The Gathering Stone

Trip No.83  Entry No.1  Date Added: 24th Jul 2018
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jul 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: The Gathering Stone, Sheriffmuir: From the Sheriffmuir Cairn & Macrae Clan Monument at NN 81569 01934, we followed the footpath to its eastern side, between the main monument and the cairn, following the line of the stone wall, heading in a roughly north westerly direction.

Eventually a path split off to our left, slightly more westwards and this led us to the Gathering Stone – a strange, strange sight, being protected by its ‘iron ribs’. It most definitely looks like a recumbent standing stone, now split into at least three parts.

The ribs are very reminiscent of graves covered to protect them from graverobbers. To me, in this setting, it felt like the iron bars constrained the standing stone from getting up off the ground and becoming upright again.

Continuing slightly further west along the track, you cross some rocks which have been much graffitied. We read that the mounds of earth here are the graves of 600 of the fallen from the Battle of Sheriffmuir.

Sheriff Muir Row

Trip No.83  Entry No.2  Date Added: 24th Jul 2018
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jul 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4

Log Text: Sheriffmuir Stone Row: Please can I claim the Portal prize for 'the most horsefly bites at one ancient site'? At first glance, it looked easy to walk to this stone row. The reality was it was a couple of hundred yards from the road, in deep heather. Having waded through the shrubbery, and having found the Wallace Stone, however, finding the rest of the stones was easy, as they are more or less in a line running north east to south west. I managed to pull up Sandy G’s ”Stone Rows of Great Britain” website, with details of the stones, which helped enormously.

The horse flies were horrendous. I got eaten alive, and was glad to get back to the car to slap some antihistamine on. It was a real shame the Sheriffmuir Inn wasn’t open, as we were desparate for a cold drink (any drink, really) by the time we’d walked to, and photographed, all five stones.

We decided to go onto Dunblane for a cup of tea and something to eat (and lots of antihistamine cream for me!). Despite all the bites, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this stone row, in the brilliant sunshine and glorious views.

Dunblane Cathedral

Trip No.83  Entry No.7  Date Added: 25th Jul 2018
Site Type: Class III Pictish Cross Slab Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 13th Jul 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Ancient crosses at Dunblane Cathedral: Having been bitten and bitten again by horseflies at Sheriffmuir Stone Row, the weather being very hot and humid, and the Sheriffmuir Inn decidedly shuttered up, we decided to go into Dunblane to find a cup of tea and a late lunch. We managed to find a parking spot just opposite the cathedral, so after tea and a jacket potato at the Beech Tree café, we walked back and went into the cathedral.

This is a really welcoming and peaceful church. The young lady who greeted us and sold us a guide book could hardly be heard for the organist “practising for tomorrow – but you can enjoy the music. You can take photographs, but don’t use the flash around the organist.”

The highlight for me was the two cross marked stones at the western end of the northern aisle. There is a lot of information about the cathedral itself, but not much about the crosses. We marvelled at how worn some of the bases of the columns and other architectural features, as part of the cathedral stood roofless for over 300 years from the late 1500s (says the guide book).

The guide book (page 10) talks about the crosses, saying in the North Aisle: “Here there is a large carved cross – evidence that Dunblane was a religious centre from an early date. Discovered beneath the chapter house floor in 1873, it dates from the 9th century. On the back of the stone are allegorical figures – there are two animals sitting entwined and a horse and rider with an animal, perhaps a wolf, below the horse. Also on display is a fragment from a similar cross-slab found in 1836. It also dates to the 8th or 9th century. The presence of both stones suggests that there may have been an earlier church on this site. Architectural fragments dating from the 1100s and 1200s were found during the construction of the boiler house under the chancel and chapter house in 1836. Some of these fragments are on display in the north aisle. The finely worked chevrons (zigzags) on the arch fragments, and the elaborate column cap hint at the exquisite decoration of the earlier cathedral. Fragments from the 1300s and 1400s are also on display.”

I completely forgot about the four cists around the cathedral, and I didn't have a mobile signal to call up the Portal or the Canmore records, but we will be coming back here at some point in the relatively near future.

Butt Well

Trip No.108  Entry No.2  Date Added: 9th Nov 2018
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 30th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Butt Well, Sterling Castle: We parked in the layby near the King’s Knot, just off the A811. There is a footpath signposted to Butt Well leading through the field next to the layby, just down the grassy slope.

