A voyage of quiet discovery
In the 21 years since we came to live in Scotland, we’d rather neglected Aberdeenshire east of the Cairngorms – because the area doesn’t have any Munros (mountains over 3,000ft). It does, however, have some fine hills, pretty countryside and coast and a wealth of historic sites, from standing stones to numerous castles.
It being the height of the summer school holidays, avoiding crowds and midges were our priorities. We decided against the west coast (more midges) and started our travels in Aberdeenshire.
Our first stop was Tomnaverie Stone Circle, near the village of Tarland, a three-hour drive from home. This is a recumbent stone circle (the largest stone is lying down, flanked by two uprights) and surrounds a burial cairn dating back about 4,500 years.
It also has another piece of rather more recent history nearby – to the southwest is the entrance to an underground nuclear bunker from the Cold War era. The bunker is not open to the public. All you can see above ground is a box-like structure with access to climb down into it and a ventilation shaft.
Our plan for the next day was the Graham of Pressendye (Grahams are mountains of between 2,000ft and 2,500ft). You might think that, being lower, Corbetts and Grahams would be easier, but that is often not the case. Most have no
