Given my current fixation with stone walls, it was small wonder that I sought out the moss-covered granite walls in Scotland. The moss is a particularly strong acid green at this time of year.
Finally, as we completed our walk and returned to our car, there was a glimpse of a very different landscape - the barren but beautiful heather-covered hills to the west towards Lochnagar and Balmoral. On the day we visited, the very tops of the hills were still dusted with snow.
This wall was photographed during a walk around a Forestry Commission plantation called variously Mulloch Wood and Garroll Wood near Banchory in Aberdeenshire - the name seems to vary with the website you visit.
Within the plantation there is an ancient stone circle called Nine Stanes. It's a wonderfully peaceful place which, as the website in the link suggests, is strongly atmospheric of the ancient people who built it around 4,000 years ago. On the morning we visited, we were the only people walking there and we could enjoy the quiet without interruption. We could imagine the tapping of ancient tools and the calls of the people as they went about their business.
Within the plantation there is an ancient stone circle called Nine Stanes. It's a wonderfully peaceful place which, as the website in the link suggests, is strongly atmospheric of the ancient people who built it around 4,000 years ago. On the morning we visited, we were the only people walking there and we could enjoy the quiet without interruption. We could imagine the tapping of ancient tools and the calls of the people as they went about their business.
Further around the walk, there are beautiful views from the track, looking out between a line of scots pine trees across the farmland and gently rolling hills towards Aberdeen. I loved the way the pine trees framed the landscape to make ever-changing thumb-nails of the view as I walked.
Finally, as we completed our walk and returned to our car, there was a glimpse of a very different landscape - the barren but beautiful heather-covered hills to the west towards Lochnagar and Balmoral. On the day we visited, the very tops of the hills were still dusted with snow.
It's a beautiful and remote spot that we've visited before and once again it didn't disappoint. I know we'll be back.
I am fascianted by the ancient stone circles and this one is new to me - so beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAs I suspect you realise, this area of eastern Scotland, Aberdeenshire, has an amazing number of ancient stone circles - around 100 I believe. Further details can be found on lots of websites, including http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/archaeology/special/recumbent.asp and http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/wxsatellite/megaliths/mindex.htm.
DeleteWhat a fascinating place!
ReplyDeleteIt is ... quiet, peaceful and, except for the growth of the trees, unchanged for decades ... lovely!
DeleteOh yes, stone circles definitely bring out the hippy in me - I started young, trying to count the Rollright Stones - how magical!
ReplyDeleteIt was extraordinarily atmospheric, in the gentle, grey light on the morning we visited.
DeleteIf you love stone circles, this part of Scotland would be right up your street - so many to absorb.
I'm imagining what a wonderful, peaceful walk that must have been. I'm also imagining the beautiful fiber pieces you'll be inspired to create!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I think it'll be very inspiring ... all those trees ... and so different in shape from those in Southern England. Adobe Photoshop, here I come!
DeleteSuch beautiful photos that I am sure will be a jumping off spot for lots of stitched work. How wonderful it must have been to walk in that place. And to have been there without other visitors, just your energy and that of the stones. Magic!!
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about the energy ... all around us as we stood in the clearing with the stones ... the strength of human presence for over 4000 years ... awesome!
DeleteOmg ! How lucky you were to be among the monuments ... To stand among such ancient things is on my bucket list !
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky indeed - both in Aberdeenshire where there are so many small neolithic sites scattered all over the eastern part of the county, and here in Wiltshire where we live most of the time. Here, we are only about 20 miles from Avebury Ring, the largest stone circle in Europe, as well many long barrows and other sites and there is Stonehenge about 40 miles away. In both areas, we are never far from very ancient history - a privilege indeed and maybe one we here in the UK take for granted.
DeleteIt's with great delight that I have come across your blog whilst looking for something else. You've made some fine Scottish journeys! Lovely to see your interpretations in stitch & read what is taking you from place to place. Shall visit here again ;>]
ReplyDeleteChristi
You are very welcome and thank you for your kind words. Scotland is a regular haunt for us so you will see many other photos here if you visit again.
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