Walking up towards the Castle, we were met by a fair number of dog walkers walking to or from the well. The footpaths here look as if they give access up to the castle, but we stopped short at the well.

Our first sight of part of this feature was a small well chamber, still with a fair flow of water running into it, just over the dry stone wall, below the main well housing and at the bottom of the flight of steps, at NS 78937 93894. The water from this runs in a small channel across the field to the northern side of the wall, at the opposite side to the footpath. Looking down at this chamber from above, there appears to be the remains of a stone drinking trough just outside the chamber, but largely buried under the grass and weeds around it.

The well itself, at NS 78948 93898, is now dry and capped off, with a handy bench next to it.

Climbing up the few steps above the main well housing, there is a channel running underneath the footpath running off to the north west at NS 78952 93902.

As I was photographing the well, a young black Labrador was running around with a large tree branch in his mouth. I was laughing at him, and his owner came up and asked us where we were from. He said when he was young, he used to play on the ‘cup and saucer’ (the King’s Knot) then run up here for a drink; “the water was the clearest you’ll ever taste”. He told me that they’d capped the well off some 20 to 30 years ago.

St Ninian's Well (Stirling)

Trip No.108  Entry No.3  Date Added: 10th Nov 2018
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 30th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: St Ninian's Well, Stirling: This was just over the road from the Wellgreen Carpark, but we had difficulty in finding this well, because of its rather hidden location. Despite the GPS telling us we were only 20m away, we were unable to find it until we saw the footpath leading to Wellgreen Place at the southern side of the A811 Wellgreen Road. Shame the area is used by smokers, as the rubbish is horrible.

Opposite the well, nearer to the office block is a small set of steps leading upwards to a now very much overgrown garden area. The steps are virtually hidden under shrubbery, and although Andrew had a try at climbing up, it was very difficult and we gave up and went onto our next destination.

King's Park Cup and Rings

Trip No.108  Entry No.4  Date Added: 10th Nov 2018
Site Type: Rock Art Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 30th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: King's Park Cup and Rings, Sterling: From Stirling, we headed off to south end of King’s Park which lies south of the A811 Dumbarton Road. The rock art panel is located at the southern end, near the golf course.

We parked on Douglas Terrace and used the little cut-through to the park at the eastern end of the row of terraced houses before its junction with Park Place. We then turned west along the footpath that ran along the bottom of the cliffs, but had to double back and use the footpath and steps up to the golf course, just to the right of the cut-through. From here, we turned west along the footpath. The grid reference is spot on, and the rock had had the turf cleared from it. The low light at this time of the afternoon helped to pick out the motifs.

I wondered what other motifs there might be around here, as the footpath here runs along the top of some small cliffs, but these were heavily wooded.

St Thomas's Well (Cambusbarron)

Trip No.108  Entry No.5  Date Added: 10th Nov 2018
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 30th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: St Thomas's Well, Cambusbarron: St Thomas’s Well is not far from the rock art panel. Going back to the car, we drove further down Douglas Terrace, past the grave yard, to where the road (St Thomas’s Well) turns right. The well is just past it’s junction with the Old Turnpike Road.

This well is in a private garden. It is possible to walk all the way round the well pool, but not to access the garden. The pool still had water in it, but only a relatively small amount. The whole pool was around 30m across. At its western side, there was a paved area with a round well basin built into it, but this looked like a garden feature rather than part of the well structure.

By the names and the old buildings, this is obviously a very old location with history, but no longer has the atmosphere with the modern houses built up around the historical sites. The busy M9 lies almost immediately to the west, although the noise of the traffic was masked to some extent by the buildings between the well and the road.

Chapel Well (Cambusbarron)

Trip No.108  Entry No.7  Date Added: 10th Nov 2018
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Stirling)
Visited: Yes on 30th Oct 2018. My rating: Condition -1 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Bruce's Well, Cambusbarron: Even with the GPS from the Portal, we had great trouble finding this well, and in the end had to ask two locals. One pointed us to an old water fountain in a nearby park, now repurposed as a planter; the other took us to a footpath by the side of a small stream and pointed us down the path, saying “a lot of people come to look, but there’s not really much to see.”

We found the steps, as photographed on the Portal, but there was a sign declaring this the site of the well only.

