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Going around in Circles
Sep. 10th, 2010 05:30 pmAfter my long day’s walk, I took a rest day. I had intended to spend the afternoon in Royal Lochnagar distillery, or perhaps a bar, but instead I went off hunting stone circles.
I went first to Midmar, one of the strangest circles I’ve seen – I had been there before: the circle is in a churchyard, which was built around it. It is quite bizarre, and feels quite wrong: Christianity appropriating an ancient sacred site.
On the way back – towards Lochnagar – I noticed another circle marked on the map near Tarland, so I diverted and sought it out. Almost destroyed by quarrying in the 19th century, Tomnaverie is on the brow of a hill, where the setting sun in mid summer apparently sets over the peak of Lochnagar (the mountain, not the whisky!).
Tomnaverie is managed by Scottish National Heritage, and they had a map of other sites nearby; and so I hared off around Aberdeenshire, looking for a couple of others. Next up was Easter Aquhorthies, which took a while to find (not least because of obscure signs marking the “Gordon stone circle trail”).
Last up was a circle at Daviot. Like Midmar, this had also been appropriated: the circle at some point had been filled with stones, after the main circle had fallen into disuse. Another curious place!
All these circles were easily accessible: more alive than Stonehenge, say, and far less crowded than Avebury.
(I recently came across negatives from Callanish, my all-time favourite group of circles and a magical place; sometime I shall scan them, and post them here.)
I went first to Midmar, one of the strangest circles I’ve seen – I had been there before: the circle is in a churchyard, which was built around it. It is quite bizarre, and feels quite wrong: Christianity appropriating an ancient sacred site.
On the way back – towards Lochnagar – I noticed another circle marked on the map near Tarland, so I diverted and sought it out. Almost destroyed by quarrying in the 19th century, Tomnaverie is on the brow of a hill, where the setting sun in mid summer apparently sets over the peak of Lochnagar (the mountain, not the whisky!).
Tomnaverie is managed by Scottish National Heritage, and they had a map of other sites nearby; and so I hared off around Aberdeenshire, looking for a couple of others. Next up was Easter Aquhorthies, which took a while to find (not least because of obscure signs marking the “Gordon stone circle trail”).
Last up was a circle at Daviot. Like Midmar, this had also been appropriated: the circle at some point had been filled with stones, after the main circle had fallen into disuse. Another curious place!
All these circles were easily accessible: more alive than Stonehenge, say, and far less crowded than Avebury.
(I recently came across negatives from Callanish, my all-time favourite group of circles and a magical place; sometime I shall scan them, and post them here.)
