This is Loanhead of Daviot's next-door-neighbour.... about 1km away.
I had read the earlier fieldnotes before I left but had forgotten them .... maybe just as well.
Suffice to say, there is nothing threatening here now (apart from an electric fence round the stones - why?) but then I went in from the W.
Visited 17 March 2005
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Anything with a recumbent and both flankers in place is, in my view, worth a visit.
This is a nicely preserved site with possibly all of the stones still standing ..... but it's so frustrating.
The setting, surrounded by the farmyard and trees, makes it impossible to experience it as a circle in its landscape.
But go and see it .... it makes a good little trio of northern RSCs along with Berrybrae and Strichen.
Visited 19 March 2005
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A fairly average RSC with a 3.3m long recumbent.
What makes the site interesting are the results of the Burl excavation which showed that, half a millennium or more after the circle was built, some stones were damaged and the ring cairn was destroyed in a redesign of the monument.
Access Parking at the nearby crossroads. Through the field gate and then the gate to the copse.
Visited 19 March 2005
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This is a rather good recumbent stone circle.
Both flankers are there although the west one is broken and only a stump remains.
Particularly impressive are the remains of the internal ring cairn which is linked by slabs to the recumbent.
Access It would be possible to reach the site from Tomnagorn farm but there is a track from the road N of the site (to Bankhead) and this may be the preferred access route. Park at NJ654081, go down the track for 50m and then take the right turn. At the double fence, head uphill and to the right.
Visited 15 March 2005
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This is certainly one of the smaller RSCs - a recumbent of only 1.4m. But still worth seeking out.
Were there other circle stones? You wonder why they might have been removed but not the relatively small recumbent and flankers.
Parish records often talk about the destruction of circles and other sites but not here. Other RSCs have a similar absence of documentation and this has led to the view that, at some sites, only the recumbent and flankers were installed.
Access Near the road with parking nearby.
Visited 20 March 2005
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I'd been here several times but I'd never looked at the outlier stones.
The north one, in the woods just up from the car park, is a beauty. The west one, disappointingly, is described by Canmore as a cattle rubbing stone.
Visited 20 March 2005
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After its restoration, this is now a rather good recumbent stone circle. Quite a lot of the internal ring cairn is now visible.
This is another one I haven't seen for 18 years. Before restoration (see photo), the flankers had fallen but otherwise it looked ok.
The circle lies at the W edge of the distribution of RSCs. It also has the most westerly orientation of the recumbent (235 degrees).
Access. A Historic Scotland site with all the usual car parking and picnic tables. No obstacles between the car park and the site.
Visited 20 March 2005
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When I was last here (1987), there was no wood - at least surrounding the circle. So it's the opposite of Aikey Brae. Win some, lose some.
Not a great site - and not helped by the trees. Recumbent, one upright and one fallen flanker and two other upright stones.
See it if you're in the area.
Access. Park at NJ 957 504. Follow the forest tracks, as shown on Landranger, to approach the circle from the S. On the track into the forest to reach the site, watch out for a left turn after about 50m. Easily missed! One gate but rather rough going in the forest.
Visited 19th March 2005
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Not been here since 1987. A bit more overgrown since then but, otherwise, looking good. The circle, that is.
Reconstructed in 1981, it's a good example of recumbents in this area - especially, the embanked circle.
For some reason, it failed to uplift me. I think I felt the same the last time. Perhaps it's the surroundings, especially that spooky ruined house!
2.8m recumbent + flankers + 6 other stones.
Access. There's a path from the Gamekeeper's Cottage which is the building off the track running NE from Strichen Mains. You can drive here. It was muddy but ok. Alternatively, you can park at Strichen Country Park (the lake at the other end of that track) and walk in. One gate and one stile.
Visited 19th March 2005
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This has to have the most beautifully proportioned recumbent and flankers of all the RSCs.
The flankers (pushing 3m) are amongst the tallest and the recumbent is over 4m long. Together they make a wonderful composition - especially given the bulging shape of the recumbent.
It would be great to see them against the horizon but, sadly, the trees get in the way.
The recumbent has four cupmarks.
Enough circle stones survive to give the line of the circle. The recumbent and flankers are way off this circle line suggesting that they may have been built first using a wider community effort leaving the local community to add the smaller circle stones. Other circles eg Loanhead of Daviot exhibit a similar feature.
Access. Just to add to the previous comments, another way in is from the most southerly part of the wood. Vehicle tracks from there lead straight to the circle. No fences, gates etc.
