The Stone Family of Glen Lyon

This is Tigh na Caillaigh (the house of the old woman) in a remote part of Glen Lyon. Legend has it that if  the old woman , the old man and their children are not brought out of the house in the Spring and returned in the Autumn then the crops will fail. So far this has not been tested as locals carry out the task as required. I was involved last year in a repair to the roof and walls. No one knows exactly when this was first done but is is likely to date back to pre Christian times. It was not noticed till after the work was completed that the rock in the middle of the removable doorway had a face on it. Now this is known as the guardian rock.

Outdoor Fireplace

Canadian waller Stephen Niven won a prize in 2009 with this fine dry stone fireplace. I especially like the chimney top. I have seen covers like this especially in Italy.
Back to Scottish features in the next entry. A little bit of legend from Glen Lyon.

The Dog Stone

There are several traditions about the Dog Stone in Glen Lyon. The first one that I heard as a child
was that it was used by the Scottish giant Fion to teather his great mastive to. Clearly the name may
come from the fact that the roch does look like the head of a dog. Another theory is that it was used
in the Clan times as a test of pregnancy . Girls were required to squeeze under when suspicions of
rape by another Clan were arroused.

Plague Stone

This rock in Glen Lyon was set up in the 9th century to mark the place where Saint Adamnan decided to stop the plague. Legend tells us that he said no one from the glen could return after passing this point and anyone trying to come into the glen from outside would be killed here. An interesting idea from a holy man, it probably was successful.

Clan Stone Glen Lyon

This rock is not exactly a standing stone . It sits on a flat surface . Legend has it that in the time that  Clan Cambell controlled the Glen this rock was use as a test of a young mans ability to be accepted as an adult into the clan. They had to lift the stone onto the platform. Although I tried hard the only way I could get it up was to roll it. The teenagers must have been much stronger in the past.

Scottish Standing Stones

This is the first of a series in the blog of Standing stones. The wee bird is on the Rock at Auchingarrich near Comrie in Perthshire. Photo by Blanche Haddow. For more of her work go to http://www.bsphotographs.blogspot.com/

Gabions in a Prime Tourist Site.

Many people from around the world visit the Royal Castle of Balmoral and the Highland Games at Braemar. To get there they often drive up the famous pass in Glen Shee called The Devils Elbow. Sadly on the roadside if they look at the scenery carefully they may notice these gabions which were constructed several years ago when the road was rebuilt. This is a poor example for  Scottish Tourism in an area of wonderful Granite mountains.

Mysterious Cairns

This photo appeared on the front page of The Strathspey and Badenoch Herald. These strange cairns have been seen over the last few years, but suddenly there is an outburst of activity from the secret builder. Caused quite a stir locally in the highlands of Scotland on the banks of the river Spey near Aviemore.

Creation by Thea Alvin

This build is typical of the amazing work produced by Thea Alvin in the USA. She never seems to follow the rules that control many of us building in dry stone but WOW.

Scottish Fishing Village

I think the remarkable thing about this view is that so much of the build in the picture is made with stone. The house, the roofs, the slipway and of course the harbour itself which is out of shot. Apart from the Dutch tiles everything else comes from the local area. Our modern towns have gone a long way from that.