I love the way Aikey Brae Recumbent Stone Circle seems to materialise as you step out of the dark woodland path. It’s my favourite of the Aberdeenshire stone circles; it feels like my ‘home’ one. I did used to live nearby so have visited it more than any other. This was Boxing Day.
It was bright and frosty and enchanted. There was chocolate.
A few days later, on the way to see a friend, I stopped by Loanhead of Daviot:
The day was damp and dark and cold. The circle felt calm and steadfast. Timeless.
The double recumbent:
And then, in the new year, many weathers happened at Berrybrae circle. First there was sun (pictured below) before a gale blew up and brought horizontal sleet.
Let the rest of the year hold more timeless enchantment (and chocolate) for us all, rather than horizontal precipitation!
Winter Reading
My novels all involve dark historical events, romance and a little magic…
- SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD opens on a snowy winter solstice in 1st century Scotland. The main character is neurodivergent, and has been non-verbal until that first scene of the book.
- If you like castles, Scotland, history, witches, stone circles and Christmas done medieval-style, you might like THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR. There’s also a love story.
- FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the kidnapped children of 18th century Aberdeen, and features Christmas in Colonial Pennsylvania.
They’re all available in paperback, kindle and on kindle unlimited.
<3 Love this whole post–photos, captions… I am envious and am not ashamed of that. Happy New Year!
I’ve been there and I’ve visited the stone circles myself, but still, to live near them? The history, the magic, the ancient stones? What a gift. I’d visit them everyday. It’s like walking on the bones of history.
“It was bright and frosty and enchanted. There was chocolate.” Enchanted? Sounds like heaven!
I’m also very envious of all the stone circles you can visit. They all look enchanting!
Mystical stones whispering to us of another time, if only I could hear all their secrets.
It is wonderful that you share these with us in the photos along with the story of your time there. I hope I will be able to see them in person one day.
You are so lucky to see them on a regular basis, to have a sense of them in different times and seasons… Although, horizontal sleet? Yikes. As we scurry for cover, these stones stand, silently witnessing.
Inspiring post. Atmospheric pic. Going to make time to swing past my own local stone circle today.
Thank you all so much for posting your stone circle love <3
Love the ‘timeless’ness of it all 🙂 Happy New Year! May it be full of enchantment!
Happy New Year to you too Anjali!
Beautiful! You’re lucky to have it so close!
Lovely!
Lovely pictures, beautifully taken. You can almost feel the enchantment of the circle.
New follower via #SundayBlogShare
Thank you so much for your comments, I love how these ancient places touch people 🙂
Precipitation; Crovie, Chocolate; Huntly , Timeless; Loudon
.. and still three months to go!
I’m sure we can squeeze in some more chocolate, at least!
Magical, mystical… 🙂 #ArchiveSaturday
They are…
I suspect we share an obsession with old stones. My wee dog is in the current Historic Scotland magazine at Machrie Moor on Arran. I’ll walk for miles to get to them. I walked my hubby into a bog on Jura to get close to won. To say he was annoyed is an understatement. Stones, Cairns, Brochs, clearance ruins and castles. Have you been to Hill o many stanes at Caithness?
I have not but I may be dragging my husband over to those one of these days too!