17/11/2013 - I've been saving this one for the right day. Sunday felt good when I woke up. Cold and clear skies. Parked at the picnic spot by the Deeside Gliding Club by the A93. We headed north over Craig Ferrar to Blue Cairn. Bit hard work to the trig but the walk after that to the cairn is very nice in open woodland. A couple of fences to cross but nothing too much to worry about. Once at Balnagowan Wood cairn, my eye caught sight of Blue Cairn through the trees for the first time. A giant sleeping stone dragon. We approached quietly so not to wake it. The size is quite something with a lovely colour to the stones. Amazing atmosphere to the place. Quiet and peaceful. Special site in one of my favourite areas of Aberdeenshire.
Following a ferocious - not to mention utterly wondrous - pounding by unfeasibly powerful winds upon Tap O' Noth, I'm in need of somewhere a bit more, er, relaxed and sheltered for the remainder of the day. Must be getting old, I guess. Unfortunately I've not the time... OK, nor energy either... to undertake a Drewbhoy-style trek across the hills which rise to the north-west of Aboyne. That's what happens when you run out of Irn-Bru, see. I therefore settle for 'just' The Blue Cairn instead. Well, I do appreciate a decent long cairn, me.
En-route, the overwhelming richness of Aberdeenshire's ancient heritage is - to be frank - overwhelmingly apparent, the Culsh souterrain and Tomnaverie RSC just two highlights on offer (luckily I've seen the latter, but Culsh will need to wait, since these things can not be rushed). Look for a very minor - just about surfaced - road heading west from the B9094 about mid-way between Aboyne and Tomnaverie, that is almost opposite the track to Coull Home Farm. I follow the former to its terminus and then veer sharply left, taking an unmade track to Muir Cottage (the cottage is adorned with numerous car number plates). The occupier readily agrees to a request to park and gives me directions to the cairn I've come to see - basically head for a prominent tree just before the forestry line, cross the fence and follow to the right. Hey, even I couldn't miss it. Which is saying something.
Approaching from the east, the sheer length of this long cairn isn't at first apparent. However cross (another) fence and, suffice to say, it soon is. Canmore (A S Henshall 1963) has the following to say:
'Blue Cairn is a long horned cairn, aligned ESE - WNW, composed of large boulders and generally undisturbed, with no structural features exposed. It measures 175ft in length (the horns project another 10ft at the east end) and is 60ft wide across the horns. It varies in height from 6ft at the east end to 2ft at the west end. About 40ft back from the facade a distinct, regular hollow about 3ft deep, probably an original feature, crosses the cairn.'
Although the above is no doubt a far more succinct physical summary than I could ever hope to give - although the 'generally undisturbed' comment may need some revision? - it doesn't begin to relate the incredibly peaceful atmosphere prevalent at this monument this early evening. Drewbhoy is spot on. So is the vibe. So is the weather, the sun throwing shadows to enhance form, the site sheltered from the severe winds by woodland. A lateral barbed wire fence bisects the cairn at one point, but this is of little consequence, easily stepped over.
I sit upon the Blue Cairn until 7.30pm, a build up of cloud in the previously - and appropriately enough - blue sky suggesting a change in the weather.
From the cairn at Balnagowan Wood walk the fairly short distance north. (I gave them both different sites as both cairns are totally different.) It is almost impossible to miss this long cairn as it is 70 meters in length and at it's highest is 2 meters. The horns are 3 meters. Quite simple this is a wonderful place, the woods as indeed does the whole Cromar area reek ancient history. Freachem said the cairn resembled the stars and their constellations. To me, its a beautiful place amongst beautiful places.
As usual the more modern human has added clumsy finishing touches such as hollowing, fences and a graveyard for fence posts. One thing the more modern human couldn't change was the tranquility and atmosphere. Silence is a great thing in the right place.
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