Tap” — from a half-witted pauper, Robert Dawson, who was found dead on the Craig on 12th December, 1856, the sixteenth day after he had disappeared. Robbie lived with his mother at Goose- knowe, near’Ryehill, Oyne, and was last seen alive at Hillbrae. He had left Hillbrae on the 26th of the previous month, a snow-storm coming on rather un-expectedly after he had set out. Search parties were sent out after some delay, but no trace of poor Robbie could be found — indeed, it could hardly be expected that it would have been thought possible or probable that the body would be found on the highest point of Bennachie. Ultimately, the body was found by a young man of the district who was out ” takin’ a shot n at the white hares in the neighbourhood of Oxen Craig. Robbie had died while sitting on the Craig, so at first the ” sportsman ” took the dead body for some one watching his movements. The crows had picked out the right eye before the body was found, which was buried at night in Oyne Churchyard. The natives erected a commemorative stone, with an inscription, on the spot where the body was found, the stone being cut from the rock in the immediate vicinity. Robbie’s mother, however, knocked it down and broke it into minute pieces, her idea being that she
should have participated in the funds that were raised for its erection. She also objected to the word “fatuous” on the stone referring to Robbie, saying ” Fatuous ! Fat’s that ? My sin wis jist as Guid made ‘im.” Ultimately the subscription became the subject of a lawsuit. To use rather an Irish bull — all that remains of the monument is the square-cut foundation for the stone in the solid rock, which may still be seen a few yards from the cairn. Poor Robbie was a great simpleton. On one occasion he saw a number
of egg-boxes standing on end at the local grocer’s, ” and having been told they were coffins, ever afterwards he would rather have waded the Gadie-than passed ” the grocer’s,” especially at night.
I went looking for the Giant’s Stone last year (Sep 2009) and found a big erratic at OS grid NJ481290 about where the the stone is marked on early OS maps. Quite a bit higher up tap o’ noth than the stone drewbhoy went to.
Quite easy to get to. Follow path from the car park for tap o noth and about half way up from the car park (420m height) head for the trees. It’s just inside.
I would be interested to go back and look at the other stone drewbhoy talks about.
Just above the trees is a spur of rock called Clochmaloo (Stone of St Moluag) associated with a famous Celtic missionary from about A.D. 562. well worth a visit too on a nice day.
Previous page451-490 of 490 fieldnotes