BigSweetie

The easiest way to get to this site is by approaching from the south. Take the path with the steps up towards the summit of Blackford Hill, but maybe 30 steps from the top the gorse to your left stops and is replaced with grass on a steep slope. There are a couple of faint tracks visible here. Leave the main path and walk around the edge of the hill towards the prominent tree, where the gorse starts again. Once you reach the tree the hollow in the rock and the carving itself are both clearly visible.

There’s quite a lot of scree and it is steep, so appropriate footwear is required!

Directions – Head NW out of Blairgowrie on the A93 (sign-posted Glenshee) and when you reach the mill heritage centre (just before leaving Blairgowrie) on your left take the road to your right. Go up this steep hill, passing the Craighall standing stone in the field to your right. Continue on past Kynballoch House farm until you reach Drimmie Woods, where there is space to park.

Follow the road round on foot until you come to the large double gates into the woods and a cattle field. Climb over the fence here (not the gate) and follow the cattle track up to the left, then turn right and walk along the side of the field up to the edge of wood. Follow the fence at the edge of the wood – if you don’t like cows, it’s possible to walk on the wood side of the fence although it will take you longer as the wood is quite thick – until you come to the gate at the corner of the field where three fences come together. You should be able to see the stones by looking along the fence to your right.

A good time to visit would appear to be about 2 o’clock on the 29th of September! The sun was low and the cups were unbelievably well picked-out, much better than any other time I’ve visited (winter excepted!).

From “A Short History of York” by Marguerita Spence and Marian E Everatt (1948):

“....the corner of Burton Stone Lane, where stood the hapel of St. Mary Magdalene. Here travellers prayed for safe guidance through the Forest of Galtres.”

From “York” by John Harvey (1983):

“Soon after this is the corner of Burton Stone Lane, with the historic – or prehistoric – Burton Stone marking the limit of the old jurisdiction of the city on this side of the road.”

From “This Is York” by CB Knight (1954):

“At the far corner of Burton Stone Lane, in front of the Burton Stone Inn, is a stone enclosed in iron railings. This is the Burton Stone, which gives its name to the lane. It recalls the fact that in 1604 there was a violent outbreak of plague in the city, and 3,512 persons are said to have died of it...........Stone crosses were erected on all the main high roads approaching the city at the city boundaries, around which the country people exposed their provisions for sale without entering the city. The Burton Stone was the base of one of these crosses, and remains as a reminder of a very sorrowful time in York’s chequered history. I have not been able to trace what the name Burton signifies. Several members of a family of this name were very active in local affairs at the close of the seventeenth century, and may have resided near by.”

Directions – Head north from Perth on the A9. Turn off at Kindallachan and park here. Walk north out of Kindallachan, taking the path that follows the A9. When you see the first cottage on the opposte side of the A9 (Haugh of Kilmorich) cross the road and head down the track that goes under the railway bridge towards the river. Turn right along the bottom of the field, and then right again up the other side of the field. The stone stands in the corner of the next field, near the railway embankment.

Directions – Head W from Perth on the A9. Just after Auchterarder, come off onto the A823, turning right for Crieff. Immediately on your left is a gate giving access to the fort. There’s space to park here.

Directions – Park in the car park for the Cateran Trail at Enochdhu and follow the forest track to the north-east past Dirnanean and through Home Farm. Continue on up the hill past the sheep dips, and soon after you will come to a gate. About 250m after the gate you will pass the Calamanach stone. Keep on following the track as it turns to the left and continues uphill through the forest, where you will cross a stream. As you leave the forest at a deer fence, turn immediately to your left and follow the fence until you come to the circle, which sits in a kink in the fence.

Directions – park at Spittal of Glenshee, and walk past the church and across the A93 to a stile in the fence, sign-posted Cateran Trail. Head down over the wooden bridge, and follow the farm track up past Old Spittal farmhouse (windows boarded up). The track climbs up and round a bend just after the old farm, and you will see a large flat-topped hill rising up to your left. Climb up it’s steep sides, and at the top you will clearly be able to see the morain deposit with the stones sitting atop.

