23 Stonehead

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 61 Page 453 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18166
Parking Spot - What3Words ///gladiators.goodbyes.upholds or digital coordinates 57.347820, -2.662590
Site location - What3Words ///chap.pine.challenge or digital coordinates 57.347011, -2.664641
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 190m
Terrain - Foot Path and through a field, avoid worrying cattle / sheep.
Date first visited site 7th March 2022

An old stone fence post marks a spot were the fence wire is not barbed. Walked along the edge of the field then directly across to the stones, these are very large and impressive stones in a stunning location.
Click here for the - Stonehead walk through






22 Dunnideer

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 28 Page 353 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18161
Parking Spot - What3Words ///regaining.dove.respected or digital coordinates 57.347954, -2.653036
Site location - What3Words ///untruth.congratulations.cone or digital coordinates 57.344801, -2.651986
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 490m
Terrain - Foot Path. 
Date first visited site 7th March 2022

The path to the stones is sign posted, through the gate and followed the path up the rise and the stones are under a line of trees.

Click here for the - Dunnideer walk through






21 Inschfield

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 37 Page 378 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18167
Parking Spot - What3Words ///deliver.retrain.excellent or digital coordinates 57.354126, -2.621424
Site location - What3Words ///fuels.thudding.parting  or digital coordinates 57.353021, -2.627726
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 480m
Terrain - Through a field, avoid damage to crop. 
Date first visited site 7th March 2022

Sadly, as with lots of our RSC's, it's most likely at sometime over the last hundred years or so, such monuments have been partly broken up and the stones push and piled together to gain a bit more workable land. Heartbreaking that after 4,000 odd years of probably surviving fully as built, they are left like this. These stones are pushed together in two locations, a small pile and the main larger pile, there is one impressive flanker still standing and the recumbent stone has fallen back and has split in half.






20 South Fornet

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 59 Page 449 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18687
Parking Spot - What3Words  ///skunks.fidget.tonal or digital coordinates 57.187406, -2.365865
Site location - What3Words ///joyously.gentle.invest or digital coordinates 57.189104, -2.360788
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 370m
Terrain - Through a wooded area and a field, avoid damage to crop. 
Date first visited site 24th February 2022

Seems the recumbent stone has been broken up and the other circle stone's have fallen and there is a Trig Stone S5254 TB3230 - Fornet just beside the circle.

Click here for the - South Fornet walk through






19 South Ley Lodge

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 60 Page 451 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18705
Parking Spot - What3Words ///picturing.jeep.belt  or digital coordinates 57.209128, -2.386837
Site location - What3Words ///crumbles.wizard.dispensed or digital coordinates 57.209479 -2.387684
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 80m
Terrain - Through a field, avoid worrying cattle / sheep. 
Date first visited site 24th February 2022

Seems like a couple of the circle stones have been pushed up against the flanker's.

Click here for the - South Ley Lodge walk through






18 Wester Echt

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 70 Page 485 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18534
Parking Spot - What3Words ///take.sweep.scrubbing or digital coordinates 57.162691, -2.428525
Site location - What3Words ///badge.necklaces.skim  or digital coordinates 57.165225, -2.434044
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 600m
Terrain - Through fields, avoid worrying cattle / sheep. 
Date first visited site 24th February 2022

Three main stones one of which has a couple of medium stones stacked against it as well as loads of small stones. Canmore Classification is recumbent stone circle I guess due to this stacked stone. Also there is an interesting cross and initials chiselled into the largest stone.







17 Balgorkar Castle Fraser

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 19 Page 325 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 18719
Parking Spot - What3Words ///postings.crowds.football or digital coordinates 57.205059 -2.470604
Site location - What3Words ///suave.roving.latches or digital coordinates 57.202606 -2.473392
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 400m
Terrain - Through fields, avoid damage to crop, use tractor tracks. 
Date first visited site 24th February 2022

The farmer has been considerate and left a generous scrub area around the stones. Four of the circle stones still standing and a couple fallen over. Good example of recumbent circle. There are two good size standing stones in the same field.







16 Aquhorthies

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 2 Page 279 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 37186
Parking Spot - What3Words ///whirlpool.warns.third or digital coordinates 57.061974 -2.156820
Site location - What3Words ///constrain.stilted.gobblers or digital coordinates 57.057959 -2.163418
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 800m
Terrain - Through fields, avoid damage to crop, use tractor tracks, avoid worrying cattle / sheep. 
Date first visited site 7th February 2022

This is a stunning recumbent circle, although one of the flanker's has fallen, the recumbent, the remain flanker and eleven circle stones are all still standing. More over the internal kerbstones are almost complete and are surprisingly large which must have harboured a massive cairn which is long gone.
Click here for the - Aquhorthies walk through






