Rowantree

Onto the hill

The climb to the Mither Tap makes a great outing, and for such an impressively craggy summit it’s very accessible. But this is open hill country where the weather can change quickly, even in summer. Check our advice about hillwalking before you set off.

Stories in the stones

Bennachie is a landscape of legends, and there are two intriguing tales around Rowantree. The Maiden’s Causeway gets its name from the daughter of a local laird, who made a bet with a stranger that she could bake a week’s supply of oatcakes before he could build a road to the top of Bennachie. But the stranger was the devil in disguise and of course he finished the road – the Maiden’s Causeway – in a trice.

When he came back to claim the girl as his prize she tried to run away, crying out to God to save her. The Almighty answered her prayer by turning her into stone. The stone is there to this day: you’ll find it just ¾ mile (1.2 km) down the road from Rowantree towards Chapel of Garioch. It’s a tall granite slab, beautifully carved with Pictish symbols. Look for the deep notch in the side: some say that’s where the devil caught the lass by the shoulder as she ran.

Whether the story is true or not, the Maiden Stone is a fine example of the more than 300 carved stones left by the Picts all across north east Scotland. To protect it from frost damage, it’s covered from mid-October to Easter.

The well of tears

Along the Maiden Causeway itself you’ll pass a well with a sad story to tell. Hosie, a local man, was on the way to his wedding when he was persuaded to fight in the Battle of Harlaw, which took place in 1411 on the sloping land to the north of Inverurie. Here the Earl of Mar and his men fought the Highlanders in a bloody battle.

Hosie was captured and imprisoned in a dungeon on the Hebrides for several years. Eventually he escaped and came back to find his bride-to-be, but while he was in prison she had married someone else.

Hosie was heartbroken. With nothing to live for, he died and was buried on the hillside. A well near his grave is called ‘Hosie’s Well’ because, it was said, the water is nothing but Hosie’s tears.

Contact: Moray and Aberdeenshire Forest District

Address: Portsoy Road, Huntly

Postcode: AB54 4SJ

Telephone: 0300 067 6200

Email: morayaberdeenshire@forestry.gsi.gov.uk