A major tourist attraction in Scotland, and certainly an attraction for us, is the nation’s antiquities both pre-Christian and Christian. The countryside often seems littered with both old kirks (churches) and standing stones or stone circles. On this trip we’ve already visited quite a few of these sites. To me they are interesting for the history they represent and most are photogenic as well. This entry will catalog a few of the standing stones and stone circles and a couple of kirks of interest.
Early in our trip I stopped on the way to golf at St Fillans to visit the Wester Tuyllybannochar stones. The two stones stand about 100 yards from the main road in a field used mostly for pasture. They are likely marker stones rather than burial stones and align with another stone, the Lawers stone, about a quarter of a mile away. This type of marker stone we’ve seen in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, and I’m sure we’ll see some in England when we spend more time there.
In Portlethen north of Aberdeen, we visited a fairly unique stone circle. Ian Cruikshank, our host at Portlethen Golf Club, told us about a small stone circle which had been relocated during the building of the area’s industrial park. We drove a few blocks from the course to see the Cairnwell Ring Circle which had been moved 175 metres in 1995 to the southwest from its original site. Typical of many of the stone circles in Scotland, Cairnwell consists of an outer stone circle and an inner cairn or burial mound. During the original excavation in 1858 five cremations had been discovered in the cairn. It’s very gratifying to see that Scotland will preserve it’s antiquities even if it has to move them to save them.
Another unusual stone circle is the Cullerie circle which consists of eight small cairns enclosed in a larger circle. The site probably dates to between 1800 and 1200 BC. It is suspected that the area’s dwellers noticed earlier burial cairns around and decided to build one for themselves.
The Tomnevarie stone circle near Tarland is a recumbent stone circle where the main or largest stone is laid horizontally. Once thought to be an altar for sacrifice, the recumbent stone is actually an astronomical aide to help local Neolithic farmers plot the seasons. This circle is sited on a hilltop over looking the village and local golf course. Picnic tables on the path up to the circle attest to its striking location.
The Midmar kirk stone circle is another unique circle, not so much for its construction but for its location. The large circle is sited immediately behind the local parish church. The stone circle is about 4000 years old while the kirk was built in 1787. Whether the siting of the kirk in the same location as the circle was intended to send the message that Christianity triumphs over paganism or simply out of respect for the historical importance of the location is a matter for conjecture.
Beside stone circles we’ve also visited a number of churches or kirks of historical significance. The kirk at Coull, a village of about four houses, has a lovely location and is said to contain some interesting carvings on its old graves. We had difficulty finding more than a couple of the old stone monuments, but enjoyed the visit anyway. We can’t always find everything we’re supposed to, but we try always to find something of interest.
Tullich Kirk was another example of not finding everything we expected to find. This kirk, with its round outer wall (so the Deil/devil would have no corner to hind in), was supposed to house a pictish symbol stone, but we found none. It is an interesting kirk, though, with plenty of photo opportunities.
The Dinnet Auld Kirk was a drive-by find. We saw the lovely building while looking for a falls on the River Dee and went back later for a closer look. What we found upon closer examination was that the 1875 built kirk had been converted to a private home in 2005. We can only guess at the cost of that conversion.
A final kirk or church visit so far is the Crathes kirk near Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s private Highland residence. This is the church the Royal family attends when spending their holidays in their Highland estate (complete with its own private golf course--only Royals and guests allowed). The most interesting find in the church was a set of snap shots taken by the Royal photographer of William and Kate’s wedding. I tried to sneak a photo of the snaps (photography wasn’t allowed), but the picture didn’t turn out.
After three more days in the Highlands we are off to visit the English Lake District so Anne can hunt up Beatrix Potter sites. Cheers!
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