The Stone Circles of Aberdeenshire

In our travels, we are always looking for prehistory places.  They are not always easy to find; sometimes being down unpaved one lane tracks, or across a cow field, as in Northern Ireland.  We don't always succeed, but when we do, it's usually worth the effort.

Map showing some of the locations of the Stone Circles.

The stone circles in Aberdeenshire are of a unique design, the Recumbent Stone Circle.  Found almost exclusively here, there are more than 70 examples have been recorded, with diameters ranging from 11m to 26m.  These are from the Bronze Age, the third and second millennia BC.

Once we found them, there were very nice signs.

The Recumbent Stone with the flankers.

From the far side of the circle looking toward the Recumbent Stone

From The Stone Circle trail brochure:
"The distinctive feature of the Recumbent Stone Circle is a massive stone, laid horizontally on its side in the Southwestern or Southern arc of the circle, flanked by the two tallest stones of the circle.  The recumbent stones have an average weight of 24 tone, and were carefully levered and chocked-up to ensure that their upper surface was as level as possible."

This circle had a nice path, then we had to climb over a fence and walk through the sheep pasture to get to the circle.

The Strichen Stone Circle has been rebuilt.  A tenant farmer tore it down in 1830, but the land owner said to put it back.  He did, but not in the original place.  It was excavated in the 1979, and returned to it's original placement.

As with most of the other circles we have found, they are usually on the crests of hills or terrace, with wide views, in this instances to the Southwest.

Historic Scotland does have nice signs.

On the side of the road near the village of Memsie.

Also while driving around, we found the Memsie Round Cairn.  It has been excavated and put back.  There were apparently several cairns in the area, but this is the only one that survives.

The White Horse on Mormond Hill

Walking back to the car from Strichen Circle, we saw the White Horse of Mormond Hill.  It's not ancient, having been made in the 1790's.  The story goes that it was carved by a Captain Fraser in memory of Sargent Henderson, who gave him his horse after the Captain's was shot out from under him.  In the process, the Sargent was killed. The horse is made from white quartz.

The Royal Oak Foundation

We discovered the Royal Oak Foundation in 2010.  It is the American branch of the National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  If you are a member, you get to visit all the properties of the National Trust, as well as those of the National Trust for Scotland.  You will even have a parking pass, which also saves money.

Membership for a couple is $95 per year.  All it takes is 3 visits to properties in the UK and your membership is paid for, any other visits are "free".  We are on property number 5, with many more to come during our stay in Scotland.

If you are planning a visit to the United Kingdom, we highly recommend membership.

Both sides of the membership card.  

Crathes Castle

Driving back from Balmoral, we stopped at Crathes Castle.  It was almost 4 pm, so we parked and trotted to the ticket desk.  I had our Royal Oak Foundation membership cards in hand as we asked to see the Castle. The gentleman at the desk, while saying the last entry was at 4, took my cards and after looking at them said, "Let me call and see if they can't get you in, it's just gone 4."  He explained to the person on the other end of the line that we were members of the Royal Oak Foundation and couldn't he please let us come?  The result?  We were given our tickets and told to "Walk quite quickly to the Castle!"

The painted ceilings have been restored by the National Trust for Scotland.  Yes, that's Bill's beard and hat showing in the picture.

The land was gifted to Alexander de Burnard, who was the appointed Royal Forester of Drum, by King Robert the Bruce in 1323.  The ivory horn and clothe were gifts from the King to signify the land was the Burnett of Leys family. 

When we arrived at the castle door, two men were inside.  They were very interested in just where the Royal Oak Foundation was located.  They had been trying to decide if it was Australia or the United States.  After a bit of chit chat, we were told the Castle was built in 1500's, enjoy our visit, and if we had any questions, there were docents about in most of the rooms.

The gardens from a Castle window, with the enormous sculpted yew hedges.

The gardens are beautiful; most of the plants are labeled for easy identification.

Isn't the bark of this tree spectacular?  It's a Prunus serrula, a native of China.

A Giant Sequoia grown from seed brought from California by William Lobb in 1853. One seed was given to each member of the Royal Horticultural Society.  From tiny seeds a mighty tree has grown.

The castle viewed from the walled garden.

We both liked this particular flowering bush, but neglected to get the name. 

The decoration over the doorway is the carved horn, the Burnett of Leys family crest.

Music for My Birthday

When we first agreed to stay at Rae and Marty's, they told us we needed to go to the Stonehaven Folk Festival.  We checked out the website, but knowing nothing about any one mentioned, we asked Rae and Marty to purchase our tickets for whichever night they would have attended if they were home.  Not only did they select Friday's concert, but gifted us the tickets!  Thank you very much!  And it was my birthday!

The poster of the event.