In the middle of the village, a police officer was standing in a doorway with a number of people outside making phone calls. As we headed up the steps from the site of the well back to the car, a white clothed forensics officer exited the house. Haven't found out what happened, but this certainly made it a memorable visit to the site of this well.

Cross Well (Linlithgow)

Trip No.25  Entry No.3  Date Added: 21st May 2017
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 18th May 2017. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Cross Well, Linlithgow: From the Knock Modern Stone Circle, we set off towards the Gogar Stone. Passing through Linlithgow (we plan on going to see the Palace and nearby Hopetoun House) another day.

There was no market today, so I persuaded my friend to quickly stop which I got a proper photograph of the well! (Note the friend's car hiding behind the structure!)

Lower Craigmailing (Torphichen)

Trip No.49  Entry No.2  Date Added: 5th Oct 2017
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 22nd Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 1 Access 5

Log Text: Lower Craigmailing Socketed Stone: This socketed stone was well hidden under shrubbery at the start of a footpath running from Cathlaw Lane to Witch Craig/Crag. I would have walked right by it, had husband, Andrew, not pushed his way through the shrubbery to find it.

What a sad fate for this socketed stone. Being located so close to Torphichen, I assume it had something to do with marking the way to/from the Abbey, possibly up to Cairnpapple Hill.

Torphichen Churchyard Stone

Trip No.24  Entry No.1  Date Added: 15th May 2017
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Torphichen Sanctuary Stone, West Lothian: After an exciting day at the filming of Robot Wars yesterday we stayed overnight at daughter and son-in-law's nearby. Torphichen is a lovely little village (Cairnpapple is also signposted further on from here), larger than I expected. The parish church incorporates/is next to the Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, which dates from the late 12th century.

The sanctuary stone is in the front of the churchyard (to the left of the gate as you enter, sheltering under a yew tree). There are other boundary stone markers around the area, and I really wanted to go and find these (the Canmore record says that they ‘once sat t a mile radius on each point of the compass. Of which the Gormyre Stone to the east-north-east and the Westfield stone survive’) but we had other priorities for the day. Another visit, probably in September/October.

There were some really interesting tombstones, particularly at the east end of the church – little people/heads/bones. Had some fun photographing these.

The Preceptory wasn’t open until 1pm on the day of our visit, so we missed it. Peering through a grill into the structure, it looked absolutely fascinating. Andrew discovered what looked like a well (similar to the Galilee Well at Durham Cathedral) against the east wall of the church, although I haven’t found any mention of it on any of the historical records (yet) although Canmore says there are 2 wells in the village, one of which supplied the Preceptory.

Cross Well (Linlithgow)

Trip No.24  Entry No.3  Date Added: 16th May 2017
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 13th May 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Cross Well, Linlithgow: This was our last stop on this rainy day, and we arrived to find a small market around the well, along with an event happening at the Burgh Halls immediately behind it. Couldn’t really get close to the well itself until later in the afternoon, as there were lots of stallholders, children and dogs. Truly a centre point for the town. No water in the well today – the spout and basin were completely dry. I confess I was disappointed to find such a modern structure - I'd expected something a lot older and less ornate.

We tried to find the Dogwell, walking up Dog Well Wynd as far as the railway line, but nothing.

After photographing the well as best I could, we wandered around the loch, then back round via St. Michael’s church, with its internal walls marked by musket balls and sword sharpening marks from Cromwell’s soldiers.

Cairnpapple Hill

Trip No.25  Entry No.1  Date Added: 21st May 2017
Site Type: Round Cairn Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 18th May 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cairnpapple Hill, West Lothian: Our first stop of the day, and I was really excited to visit this site after what I’ve read about it. We pulled up in the layby at NS 98968 71832 and made our way up the steps to the grassy field in which the cairn sits. My first reaction was ‘wow, look at those views – what a place to be buried’. The friend I was with told me we could see for 17-20 miles north and east.

At first, the mast in the farm nearby seemed to encroach upon the whole of the site, but as our visit progressed, I completely forgot it was there. The door to the Nissen hut was open, so I walked in clutching my ‘English Heritage’ cards to pay and buy a guide book from the gentleman inside. But, he told us he was an electrician, just there to carry out some tests; if the keys he had let us into the burial chamber proper, he would let us in. We followed him up the steps to the top of the mound, but sadly his keys wouldn’t open the black metal doors. What a shame!