Directions – head north from Spittal of Glenshee, and after about 2.5km there is a small layby on the right of the road, almost opposite a double gate into the field on the left hand side of the road – park here. Go through the double gates, and head up the “track” that’s just visible in the grass. (You should be able to see a small wooden structure on the ridge)

When you get onto the flattish ridge, turn right and follow the faint sheep track through the ford in the burn, and follow it until a second ford maybe 200 or 300m further along. Once you come up out of this second burn, you should be able to see the 2 standing stones sticking up out of other assorted stones.

‘Caledonia’ was carved before 1860, as it’s mentioned in the OS Name Book from that year

Directions – coming in to Blair Atholl from the south, turn left just after the garage and just before the bridge over the Tilt, following the signs to the Bridge of Tilt caravan park. Pull in to the park and ask at reception – they’re quite happy for people to go and look at the stone. It’s situated next to caravan 12.

Directions – it’s fairly impossible to miss the Law from anywhere in Dundee, and generally speaking, if you head directly towards it you’ll find your way up it relatively easily.

And more detailed directions – the easiest way to approach the Law is on the A923 (Coupar Angus road) in Lochee, from where it is sign-posted with brown heritage signs. Assuming that you’re coming from the centre of Dundee, head out on the A923 towards Lochee, and just after you pass the steep turn-off onto Ancrum Road to your left, you’ll spot a “Dundee Law” sign pointing right up Loon’s Road at the traffic lights. Take this road, and when it curves round to the left, turn right onto Byron Street, and then right again up Lawton Road (still following the signposts). At the top of Lawton Road, turn left onto Law Crescent and then after a short distance right up Law Road, which will take you to the summit of the Law. There are loads of paths criss-crossing the Law which will take you to the top, and several places to park the car if you’d prefer to walk the last bit, but there’s also space to park at the very top too.

A souterrain was discovered here in 1790, 470 metres north-west of Balloch farmhouse. It was situated on the crest of a terrace on the south side of the Hill of Loyal, and its passage was 1.2m wide by 1.8m in height.

The deer carving at Turnalt Farm is stylistically very similar to the deer carving at Blackford Hill miles away in Midlothian, just south of Edinburgh.

Due to the road-widening (of the A92) the path no longer leads N from the A92, but W from the B962, beginning at about NO 5035 3445

The Abbey Craig is very easy to find, as you can see the Wallace Monument from miles around. If you can find your way onto the A9 in the centre of Stirling, heading N on the dual carriageway section, then at the roundabout next to the bridge over the Forth, turn right. Head along past all the B&Bs until you come to another roundabout, which you want to go straight over and up the small B998. The road doubles back on itself as it climbs the hill and you will soon find yourself at the car park for the Wallace Monument.

Watch out for the hideous statue of Mel Gibson (no really!) dressed in his Braveheart garb.

From the car park, just follow the path up to the Monument.

Despite being built in a very defendable position, Dumyat is actually very easy to get to. Get yourself onto the A9 in the centre of Stirling heading N on the dual carriageway section. At the roundabout by the bridge, take the right turning, and head out past all the B&Bs towards the Wallace Monument. At the next roundabout turn right onto the A907 for a mile or so, then left at the next roundabout onto the A91. After about a mile of very straight road towards the bottom of the Ochil hills there is a sharp corner to the right – turn left here onto the B road, and take an immediate right past the wee Logie kirk. Follow this (very steep and narrow!) road as at twists up the edge of the hill, and at the T-junction take a right. There’s space to park soon after, at about NS 813 982.

A gate into the field here will take you onto the track that is marked on the OS map and will lead you right to the summit of Dumyat the hill, behind the fort. I would suggest going up to the top of the hill as the views over the Carse of Forth to the S, and Loss Hill to the N are amazing, as well as giving you a good look at the fort below. If you don’t want to go to the summit of the hill, break off from the track around NS 830 977 and carefully pick your way S through the heather – being aware of the sheer drops around here – to approach the fort from it’s W.

Directions – head N from Perth on the A9 (sign-posted Inverness). After about 40.0km, take the turn-off to the left for Pitlochry. This road (the A924) takes you back under the A9, and follows the River Tummel into the centre of Pitlochry. About 500m after passing under the railway bridge, take the road up to your right (sign-posted A924 & Moulin) and go straight over the mini-roundabout into Moulin. Park opposite the Moulin Inn, and walk continue walking up the road for 200m to the gates of Balnakeilly House – you can’t miss the gates, but it’s easy to miss the stone camouflaged amongst the trees! It’s on the left of the gates as you look at them.

