Pictish symbols in Dyce, Aberdeenshire.
After a thorough investigation on the net about that location, I was finally about to go for it on one nice Saturday. The fact that it was on the route to the airport, made it quite easy to get to with the public transport.
You can ride the bus N80 from Central Station. When you reach the final stop head towards the Church and ask around for directions. The person at the Church, cutting the lawn, was polite enough to guide us to the beginning of the path. The famous Scottish hospitality, even with its help, we managed to stray away and lost 1 hour.
I got a bit confused and actually took the wrong path which brought me to a nice river curve. The local fisherman enthusiasts guided me to the right direction. Off I am again. How tantalising the small grove looked!
Most of the time you will be walking on the car road just when you see the sign you turn right.
The marvelous view of the river meanders invigorates your spirit, especially during the summer. There is something about that black and explosive water in the whole Grampian region.
Once you get there you can be struck by the fact nobody has placed any restrictions on the site. All the stones and stellas are just lying around for you to make your facebook photos. No fence, no nothing, maybe just the spells protect that pictish sanctuary. In proximity to the ruined St Fergus' Chapel, there are many tombstones and every rock captures your imagination.
Picts, oh the picts, these guys had it all. Magic, ancient wisdom, lost rituals. Strange symbols and animals, mythological creatures and spiral symbols have embodied the sacred ideas on the ancients. Yet one is not able to comprehend what urges them to put so many petroglyphs on stone. Maybe they are trying to convince us that there is something hidden in our everyday reality?
In case you came with a car you can spend some time to look for the stone circles, located somewhere in the region. Due to the time constraint, we were not able to hunt for them, maybe the next time.
Back to my reality. Modest Scotchman keeping these hot spots not so popular. Maybe the mass public should deserve to set their eyes on such fine examples of ancient cultures. Well, I felt obliged.