Friday evening was North East night, featuring some wonderful musicians and music from this area of Scotland, in an amazing concert.  Performers were:  Old Blind Dogs, whose members sat in with almost every other performer as back up.  Paul Anderson, former Glenfiddish Scottish fiddle champion. Shona Donaldson, traditional singer.  Carol Anderson, Fiddler.  Jenny Sturgeon, songwriter and singer, who wrote two songs for the festival.  Fraser Fifiled, multi-instrumentalist. Sharon Hassan, musician, composer and teacher.  Ross Hull and Cameron Ross, local musicians starting on their professional careers.  And the North East Folk Collective, some of the best young musicians from the area.   A surprise performance was given by the Cameron Ross Band from Johnson City, Tennessee, most of whom trained at the music conservatory in Glasgow.

Paul Anderson, whose fiddle could bring tears to your eyes or make your feet start dancing!

The festival isn't just concerts, there are workshops for all the instruments, as well as singing and songwriting.  Hosted sessions and sing arounds are going on all over the town.  They are striving to keep North East Scotland Folk music alive and growing.

My first attempt at a panorama shows off the hall well.

We arrived early, but soon the lobby was filled.  We had time to people watch and talk to the folks setting things up; the bar, the raffle prizes and getting everyone in their places.  All the usual happenings with volunteer organizations.   The Old Town Hall was built in the 1800's, modernized in the 1970's and currently being renovated as monies come available.  I love to see old buildings still being used and enjoyed and cared for.

 

Sharon Hassan, Fraser Fifield and Jonnie Hardy from Old Blind Dogs.  I must admit to being surprised to see a soprano sax being played in Scottish Folk music.

Jenny Sturgeon, singer and songwriter, with a hauntingly beautiful voice.

At each chair were three papers.  One had the two new songs written by Jenny Sturgeon, which included refrains to be sung by the audience.   The Honours, tells the story of two women who smuggled the Honours of Scotland- the crown, sceptre and the sword- out of Dunotter Castle while it was under seige by Cromwell's army.  The second, Hercules Linton, is about the designer and builder of the Cutty Sark and how it got it's name from a scanty piece of clothing from a Robert Burns poem.  The second was information on the local Folk Society meetings and concerts, which should be fun.  And the third was a questionnaire.  It contained the usual questions; how did you hear about us, how much will you spend, where are you staying, will you come again.  But the last question was the best;  what language do you speak:  English, Scot, Gaelic and Doric.  After listening to the talking and singing we felt we should respond with, American English, because it was obvious we didn't speak and often even understand the languages in use!

The North East Folk Collective taught by Sharon Hassan, left.

Cameron Ross Band, who had the only harp and accordian of the evening.

The excellent music, a lively crowd, spontaneous audience singing, and tasty brews left us with a memory that will last forever.  Even if I didn't win the raffle!

Happy  64th birthday to me!

Visiting the Queen's Home at Balmoral

Visiting  castles is fun.  Visiting castles still owned by the Queen is fun, but expensive.  You see, the Queen's castles are not part of anyone's trust, National or Scottish; after all she is The Queen.  What this means is you pay admission separately.  We were eligible for the concession ticket, which is the senior discount, so only had to pay £10 each.  We think it is worth the price.

Balmoral Castle

The castle itself is not opened to the public, as all the rooms except the Ball Room, which is a mini-museum, are the Queen's Private Quarters. I guess I wouldn't want millions of people wandering around my house, either.   In the Ball Room, pictures are not allowed, so we only have pictures of the exterior and gardens.

Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
Bill Oddie's, Birds of Britain and Ireland, describes the male's call as "among the most absurd sounds in nature. It consists of a crescendo of bubbling noises- like champagne being poured from a bottle, and ending with a pop like the sound of champagne being uncorked."

Fox and Rabbit

The old stable area is now the offices, museums, and pickup area for the Audio Guides, £5 refundable deposit required.  There are cars, buggies and trucks on one side, and an overview of the castle and grounds in another area.  One small end has examples of local wildlife, complete with their calls, some of which were a surprising sound.

Uniform of the Balmoral Guard.  The Balmoral Tartan was designed by Prince Albert to reflect the colors of nature around the castle.  It is only used by permission of the Queen.

One small stable has a wonderful exhibit of the family dogs in photos.  I didn't realize that the Queen not only has Corgis, she breeds them as well.  Wouldn't that be quite the pedigree!

The Royal Corgis traveling; they even walk themselves off the plane.

Balmoral was designed by Prince Albert.  It was built on the site of another castle which was demolished to make room for the new.  Queen Victoria was very pleased with the end result, "my dear paradise in the Highlands".

Looking through the gate from Queen Mary's garden, with the initials of the she and King George.  She designed this perennial garden, as well as the gate.

Succulents growing in the rock wall of Queen Mary's garden.

The estate grows most of the foods necessary to feed the Royal family when they come for holiday in August.  There are extensive gardens as well as glass houses. The flowers are timed to be at their peak bloom during August.

Glass house full of flowers, both for bedding and cutting.

