No supernatural forces leapt out from the stone. Indeed it was very well behaved and the rain only came on once I'd sat in the car. Thank goodness, I was done in after Sleepiehill and Findrassie. The adventures of these will told in their fieldnotes.
From Elgin head east and take the B9103 heading south east. Take the 2nd minor road heading west indicated Blackhills. Go till you see the the sign for the house, it said private but I waltzed in anyway. Rang the foghorn, I mean doorbell no reply, so I took some pics. The stone is kept undercover and is well looked after.
Various ring marks, cup marks and some Pictish stuff are all on this superb stone. A great way to end the day.
'We march down to Blackhills House. Our wonder is a garden feature. Six stone pillars support a jaunty stone-tiled roof. Within this shelter a rugged stone block perches on a little plinth. One face is pocked with a random rash of round pits. On the opposite face are two linked spirals. My map tells me that this a prehistoric Cup Marked Stone. These things are old : Neolithic-Stone Age-the age of the first farmers whose slash-and-burn and simple ploughs tore open Scotland's soil 5,000 years ago-or maybe more. We do not touch the carved designs, though tempted. There is an ancient magic here that urges us to trace the spiralled coils or to place a finger in each pecked-out cup. But what supernatural forces might inhabit the stone-awaiting ritual release.'
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