Stones and rocks

My birthday and we had a most enjoyable and interesting day. Shortly after leaving Tarland campsite we stopped to have a look at the Tomnaverie Stone Circle. This was constructed during the early Bronze Age, around 2500BC,  and consists of thirteen granite stones on top of a small hill with the largest stone weighing about 6.5 tons. (How did they do it?) The alignment of the stones points to the mountain of Lochnagar which is the furthest, darkest hill above the recumbent stone.
After a very enjoyable lunch in Aboyne (grilled pear on blue cheese bruschetta for me) we headed for Burn o’ Vat near the village of Dinnet. We have been here before but it is so fascinating that it is worth several visits. It consists of a huge pothole (the vat) which was hollowed out by the meltwater from an ice sheet which covered this area of Aberdeenshire about 14000 years ago. We felt dwarfed by the rock walls around us.
The first extra shows the way into the vat with Nick and Bertie standing on the sandy floor. The second extra shows what it is like standing in the middle of the “cauldron” which was visited by Queen Victoria quite a few years before our first visit.