Rose arbor leading from Queen Mary's garden toward the path to the Castle.

The grounds have been reshaped over the years, starting with draining parts of the areas for use.  Trees, from all over the world were planted in the 1800's, are now huge specimens.  It is very pleasant to walk through and enjoy.

Coat of Arms on the castle.

You can take a day trip with one of the estate Rangers to see the outlying area. Also, Antiques Roadshow is coming to Balmoral on July 30th.  Although we are tempted, we won't be going; we have nothing to share!

Searching for the Tows

Our niece, Allison, has been researching family with the help of Ancestor.com.  She has found some interesting things.  Bill's mother's 5th great grandfather, Christopher Tow, was born in Aberdeen in 1710. His son, Christopher R. Tow, was born in Aberdeen in 1730.  He immigrated to North Carolina, where his children were born. Christopher R. served in the 6th NC Regiment in the Revolutionary War and died at Valley Forge, April 1, 1778.  There are several places that bear the family name in Aberdeenshire.  Towie is one of these places, with only about a dozen houses, a primary school and a Church of Scotland.

The school is listed at the most active building in town.  Of course it is.

The Olde Manse; the nicest house in town, is next to the church.

The Church of Scotland is surrounded by the old graveyard.  The new graveyard is across the road.

Site of Towie Castle; now the Town Hall and church yard are built there.

The Town Hall, which is a meeting place and behind the church yard.

After finding Towie, while looking at the map to see where to go next, I spotted Towie Barclay Castle; the Towie's were part of the Barclay clan.  Off we went over tiny back roads to try and find the castle, which has been  privately owned by a Scottish folk singer and his wife since the 1970's.

Towie Barclay Castle

View from the gate.  There was a woman working in the green house, but she took little notice of Bill taking pictures.

We were able to find the castle, finally.  After parking the car in a pull out, Bill walked back to the castle to take a few photos.  It really is a lovely place.

39th Drumtochty Highland Games: Pipe Bands and Drum Majors

Hearing the pipe bands was a big thrill for me.  There were 3 bands at the games, Lonach, Newtonhill and Mearns.  Each band had a drum major who shared the honor of leading the bands at separate times around the field.

Love his hat.

The drum major doesn't direct, he just stands there looking superior.

Drummer

There were several women in all the bands.

Three Drum Majors leading the combined bands.

Our band from Newtonhill.

The 3 drum majors did a demonstration of their skills, as well as a Mace Flourishing competition, unfortunately, one of them failed to catch his mace after a throw.  There was an individual piper competition, but we were too busy watching everything else, and missed it.

Drumtochy Highland Games: Community Events for the Win

I won!  tossing dice must be my sport!

 While the competitions were taking place in the field, the outside track area was set up with tents where vendors plied their wares, food was sold and charities had games of chance to raise funds.  The local Rotary Club held a dice toss; 2 for a Pound or 5 for 2 Pounds.  I gave them my pound, tossed the dice and on the second try, won a tiny bottle of Whisky!  I only had 4 matches, but if I had matched 6, the big bottle of Whisky would have come home with me!

39th Drumtochty Highland Games: Tug-o-War

The Scottish Tug-o-War Association is a 6 man 480 kgs competition.  The Scottish section is open to competitors who were born in Scotland or have been a permanent resident for 3 years.

After much too and fro, this is the team who won.

For a while, it looked like these fellows would win, but it wasn't to be.

I never thought of tug-o-war as such a serious game, but believe me, after watching this competition, I know it's dead serious.  All of the teams had coaches who would walk up and down the line giving directions and encouragement.  The teams obviously practice a lot!  They would move in unison, stamping their feet into the ground for traction.  Of course, before the game started, the officials inspected each players boots to be sure there were no spikes to help with traction.

Each pair of teams did two pulls, switching sides between pulls. If they each won, then there was a third pull to decide the winner.  It was played round robin style, so there were 5 teams competing.  The longest game lasted probably 15 minutes, with both sides dug in for the long haul.  They seemed to be waiting for the other to tire before stomping and pulling. It was all quite impressive!

39th Drumtochty Highland Games: Highland Dancing

While all the men were competing around the field, the Highland Dance competition was taking place under a large shade toward on end.  They had their own piper to play.  There were 10 events, all different dance forms.   The competitors were divided into Primary, Beginner and Novice, Intermediate, and Premier; all of which were then divided by age group.

The dancing was on a wooden stage, which really accented the piper's foot tapping on several of the songs.  Some of the dances involved costume changes, too.

We talked to one of the dancer's Mum, who was filming her daughter, then, also spoke to the daughter, who was one of the premier dancers, 15 and under.  She was quite the athlete, to keep dancing all day long!

None of them are touching the ground.

The girl in purple is the one we talked to.

Not knowing anything about Highland Dancing, it was hard for us to tell who was best.

The dancing started at noon and was still going stong when we left about 5.  The girls were looking a bit tired, but still could jump high!