Restored RSC with henge bank. A perfect place to orient oneself to the recumbent stone circle, but not overly atmospheric.
Aberdeenshire's "premier" show circle. On the face of it, a very pretty circle of stones. The recumbent even has an "altar bay" into which the initiate or High Priest is drawn. I do wonder though, if in its own way, the restoration has "ruined" the atmosphere of the monument, since the landscape that it occupies is the key to its understanding. Too many societal queues (interpretation panels, gates, cut grass) and the mind is locked into the mundane. No hint of the occult except for a bunch of flowers that had been left on the altar. How moving. That someone, perhaps bereaved, should come to a stone circle to remember their loved one.
The recumbent is of the flat topped "altar" variety. The flankers are marvellously carved.
To the circle itself. I sit on the recumbent, feeling a bit like I shouldn't, given its pristine makeover. The recumbent is high. Intimidating. It is covered in cuts; has it been struck?
What effect do the standing stones have? Feels a bit like the Rollrights, another complete circle. The stones stand like figures, Saints maybe. Due to their number they appear as one; a group presence; not as individuals. They are Saints presiding over magic.
Maybe a person stood at each stone. Maybe they sang like a choir, to invoke the Other World. You would not, after all, stand around like chattering fools in the middle. You would be using the stones; occupying positions so that the stones could command maximum magic resources in the circle. Maybe people stood behind the stones.
The whole monument has the feeling of an aerial, a dish, receiving signals broadcast from beyond this world, which our eyes cannot see but our hearts can uncover in reverie for these early earth mysteries.
Extraordinary heavy metal circle near Aberdeen Dyce airport. One of the finest, most complete monuments of its kind. The growing urbanisation surrounding it cannot hold this druidic temple back.