15 Loudon wood

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 41 Page 392 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 20538
Parking Spot - What3Words ///warnings.prepare.tonal or digital coordinates 57.544564 -2.045763
Path from the track through woods - What3Words ///annual.gadgets.tamed or digital coordinates 57.536694 -2.065487
Site location - What3Words ///dumps.ridge.triangles or digital coordinates 57.537745 -2.066792
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 2.3Km
Terrain - Forest Track then path through woods - maybe some fallen trees.
Date first visited site 23rd January 2022

A tricky site to find as the Pine woodland is dense, you have to be within a few meters to even see the clearing where the stones are located and secondly there is a good two kilometre walk as there are no car parks close to the circle. 
There is a car park at White Cow Woods but it requires walking along a public road for a good kilometre, my preference is to avoid walking along the public road and park at the Drinnie's Wood Car Park and walk along forest track.
The last hundred meters to the circle does require you to know where to leave the track and head into the woods, unfortunately there are two paths within a few meters of each other so using the location give above "Path from the Track .. ", walk up the wide straight path up to where there is a branch off to the left at :- What3Words ///expensive.sounds.comment or digital coordinates 57.537395 -2.065587 
and then on to the stones.
Because of the distance to walk and the difficulty in finding the circle through the forest, Loudon Wood Recumbent Stone Circle is one of the most elusive sites.






14 Strichen

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 62 Page 455 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 20754
Parking Spot - What3Words ///socket.pressing.outnumber or digital coordinates 57.583994 -2.104796
Site location - What3Words ///circus.headings.frosted or digital coordinates 57.580409 -2.107484
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 500m
Terrain - Footpath, slight climb, Across Field, Uneven, Mud, Avoid worrying cattle / sheep.
Date first visited site 23rd January 2022

Strichen's recumbent is clearly supported by small / medium stones like a plintg which is interesting as there is records of this circle having been destroyed and rebuilt three times in its recent history as well as being used as a dung heap at one point, so using a plinth was part of the last reconstruction.
It reminded me of The Ringing Stone Circle as it's large recumbent is also supported on a wee plinth of small / medium stones. Also evident at the Ringing Stone are drill holes in one of the fallen circle stones and there is a very obvious drill hole at Strichen in the recumbent top center inner edge, so it's fortunate for us that they did not continue with the reduction of this recumbent stone, whether the used wedging or a small portion of gunpowder or dynamite that would pop the stone apart.

Click here for the - Strichen walk through






13 Eslie The Greater

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 30 Page 360 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 36714
Parking Spot - What3Words ///extensive.brothers.trombone or digital coordinates 57.014621 -2.465146
Site location - What3Words ///runways.relaxed.splints or digital coordinates 57.014513, -2.467326
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 200m
Terrain - Across Field, Uneven, Mud, Avoid worrying cattle / sheep.
Date first visited site 16th January 2022

A good example with the recumbent and both flanker's still standing along with five circle stones. There's a central court with kerbstones within the main circle which would have supported the internal cairn. This area must have been fairly significant with Eslie the lesser and Nine Stanes circles so close together.
Click here for the - Eslie the Greater walk through






12 Kirkton of Bourtie

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 38 Page 380 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 19708
Parking Spot - What3Words ///divorcing.overcomes.curve or digital coordinates 57.313618, -2.330710
Site location - What3Words ///shadowing.worked.fuse or digital coordinates 57.313969, -2.332209
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 100m
Terrain - Across Field, Uneven, Mud, Avoiding damage to crop.
Date first visited site 15th January 2022

The Great Crowns of Stone suggests that the four remaining standing stones have been in the same configuration for the past 150 years. The west flanker (traditionally numbered No.1) is missing however the massive recumbent, the remaining flanker and two very large circle stones are all standing. GCoS also mentions that there may be some of the kerbstones used in the adjacent field stone wall / stone dyke. This circle is very accessible. There is a large pile of small and medium stones at the back of the recumbent stone.






11 The Nine Stanes

Great Crowns of Stone reference number - 49 Page 413 (PDF)
Canmore reference number - 36748
Parking Spot - What3Words ///finest.claw.huts or digital coordinates 57.010417 -2.458011
Site location - What3Words ///quintet.smothered.reviews or digital coordinates 57.011225 -2.457120
Route from Parking Spot to Site - OS Maps
Distance from Parking Spot to site 100m
Terrain - Forest Track
Date first visited site 19th December 2021

Since my last visit back in December 2021 the centre of the circle has been cleared of all the fallen trees.
This is an excellent circle with the recumbent and west flanker (traditionally numbered No.1) still standing, the other flanker (No.3) fallen back away from the circle and seven circle stones still standing with a couple of them looking like they have been broken being a bit on the short side. There is a central court with kerbstones that would have supported a cairn or two.
The standing flanker No.1 has a few really nice quartz seams.
Another good example of a recumbent circle with great access.

Click here for the - Nine Stanes walk through







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