B
Bonnie Birken Tree
Inscribed granite stone, Possibly made for Sir William Cuncliffe Brooks, Laird of Glentanar who
died in 1900. The inscription reads: "the pine is King of Scottish woods
and the Queen ah who is she
The fairest form the forest kens
The bonnie birken tree"
There are many beautifully inscribed stones on the Glen Tanar estate, particularly at springs and wells, some poetic and some enigmatic in sentiment.
Brain Coral fossil Banff Castle
C
Carron River Falls
Predominately a civil engineering project but its aesthetic pretensions may just make it eligible for inclusion. A system of weirs create a man made series of waterfalls with boulder built embankments.
D
Dry lines , no fish stone
A stone inscribed with the words: "Dry lines , no fish" and a cross like mark the inscription showing some trace of colour. Possibly by Sir William Cuncliffe Brooks, Laird of Glentanar who died in 1900. There are several other inscribed stones on the estate many at the sites of springs/wells.
F
Flower boat, Johnshaven
A planting scheme and rockery utilising a yellow painted old boat. These rather kitsch planting schemes (and arrangements of creels, rocks, driftwood and etc.) still seem to abound in the north east, boats on the coast and wheelbarrows and farm carts inland. I rather worry how many once serviceable (and beautiful) traditional vehicles have been destroyed for this purpose for, to my taste, no aesthetic gain.
Fraserburgh entrance, lighthouse models
Large model lighthouses at the entrance to the town of the Banff and Strichen Roads surrounded by boulders and planting.
M
Memsie Cairn
A very well preserved example of a larger round cairn, with no turf covering. Once part of a whole landscape of cairns that have been removed. The information board mentions some of the finds listed below (info from RCAHMS) but at this date it seems unclear where exactly particular artefacts were excavated and how accurate the descriptions of them were. The overall impression however is of a large important sacred site dedicated to funery rites over an extensive period of time.
O
Old Road, Bennachie Centre
Carved words "THE TRAMPLING TO INVERURIE" and "THE TRUNDLING TO INSCH" on each side of a large granite stone next to the path just above the Bennachie Centre. In addition there is a hole drilled through the stone providing a sight line along the path.
P
Part of Art, Space & Nature, at COAST festival 2010
Three circular assemblages of neatly arranged bundles of cut grass, on the lawn in front of the castle.
S
Snakeswell Stone
Carved granite marker with the fascinating wording: "The worm of the still is the deadliest snake on the hill" and a reference to whisky distilling that took place in this area of the and gave its name to a place called Snakeswell. Built by Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, Laird of Glentanar who died in 1900.
Snakeswell: noted as a Spring on the OS 1:10,000 map of 1972, Within a semi-circular drystone-walled compound, there are a spring and a stone which bears this inscription. There are several other inscribed stones on the estate many at the sites of springs/wells.
St Colms well
Granite boulder marking the well, inscribed with the words "well beloved" and a cross in concentric circles. The well marks the boundary of the parish of Birse to the south. The laird of Glen Tanar Sir William Cuncliffe Brooks, Laird of Glen tanar who
died in 1900, had the words "well beloved" inscribed on the stone in the 19th century. There are many beautifully inscribed stones on the Glen Tanar estate, particularly at springs and wells, some poetic and some enigmatic in sentiment.
Stone Placement
An intentional relocation and placement of a natural stone for aesthetic reason. An act that draws on oriental (Zen) precedent as well as the examples of our neolithic forbears so noticeable in the local environment.
Stonehaven Beach Waveform
A dry garden of shingle, cut timbers and boulders, in a style derived at some distance from Japanese Zen dry gardens that seems to have become popular for public installations.
T
The Gouk Stone, Bennachie
The Goukstane ("Cuckoo stone"), which is signposted just off the walk to the summit. Is a large boulder. According to legend it is said to be visited by the first cuckoo to return to Bennachie after spending winter in Africa. Other people believe that this large stone was thrown down the hill by the mythical giant Jock O' Bennachie.
The name and similar stories are applied to several Scottish megaliths one of them only about 3 miles north west at NJ 676 257 (the last surviving stone of a stone circle at the village of Oyne). Next to the Gouk Stone, is a contemporary work consisting of Carved words "THE CALLING OF THE CUCKOO IS THE OTHER SIDE OF SPRING" on a low dyke. In addition there is a carved 'egg' with an incised crack.
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