Visited 16 March 2005
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Another "top ten" recumbent stone circle.
Level recumbent, framed horizon, dressed outer faces .... it's all here. With a couple of outliers thrown in for interest.
Here the recumbent is about 2m long - amongst the smallest. Four other circle stones remain.
Access. Park at Backhill and go through the gate at the east end of the plantation. If the field is in crop, it is easy to walk through the plantation to get a close view.
Visited 16 March 2005
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You have to close your eyes to the mess elsewhere in the circle but the recumbent and flankers here are a joy to behold.
It happens to be the heaviest recumbent (53 tons and nearly 5m long) but what really makes it special is the recumbent's smooth outer face and the level top.
From inside this circle you can get a good impression of that classic RSC outlook. The recumbent just below the horizon with the flankers breaking the horizon line. A window through which to view the moon.
Access. Merrick has given the directions. I'll just add that there is a disused roadside quarry providing a handy parking place opposite the point where you enter the wood.
Visited 16th March 2005
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Ruined but still impressive.
If you want to see the longest recumbent, this is it - 5.2m. No west flanker and only two other upright stones.
Great views.
Access. Close to the road - from where you can get a good view even if the field is in crop. Nearby passing place big enough to park in.
Visited 15th March 2005
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An excellent recumbent stone circle. The west flanker has fallen but it remains an evocative site with its massive recumbent and largely open outlook.
What a difference from when I was last here in 1987 when the circle was completely surrounded by trees (see posted image).
Access. a23's directions are spot on. The parking place is at NJ 9561 4706.
Visited 19th March 2005
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This is a splendid stone.
It lies about 2km S of the other decorated stones at Menteith and has been moved slightly from its original location.
Located at an altitude of 25m it could be the lowest lying cup and ring stone.
GPS reading (12m accuracy) NS 56421 99536.
Access Ask at Malling Farm. They get a few visitors a year and seem happy to let you walk down to it.
Visited 13 January 2005
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I can't resist a superlative!
"...at 342m, [this is] by far the longest chambered cairn in Britain ..." PSAS 132 p118
This enigmatic and unexcavated site has only in the last decade or so been interpreted as a chambered cairn. The higher and wider S end is seen as a Clyde cairn to which a long "tail" of a cairn has been added.
There is certainly a very clear chamber towards the S end and some partly visible stones at the extreme S end which could be part of another chamber.
It is, of course, the length which makes the site special and worth seeing - and comparisons have been made with the cursus monument tradition.
Aerial views can be seen on the Canmore website.
Access Easiest access is via the Keltie Caravan Site which is signposted just E of Callander.
Visited 13 January 2005
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One of, I think, the few cup and ring-marked large boulders in Scotland - there's another at Newbigging. Most carvings are on outcrop or smaller stones.
Had a long and interesting chat with the farmer who had been there for over 40 years. He remembered Morris coming to first record the site. His most recent visitors were "two dutchmen". That must have been you Jan and Gus!
GPS reading NS 49507 95044.
There is a cup-marked stone at NS 491 951.
Access. Very easy. You can drive up to and park at NS 4960 9514 then follow S bank of stream to the stone. A drop down a steep bank is necessary if you want a close view.
Visited 15 December 2004
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This 1.1m high stone sits amongst the gravestones in the parish churchyard. Just inside the entrance slightly to your right.
Visited 15 December 2004
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A 1.2m high stone clearly visible from the A891.
A cremation urn was found at its base when the stone was re-erected in 1982.
Visited 15 December 2004
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THE SAD TALE OF THE COCHNO STONE
NMRS Number NS57SW 32
The Cochno Stone is one of the most extensively decorated and most interesting rock art sites in this part of Scotland.
The good news is that the rock still exists in its original location; the bad news (for some) is that, around 50 years ago, it was covered by about a metre of soil to protect it from further vandalism.
The worse news is that it does not seem to have been properly recorded before it was covered. Morris refers to several drawings of the site which are consistent in recording the main features but contain many differences on the minor ones.
As well as a splendid array of cup and ring-markings, there are spirals, a circled cross, two four-toed feet and a lot more.
He produced a drawing for The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland (posted) incorporating as many features from the different drawings as he thought reasonable but this can be no substitute for a proper recording.
If you visit the site, you can get an impression of its immense size from the surrounding wall which remains.
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"Progress was all right. Only it went on too long."
James Thurber
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