Apart from a henge (or two) it’s a toss-up whether the nearest ancient monument to Son of the Rock Acres is Falkland Palace or Balgonie Castle.

We’ve been to the Palace many times but only visited Balgonie Castle for the first time in June last year. The local Heritage Group had its last meeting of the season there with the permission of the Laird.

Balgonie Castle tower and entrance:-

The Castle has of course been used in the TV series made from the Outlander books (it seems almost no castle in Scotland hasn’t.) This door by the pathway from the small car park emphasises the fact.

I believe the castle is not open to visitors at the moment though.

That door is to the right of this part of the castle wall:-

The castle has been partially restored by the present Laird. Still-ruined portion from courtyard:-

Tower from courtyard:-

Part of courtyard wall. The flags are of Scotland and Texas. The Laird’s wife is from that US state I believe.

Courtyard wall with wooden cloister:-

Courtyard wall and well:-

External stair from courtyard to main building:-

Part of castle:-

Coat of arms:-

One of the strange delights of our new home is that Son of the Rock Acres is within walking distance (a couple of hundred metres or so) of an ancient stone henge. Two stones survive from the original outer circle of Balfarg Henge. The posts show where other stones once stood.

There is a central stone also remaining but that is flat. The modern posts follow the original circle. You can also see the ditch which formed the outer perimeter in the photo below and the fact that the henge is now surrounded by houses.