Symbol Stone

Getting there - (OS Map ref NJ 703247) From Inverurie take the A96 and travel North for about 4.5 miles (7km). Turn left off the road following the signposts for Chapel of Garioch. Travel through Chapel of Garioch taking the road to the right of the church. Follow this road and you will find the stone at the roadside on the left not far past the village. You can park in a laybay on the right, just past the stone.

Info - This stone is make of large slab of pink granite and on the east face there are four distinct symbols - a mirror with comb, what is possibly a centaur, a notched rectangle and a pictish beast. The West face shows a large ringheaded cross with a man and two fish above and a knotwork roundel below. Both of the sides of the stone have also been decorated with knotwork and other pictish designs. The stone is placed in the Garioch, the heart the Pictish province of Mar and near the slopes of Bennachie which is crowned with the remains of a fort. Local place names like Pittodrie and Pitcaple are also signs of pictish settlements.

The Legend of the Maiden Stone - The legend that accompanies this stone is interesting. On her wedding day, a daughter of a local laird bet a stranger that she could could bake a large batch of bread before he could build a road to the top of Bennachie or she would become his. The stranger was in fact the devil, and when he finished the road before the bread was done she ran, turning to stone as he caught her!

Lindsey's tip - An easy site to find plus you can park a few yards away - well worth a visit and not far from Pittodrie House hotel so you can stop in for some refreshments! There also heaps of great views of Bennachie from around here and if you are feeling energetic why not visit the Bennachie visitor centre and explore the mountain.