Directions – head S from Perth on the A9, and after approximately 10.0km take the turn-off to the right for Aberuthven. The village is small and doesn’t have a car park, but there is space to park on the street. To save yourself a walk, park as close as possible to the bridge across the river at the S edge of the village. Cross the bridge on foot, and take the first road on the right, and then immediately the next turn to the right, up a rough farm track, past some cottages on your right. Walk up the track, and after a couple of hundred metres you will pass Loanhead farm on your right. Continue up the track, and you will see Belhie farm straight ahead of you. Keep walking towards Belhie for another couple of hundred metres, until you see a track off to your right heading along the field boundary to a gate at the edge of some trees. Walk along to this gate, which will take you into the field that the stone is in. After climbing over the gate, follow the edge of the field round to your right to get closer to the stone. If there are crops in the field, it’s still possible to get decent photographs from the far edge of the field.

On the fertile flood plain of the River Earn, between the farms of Belhie and Haugh of Aberuthven, a complex series of crop marks were spotted on aerial photos. Excavations led to the discovery of several enclosures, a round barrow and a henge, to join the standing stone that is visible above ground.

Aerial photos taken in 1995 showed a series of cropmarks. Four marks in a square setting 6m across were identified as a possible four-poster, situated between the cropmarks of a palisaded settlement and a possible enclosed settlement.

The OS Name Book recorded in 1860 that this stone was supposed to be all that remained of a “Druidical Temple” although it didn’t cite any references. The site is also marked on the 1867 OS map as “supposed remains of Druidical Temple” (see link below).

However, aerial photos taken in 1987 showed that the stone is surrounded by a probable henge showing up as faint cropmarks. There is a ditch of width 1 to 2.5m and diameter of around 21 to 22m, and the stone stands in the S sector of this enclosure, just inside the line of the ditch which seems to be interrupted.

Aerial photos in 1987 showed what appeared to be a segmented ring-ditch close to the henge at Belhie, measuring around 8 to 9m in diamater and surrounded by a ditch 1 to 1.5m in width.

Excavation in 1988 by Professor Ian Ralston of Edinburgh University revealed this to be “an enclosed cremation cemetery with severely damaged external pits, one of which produced urn sherds”.

Aerial photos taken in 1987 revealed a ring-ditch 179m WNW of the Belhie henge. The ring-ditch had a diameter of around 10m, surrounded by a ditch between 1 & 2m wide.

The ring-ditch was examined as part of Professor Ian Ralston’s excavations in 1988.

Aerial photos taken in 1987 revealed a penannular ring ditch around 8m in diameter surrounded by a ditch approximately 2m wide. The ditch has what may be an entrance at the NNW, suggesting this to be another “mini-henge” like the one nearby, also at Belhie, but without excavation it’s not possible to say if this “entrance” is contemporary with the ditch.

The site was scheduled in 2000 by Historic Scotland as Haugh of Aberuthven, standing stone, enclosure and ring-ditch.

Aerial photos in 1987 showed a penannular enclosure around 5m in diameter within a ditch varying between 1 & 2m in width. To the ESE was an entrance around 2m wide. Several linear pits and two segments of possible pit circles were identified close by.

These photos led to an excavation in 1988 under Professor Ian Ralston of Edinburgh University, who described the site as a “mini-henge”. Outside the henge, pottery fragments were found buried in a pit.

The RCAHMS scheduled the site as a Class I henge, and it was plotted on a distribution map of henge monuments, ring-cairns, pit-circles and recumbent stone circles covering central and eastern Scotland.

According to the OS Name Book of 1860, several cists were removed from this barrow in 1859 during its levelling. A low mound of 44m diameter could still be seen in 1967, and in 1987 the site showed up on aerial photos as “a large circular dark mark, surrounded by a swirl of parched plants”.

Moulin Market used to be held in this field.

Directions – from the centre of Pitlochry, head south as if you were going to the A9. After driving under the railway bridge, take the next right (I think sign-posted for the sewage works and caravan site) crossing the Tummel over the Aldour Bridge. At the junction, turn left and shortly afer you will come to the small collection of houses that is Ballinluig. Just before going under the A9, there’s a muddy farm track going down to the fields on the left. Park carefully at the top of this, taking care not to block the farmer’s access, then walk down th track to the gate. If you look down the fence line from here you’ll clearly see the tree-topped cairn close to the edge of the field.

