Drinnie’s Wood: Rapunzel Tower and Stone Circle

tower in Drinnie's Wood

The Tower in Drinnie’s Wood

Rapunzel’s Tower appears over the trees in Drinnie’s Wood, dark and mysterious, a fairytale setting at the top of a hill. No hair is let down in answer to my call. Maybe the newly installed CCTV reveals me to be neither prince nor abusive mother figure, so I am ignored? Or maybe the words on the council sign are true, and the Drinnie’s Wood Observatory really is only open May-September.

Onwards and upwards. And downwards. Up the wrong path and back again. Up another, almost identical, path and… ta-da!

The Elusive Loudon Wood Stone Circle

Loudon Wood Stone Circle by Drinnie's Wood

It evaded me for years, this place. The entry to the narrow path is hidden by low hanging pine branches, and it wasn’t until the advent of Google Earth that I finally pinpointed its exact location.

I do like the white tree that stands opposite the large recumbent stone:

Loudon Wood by Drinnie's Wood

Most stone circles in Aberdeenshire are imbued with a  deep peacefulness. This one seems alive somehow, buzzing with an undercurrent of ancient energy, like a radio still tuned to the past. Carved stone:

stones in Drinnie's Wood

Back to the Future

Back to the present and a newly planted wind turbine, another tower I would like to look inside; see the inviting steps and door at the bottom? Surprisingly large, up close – diagonal was the only way to get the whole thing in shot – and surprisingly quiet, whoosh-whooshing us gently into the future.

a modern tower by Drinnie's Wood

Also see:

Finding Loudon Wood Stone Circle

The Alligators and Follies of Pitfour Estate

Latest book

Set in 1st century Scotland, SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. The book features a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance!

See the press release here

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“Ethereal and spellbinding….” Historical Novel Society

Read the article Roman Aberdeenshire features in author’s new book from Grampian Online.

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7 Replies to “Drinnie’s Wood: Rapunzel Tower and Stone Circle”

  1. Stone circles are incredible. We don’t have anything like them in the U.S., and I’ve always been entranced by those in Britain. I remember once standing beside a stone a good three feet taller than I in the Avebury stone circle with sheep nearby. The friends I was staying with told me not to touch the sheep, but said nothing about not touching the stone, and so I did and thought about the people who had taken it there so many, many years before. How lucky you are to have found your stone circle at last. It’s perfect, hidden among the trees. Thank you for sharing it. I now have Louden Wood on my list of stone circles to visit the next time I’m across the ocean.

    1. Avebury is so huge isn’t it? So unusual with the village right in the middle too. We have over 150 (smaller ones) up here in the Grampians; I hope you get to visit some of them one day 🙂

  2. What a beautiful place. Me and my hubby keep saying that we will visit Scotland one day. It’s ironic that we have been to so many places abroad when there are so many gems on our doorstep that we still haven’t explored. I suppose it’s the lure of the sunshine.

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