We did, however, spent about an hour walking about the cairn (I was really disappointed to find out the dome was a modern construction, built to protect the burials), trying to understand it’s layout and the various stages of construction.

The interpretation boards said that the timber circle holes were filled with gravel, although there were others filled with grey/light brown gravel that were much bigger. I joked with my friend that the larger holes were big enough for crouch burials, so in fun, he demonstrated, with his mobile phone and glasses as his grave goods.

We could see the modern Knock Stone Circle in the distance. We said we’d go back with my friend and his wife when the visitor centre was open (Friday to Monday during summer months); she was brought up in the vicinity and knows the site well.

Knock Stone Circle

Trip No.25  Entry No.2  Date Added: 21st May 2017
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 18th May 2017. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Knock Modern Stone Circle, West Lothian: Having passed this stone circle on the way to Cairnpapple, it looked impressive and I couldn’t wait to get back for a closer look. “Is this what a real stone circle looks like?” my friend (who is a relatively novice Megalith-hunter) asked. I chuckled as I read out the description from the Portal page which I’d printed off before I left home

It certainly looks as if it’s been here longer than 20 years!

The field was full of enormous sheep. The farmer has kindly built a small stile into the fence by the gate, which allowed us access into the field. We wandered round taking photographs. I really liked the little stone ‘seat’ in the inner ring, which the sheep gathered round.

I walked over to the outlier, which sits on a mound to the north-east of the circle.

On our way out, a car pulled out, parking half an inch from the bumper of our car. Out popped a photographer with a really big lens on his camera. He wandered up and down the road by the fence, taking photographs. We told him he could get into the field, either through the gate or over the stile. He said ‘thanks, but I’m waiting to get photos without the sheep’. As there were around 50 or so sheep in the field, I’m guessing he might have had some time to wait.

We headed off to Torphinchen for a snack and to visit the Preceptory (which was closed, even though the sign said it should have been open).

Galabraes

Trip No.49  Entry No.1  Date Added: 5th Oct 2017
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 22nd Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Gala Braes Standing Stones, Bathgate: We drove up and down the road, but couldn’t see a gate into the field along either from the ‘main’ road (Drumcross Road) or the side road running north-south up to Cairnpapple Hill, so we ended up clambering over an almost demolished stone wall and squeezing through the wire fencing. There was a big (very unfriendly looking) bull in the field just below the western end of the ridge, who stood his ground and kept looking at us, so we didn’t dare approach the other small knoll where the other stone (B) should have been located.

As we were leaving, I spotted some old boundary features to the south of the standing stone so was photographing these, when I heard some cawing behind me. Looking up, a large crow was sitting on the standing stone, bobbing up and down. Eerie!

Cockleroy Hill (Beecraigs)

Trip No.49  Entry No.3  Date Added: 22nd May 2019
Site Type: Hillfort Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 22nd Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Cockleroy Hillfort, Beecraigs Country Park: From Lower Craigmailing Socketed Stone, we drove north past the Korean War Memorial to Beescraig Country Park. There was a small car park at about NS 99445 74270, where a path led through the forest, leading to a gate into the field containing the hillfort.

According to the Scotsman of 9th December 2012, Cocklroy means “the hat of the kings”. Situated in Beecraigs Country Park forest, there is a climb of 278 metres to the top and a mown path goes straight up the hill to the top of the fort, where there is a viewpoint. I wasn’t feeling too good, so opted out half way up the climb. Andrew continued up to the trig point at the top, and had great views across Lochcote Reservoir to the south west and the Forth Bridges at Queensferry to the north east.

Andrew said there wasn’t much to see of the fort itself – there were very little signs on the ground. I sat on the large stones about half way up the slope, at first thinking they were defensive ditches and banks, but were in fact modern quarries, when I looked closer!

Gormyre

Trip No.49  Entry No.4  Date Added: 6th Oct 2017
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 22nd Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Gormyre Stone, Torphichen: Ever since I went to Torphichen on 13th May 2017, I’ve wanted to come back and not only look round the Preceptory, but also try to find the other refuge stones associated with the Sanctuary Stone in the churchyard.

