Collessie

From the A92 north of Glenrothes, take the A91 west towards Collessie. There is a small road leading north just before the railway bridge, follow this until the turn for Newton Farm. Be careful parking, as you must ensure access for the farmer's machinery. The stone, 2.7m high, carries an incised figure of a naked warrior. Armed with a large rectangular shield and a long spear with a leaf-shaped blade, he marches from right to left across the top third of the monolith. Two other faint symbols, tentatively identified as an arch and a Pictish beast, have been found on the left-hand edge, level with the warrior's chest. Aerial photography of the field has identified traces of a series of barrow mounds, and the monolith is likely to be a prehistoric standing stone. The stone fell over in 1994, but has since been re-erected and fixed into place. When visited, the farmer was more than happy to point me over the fields to the stone. He reckoned that in his youth the carving was more obvious than it appears today. He said that large numbers of visitors still appear to see the stone, and he was certainly more than happy to advise me how to get there. Be warned, however - this involves climbing over barbed wire and electrified fences, and jumping over a ditch! Well worth it, however!