Directions – from the centre of Pitlochry, head up the West Moulin Road to the Moulin Inn. Turn left behind it onto the road which takes you past the Dane’s Stone and up the hill. Don’t turn left for the farm, keep on going on the road/track you’re on now. Soon after the track comes up to Lower Drumchorry farm – turn right on the track here up the hill to Upper Drumchorry. The path looks as if it just leads up to the cottage, but it does actually continue past the cottage to the left. Keep following the path (which now runs along the wall of the golf course) until you see a metal gate in the wall, then just after this there is a wooden gate/opening in the wall onto the golf course. Go through here, turn right and follow the wall up to the end of the golf course. The stones are dotted around in the trees at the end of the golf course (ie on the golf course side of the wall, not into the thicker forest that has the ruined houses in it).

Directions – head N out of Pitlochry, past the Faskally caravan park on your left, until you see a sign for Loch Tummel & Queen’s View to your left, over the Garry Bridge. Go over the bridge, and follow the road past Loch Tummel and Dunalastair Water to Kinloch Rannoch. Follow the road through Kinloch Rannoch as it curves round to the right at the head of the loch, and after about half a mile you’ll see the huge timeshare complex to your right. Go past this, and park at the “patrons only” car park a wee bit further on on the left, which I’m sure it would be ok to use for a flying visit! If not, you can always park in Kinloch Rannoch and walk out, it’s not far.

Walk west (the direction you were heading in) from the car park for maybe 100m, passing the marina and an outdoor centre hut on your left. Just beyond here, the timeshare buildings come to an end on your right, and there’s a dry-stane wall heading up the hill. Looking up beside the wall you’ll see a small wooden “kissing gate” – climb up and through this (watching out for the thorns!) and you’ll find the stone up a few metres to the right, covered in thick moss.

Directions – head N out of Pitlochry, past the Faskally caravan park on your left, until you see a sign for Loch Tummel & Queen’s View to your left, over the Garry Bridge. Go over the bridge, and follow the road past Loch Tummel and Dunalastair Water to Kinloch Rannoch. Follow the road through Kinloch Rannoch as it curves round to the right at the head of the loch, and after about half a mile you’ll see the huge timeshare complex to your right, with the stone just in front of it, opposite the gym and swimming pool. There’s a “patrons only” car park a wee bit further on on the left, which I’m sure it would be ok to use for a flying visit! If not, you can always park in Kinloch Rannoch and walk out, it’s not far.

From The Scots Magazine, October 1985:

“Killin is said to derive its name from Cil-Fhinn, meaning Fionn’s burial place, but the stone marking the grave of the great warrior-king of Gaelic legend, much visited in Victorian times, is now virtually ignored. It stands in a small field close to Breadalbane Park, surrounded by boggy ground and rushes. . . . The late Duncan Fraser, who did so much to record local history, wrote that ‘a head’ was added to the stone last century.”

This site is marked on the 1867 OS map as “site of Standing Stone” (see link below). I haven’t seen it listed anywhere, so have given it the name Mill of Cumna after the building closest to it on the map.

For other Perthshire standing stones with early Christian crosses carved on them, see also Ballinreigh and St Adamnan’s Cross.

For other Perthshire standing stones with early Christian crosses carved on them, see also Ballinreigh and Staredam.

This standing stone has an early Christian cross carved into it, similar to the Staredam stone and St Adamnan’s Cross.

This stone is marked on the OS map of 1867.

This stone now stands in front of a timeshare complex built by Barratt Leisure. The stone has been turned into a feature, and a plaque has been fixed to it describing the origin of it’s name. The plaque says:

Clach-a-Mharslin
(The Pedlar’s Stone)

Although throughout the Highlands there were many such resting used by pedlars to unburden themselves of their pack – normally carried on the back and supported by a strap around the forehead – this stone azquired notoriety when a pedlar’s pack slipped off the stone whilst he was adjusting the forehead strap which went round his neck and strangled him.

