This post details a day in 2014 when we set off to find Balgorkar Stone Circle and visited two castles and another circle too.
We headed off to look for the stones. But first there was a quick stop at Fraserburgh beach where the haar (Scottish word for mist that rolls in off the sea) hung low and filtered the sunlight in a silvery way. A seagull flew by as I took the photo.
Balgorkar Stone Circle
Inland we travelled, to bright sunshine and summer colours and the stones of Castle Fraser.
To the left in the picture below (click to see larger image) are two standing stones and to the right, in the distance by the trees, is Balgorkar Stone Circle (also known as Castle Fraser Stone Circle). The stones were visible from the road, so quite easily found.
Up the side of the field we walked.
I thought we’d have to just view the stones from there, but no, some naughty person had trampled a pathway through the crop, so we did no further damage by walking it.
The recumbent and flankers, dark against the field:
Castle Fraser
Next we visited Castle Fraser where I was meant to be doing research for writing on heraldry, historic dates and architecture. This took the form of running about taking photos:
I loved the rooftop and later wrote about it here.
Kildrummy Castle
Then, after picnicking, with only half the day gone, we decided to head to ruinous Kildrummy Castle, a few miles further on.
There in the reception was an old friend who I hadn’t seen for years. There was hugging and much talking. Other people got fed up waiting to be served… We kept saying it was amazing. My friend is currently doing a PhD in history, so some of our conversation became spontaneous research.
We finally moved on to look around:
I do appreciate the use of the adverb ‘treacherously’ there; without it we might think Osbourne the Blacksmith to have merely made a mistake or had an unfortunate accident such as tripping with a pot of molten metal or dropping a freshly forged sword.
Broomend of Crichie Stone Circle
The day ended with a visit to Broomend of Crichie stone circle, Pictish stone placed in the middle.
This blog post is ending in a rather unrelated way, with some ballet. It’s beautiful and romantic and only two minutes long. It’s Scottish Ballet performing at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
Still 99p – Ariel: Dancing on TV
The night before Ariel, a sixteen-year-old girl with a deformed hand, starts at the most prestigious dance school in Scotland, her mother tries to kill her.
Torn from a life where she never fitted in, Ariel quickly becomes the focus of a reality TV show. In the castle school, she forms deep friendships and meets Alexander, the best looking boy she’s ever seen. Together, they unravel the mysteries of the castle’s shadows and confront the demons of Ariel’s past.
Can she rise above a lifetime of pain and embrace the possibilities of fame and love that beckon to her?
‘Ariel: Dancing on TV’ is a mesmerising tale of resilience and the pursuit of a brighter future against all odds.
On Kindle Unlimited.
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The Performance: sometimes going home for Christmas is just one huge performance…
When Ariel returns home from dance college, her mother expects her to perform the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in a pink, sequined tutu in front of many, many party guests. Ariel adjusts the costume and choreography to expose dark truths about her life, but, as it turns out, this is not the biggest performance of the night…
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Beautiful. I wish I could go there right this minute.
The Great Hall reminds me of a paper I once wrote on clerical court culture in early modern England. Lots of Great Halls there too. I wonder in how far Scottish architecture was different at that time.
Yes, I wish I could go there also! Lovely!!!
And I enjoyed he dance too – what an incredible place to perform in!
Darklittle: Yes, I want to go back too! Great halls were a bit of a must, I think in these huge buildings.
Robin: I thought the choreography used the space well.
Hi,
The castle seems to be put there out of a fairy tale , it is amazingly beautiful, thank you for bringing such beauty to our eyes.
take care
I’m glad you enjoyed the post SoulSearchingDays 🙂
What is the significance of the stone circle?
It’s a pre-historic structure, there are lots of them up here. Because of their age not a lot is known of their history, I love them 🙂
Gorgeous photo essay! Now you’ve got me daydreaming about running away from Texas to seek our my Scottish roots… *sigh*
~Tui, @TuiSnider dropping by via #Archive Day on Twitter! 🙂
Hope you get a chance to come here one day TuiSnider 🙂
‘Haar’ … what a gorgeous word!
It really is 🙂
What a beautiful, peaceful place!
Truly magical!
That seems like a place I’d love to visit! Awesome photographs!
These are lovely places to visit 🙂
Beautiful! I love the castle. I love visiting castles and imagining how things must have been back then, and how much efforts were put to make that castle in the first place. I mean, just look at it! None of our modern buildings are as strong as such historical buildings, throughout the world. It’s amazing.
Amazing to walk amongst the ghosts of yester-year – all that history and amazing architecture! If I lived there, I’d never get anything done – I’d just wander from place to place soaking it all in. THANK YOU for sharing – I enjoyed this so much.
I do love wandering through history! So glad you liked the post 🙂
Breathtaking pictures ❤️
Thank you 🙂
Thank you for the lovely tour!
Glad you enjoyed 🙂
The castles were beautiful. You could make amazing trips in Scotland. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I loved my only visit to Scotland in 2018 (finding ancestral homes and even a distant relative), hopefully the world will return to some sort of normal soon and I can come again. Lovely photos. And blacksmiths are known to be unreliable 🙂
I hope you get to visit again soon 🙂
A beautiful place! Also I had tears in my eyes watching the gorgeous Scottish ballet dancers.
It is a lovely little piece of choreography, that.
Awesome, beautiful images! I don’t know the adjective I can use to describe the pictures, and your writing is easy and fluid. Thanks for sharing and I’ll be checking out your book too. I appreciate your visit and following my website. Thanks ! 🙂 🙂
I’m glad you liked the post, and hope you enjoy the book 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
The ballet was lovely, it took me a moment to catch the music. Scotland is incredible. It’s so ancient and it seems that everywhere you go there is a story to hear. I want to come back, just to take off my shoes and stand with my naked feet on her sacred soil. So now the pain of that absence has me greetin’ like a wee bairn, but, since it’s still early here, no one else has to know.. Thank you.
Oh, Kenny 🙁 I hope you get the chance to come back.