Today, despite not feeling 100% I was glad to be in search of this stone, and delighted to be able to see it from the road. We parked at NS 98072 72853 (there was just enough room by the gate to pull off the road), approximately 1.2 km east of Torphichen Preceptory.

The farmer had padlocked the gates into the field and the track which ran alongside it; these were really high and a little precarious to climb over (didn’t want to break them), so I ended up clambering gingerly over the wooden fence next to the gate. Following the grassy trackway north, just over 200 metres further on there was another gate, again padlocked, so we negotiated the wooden fence next to it. Thankfully, the huge bull and his ladies were in the adjoining field.

This stone sits on top of a natural mound. We couldn’t see the outline of the Maltese Cross on the north face of the stone, despite careful looking at a number of different angles and distances (although looking at one of the photographs, it does stand out a little). A really nice location, and a very friendly stone.

Westfield Farm Refuge Stone

Trip No.54  Entry No.1  Date Added: 11th Oct 2017
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 30th Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Westfield Farm Refuge Stone (possibly prehistoric), West Lothian: Our last day for exploring before heading home, and this was a day we’d set aside during the week to try and find some of the refuge stones associated with Torphichen Preceptory. We didn’t have a detailed map for this area, and didn’t pass a place to buy one, so had to make do with mobile phones and Canmore records.

The Westfield Farm Refuge Stone is situated to the east of Westfield Village, south of the B8047, near a ‘fish food factory’. Driving through Westfield village on the B8028, we turned right onto the B8047 and followed it round a couple of bends and found the factory. Just before the factory, located on a bend, I spotted a sign saying ‘Refuge Stone’, heading off south east through some wasteland.

We managed to park just by the sign, in a small layby which had been used for fly-tipping. Following the very vague footpath through the wooded area, this eventually disappeared and we were left surrounded by birch trees and weeds. Through the shrubbery there was a mound, and peering closer, there was a set of very overgrown steps that had been cut into the bank. Climbing up these, and hunting around some more, we finally spotted this much neglected stone virtually hidden in the weeds. I trod down some of the taller weeds to see the stone more clearly.

A treasure, but one hidden away in a tumble of brambles, nettles and detritus. It looked as if no-one had visited this stone in a long time. I was very pleased to have found it.

North Couston Refuge Stone

Trip No.54  Entry No.2  Date Added: 12th Oct 2017
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Couldn't find on 30th Sep 2017. My rating: Condition -1 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: North Couston Refuge Stone, West Lothian: From the Westfield Farm Refuge Stone, we set off towards North Couston with only a very small scale book of maps and Trigpointing UK on our mobile phone to try and find this stone. From Westfield, we got back onto the A801 southbound, then turned left onto the A800, turning left again onto a minor road to a farm, parking in a largish concreted area next to the field entrance at NS 95279 70925. From the Canmore record, we didn’t have much hope, but given as we were not far away, wanted to check whether or not this Refuge Stone was still there.

We waded around the edges of the very wet entrance to the field (the gates into the neighbouring field were almost shoulder high – too high for me to attempt to climb over, although this route would have been dry). The field edges of this recently harvested field were then drier, so we walked along the eastern side, then headed south at the corner, along the old, grubbed out hedge line. We walked most of the length of the Followed the field edges, prodding the fence line as I went, but could find no evidence of any stone along the field boundary.

Torphichen Churchyard Stone

Trip No.54  Entry No.3  Date Added: 12th Oct 2017
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 30th Sep 2017. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 5

Log Text: Torphichen Preceptory (next door to the church): Also known as Hospital Of Torphichen; Preceptory Of St John; War Memorials.

Finally, on our third attempt, just after 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, we managed to find the small visitor portacabin open and a guide present. Guide was Liam from Order of St. John. Charming, very helpful man, in looks reminiscent of the Knights Templar. Because he was giving individual tours to everyone who turned up, he was over-stretched, and didn’t really have time to spent with us, but answered my questions as best he could.

Liam pointed out some of the features in the Preceptory itself, including old architects drawings on the walls, and walked us up to the exhibition on first floor of tower – up 45 spiral stone steps – where he pointed out a grave marker used as a lintel.

When another family arrived, he left us to take them round. I found out, through reading the display, that there was an incised stone with cross in the Parish church; Liam said unfortunately he didn’t have the keys for the church, but to come back if we wanted to look.