Re-erected 26th Febraury 1981
Multi-Ownership & Hotels Limited

In the October 1984 edition of the Scots Magazine, Mary McDonald, a former resident of Langstane cottage, writes of the Huly Hill outlier by Lochend:

“During the 1914-18 War, my family moved from Edinburgh to Lochend. Our new home on the right-hand side of the road at the approach to the rail bridge is still there, notwithstanding the axed railway and the changed road structure. It was named “Langstane” after the Standing Stone in the field opposite”.

The article is accompanied by a photo showing the stone standing proudly in a field of grass, surrounded by a wire fence.

The OS Name Book records in 1863 that several standing stones were removed from here “within living memory.” The circle stood on the brow of a small hill, 180m NNW of Williamston steading.

Writing in 1911, an A Scott told of a “Druid Temple” standing at Craigmakerran, which had been reduced to two stones after others were removed for building purposes. The site was apparently recorded previously on an OS map, although not on the 1867 one.

The RCAHMS are very dismissive of this, suggesting that Scott was getting confused with the two standing stones at Wolfhill, although their only reasoning behind this would appear to be that both sites consisted of two stones, ignoring the fact that Wolfhill is a kilometre away.

Fred Coles was told by several residents of Comrie that their forebears had told of “several great stones forming a rudely circular group” on top of Tom na Chessaig. There is a large whinstone still at the site, at NN 7701 2205, which may have been one of the standing stones. Legend has it that the rest of the stones were destroyed at the time the nearby church was built.

Interestingly, there is a reference in the Old Statistical Accounts to a “druidical temple” near Comrie (Tom na Chessaig is on the western edge of Comrie) which was destroyed around 1784, and the stones used in the building of a house. This may well have been the circle on Tom na Chessaig.

Balmuick wasn’t marked on the 1866 OS map, but it now appears on modern OS maps

Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre is open all year round – in winter the shop and café aren’t open, but there’s an “honesty box” for your entrance fee.

Directions – head west from Perth on the A85, passing through Crieff towards Comrie. In Comrie, turn left over Dalginross Bridge (where there’s a sign for “Wildlife Centre”). Continue on to the bottom of the village and follow the road round a sharp turn to the right. After approximately 1 mile there is a road off to the right signposted Cultybraggan, but continue straight on here, following the sign for “Wildlife Centre” again. After another half mile, Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre is on your left – you can’t miss it, huge sign! Follow the steep track (suitable for cars) up to the centre’s car park. The stone is to the right of the shop and café building – ask permission in here.

Directions – head W from Perth on the A85 through Crieff towards Comrie. Approximately 4 miles after Crieff, not long after the signs for the Braincroft Bunkhouse, you will see a long thin field on your left, flanked on either side by an avenue of large trees. The standing stone is clearly visible 100m into the field, on the left hand side, close to a small wooden stable. Carry on past the field, and you will come to a layby you can park in, and walk back to the field. The easiest way in, without disturbing the horses, is to head to the left edge of the field boundary wall, and climb over the wooden fence. There is a fence within a fence here, so walk down through the trees until you are level with the stone, then hop over the inner fence to get to the stone.

Directions – head west from Perth on the A85, right through Crieff and Comrie. Approximately a mile outside Comrie, you will see a sign for Twenty Shilling Wood caravan park to your right. Carry on round the next corner, and you will see a double-gate into a field on your right, with the stones visible in the field. There’s space to park by the gates.

Directions – head west from Perth on the A85 for Crieff. Keep going straight into the centre of Crieff, and as you start to go down the steep hill, take the right turn (signposted A85 Lochearnhead, I think). Keep going on the A85 for about 7 miles and you will reach Comrie. In the centre of Comrie you will see a turn off to the left over the river, signposted “Wildlife Centre” amongst other things. Head down here to the bottom of the village, where you follow the road round a sharp right turn to leave the village. About 200m outside the village the Roman Stone is clearly visible by the road, on your left next to a sign for the footpath to Muirend.

Directions – head east from Aberfeldy on the A827, passing the distillery on your right. Approximately a mile and a half further on is the track up to Cultullich farm, and the large chain-link gates into Cultullich Tip. There’s space to park carefully here. Walk along the grass verge beside the main road in the direction you were heading in, until you are level with the highest point of the ridge. Climb over the barbed wire fence here, and climb up the bank. The stone lies on the highest point of the ridge.