📌 Menaway Hills, Aberdeenshire
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Whitehills isn’t one of Aberdeenshire’s finest ancient monuments, but may be worth a visit if you’re passing by on the Aberdeen to Alford road. Set on the partially forested southern slopes of the Menaway Hills, this 4,000 year-old stone circle is of the recumbent type particularly common in the region – with a large granite block on its side which would have been flanked by two upright ones (only one remains). There are a few other stones scattered about but mostly moved from their original positions, and smaller stones indicate a burial cairn at the circle’s centre. Perhaps the most interesting part is the orientation of the recumbent and flankers, which are aligned to frame the moon during a “lunar standstill” event which only occurs every 18.6 years! Our Cairn William walk passes by on the adjacent track.
🌍 Location
📌 Bogmore Wood, 1 mi from nearest road near Tillyfourie, 3 mi west of Monymusk
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NJ 643135
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.210899,-2.592464
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park at 🧭 NJ 655132 / 🛰️ 57.208299,-2.572883
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 30-min / 1 mi walk (each way) uphill walk to the circle on a good track (⬤ Easy).
