This peaceful recumbent stone circle is set amidst the rolling hills and farmland of northeast Scotland, at Daviot in Aberdeenshire. I came here on an August day blessed with sun and puffy clouds, giving beautiful views over the Aberdeenshire countryside. The energy here felt peaceful, well connected into the wider landscape and beyond.
The northeast is rich in stone circles with many of them being classed as recumbent (where the focal stone is lying horizontal). Something to ponder is that circles closest in form to these northeast ones are found in the far southwest of Ireland, on the Beara peninsula and in Co. Cork.
The circle is 67 feet (20.5m) in diameter. Two uprights flank a large recumbent stone, split down the middle due to frost damage, with eight other stones forming the circle. The eastern (downhill) flanking stone has a cupmark on its inner surface, although I didn’t find it easy to locate.
There is an accompanying circle to the southeast side, marked by a ring of kerbstones on the ground. This is described by archaologists as a cemetery, as cists containing cremated bones were found during excavation. I do not believe this would have been its original purpose, however.
Access is along a narrow local lane, not far off the A95 near Inverurie, with a good parking area.
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OS Grid Ref: NJ 74772 28853
https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/57.34942,-2.42080,18/pin