After the nice warm evening of Rock Ness last night (Glasvegas - magnificent!!!) Aberdeenshire was under water today. It adds to the atmosphere and creates another picture, there are always plenty of dry days. But this went to another level and getting lost didn't help. After leaving the B9119, south after Hatton Farm, I parked at the edge of Torshinach Wood. To the east are the Woods of Cairnie.
To get to Cairnie 1, you must walk past Cairnie which is quite easy to find, number 1 is a nightmare. So in the end I walked up and down tracks, crawled under trees and generally disturbed all matter of wildlife except one deer which was nosey and followed for a wee while. In a clearing is the splendidly shaped cairn (or barrow) sitting as it has always done undisturbed protected by the trees. Even trees supposedly planted on top of the cairn seem to have walked away leaving one of their kind. As for the cairn it is almost 12 meters wide and 1.3 meters high. A single stone sits in the west, lurking around possibly a last kerb. Then all matter of hell happened, it lashed down, trees don't offer much protection so head down I trudged on back west, I hoped.
Wonderfully shaped and beautifully hidden hopefully this cairn like it's near but seemingly faraway neighbour will be here many years yet.
After getting drenched and lost twice after finding the 'other two' cairns I'm glad to report to such happenings during this visit did not happen. Making sure I couldn't find this site by difficult routes, in the past, I found the cairn by a much easier route.
Parking in the same place as the other two I continued walking south until a crossroads in the tracks. Headed east for at least three meters and continued south on a deer trail. Keep looking east until the top of the hill can be seen in a clearing. The cairn is easily spotted as a 'bump' on top. This cairn was much larger at some point but now is 7 meters wide and almost 1 meter high. Some earthfast rocks on the edge of the cairn suggest kerbs but it would be fair to say this site has taken a battering. Somehow it survives and with the growing darkness feels old, atmospheric and peaceful lost amongst the trees and time.
Not much to look at but a special place all those years ago, and for me a special place on a Friday night, totally worthwhile.
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Posted by drewbhoy
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