 |
| Howe o' the Mearns from Brown Caterthun - pastel sketch on paper |
An ancient tale tells of Sin, the Devil's mother, gathering stones in her apron to build the White Caterthun hill fortifications in one morning, other tales believe that it was built as a home for fairies and the mason was a witch or alternatively that the place was an ancient Druid temple. Nowadays, the consensus is that both White and Brown Caterthuns were hill forts built by our Pictish ancestors more than two thousand years ago. A massive civil engineering accomplishment at that time consisting of several sequential fortifications around the top of each hill. Amazingly the White Caterthun is level at the top no matter where it is viewed from in Angus. The panorama from the ramparts is extensive, making these hill forts a key strategical look out for both the Howe o' the Mearns and the Strathmore valley. At the north-west corner of the White Caterthun you will find a large boulder with a flat surface that is carved with egg-cup sized dimples; the purpose of this stone is still a mystery.
 |
| Sketching today on the Brown Caterthun's ramparts |
The Caterthuns are tended for grouse shooting by a local estate and today quite a few birds fly in long, rigid arcs over the moor to go with the strong wind that chills us to the bone. The Red Grouse cocks are in a phase of growing their red eye combs to match the run up to the spring display in a couple of month's time. Healthy cock birds sport brighter coloured combs to attract the hen birds and strong combs are also indicative of a bird with fewer internal parasites. Flying with the grouse are two Skylarks and their tentative song duels with the rush of wind on heather and spiked bushes of gorse that is surprisingly in flower. Both rise and fall in the gusts to rehearse what just might be an early spring for them if the Atlantic driven weather is anything to go by. Mount Battock and the back hills of Glen Lethnot are visible from here and show up under a covering of snow, but I did expect much more snow after listening to the threatening forecast.
 |
| Red Grouse ssp. caterthunius |
This area was actually one of the few places in Angus where you could see a pair of Common Buzzards forty years ago and now they really are a common sight throughout Scotland. A resident pair soar over the trees at the foot of the hills and their calls are easily heard from the higher ground, hopefully they are the descendants of that pair which held on in this area so many years ago. In comparison to previous years I have seen more Kestrels around my home this year and a beautiful male with his chestnut coloured back and dove grey head is hovering over a roadside grass verge, then gracefully perches on a pole to gaze down in the search for voles or mice. In my mind he looks as if he is praying for some prey, after all it is Sunday!
 |
| The Caterthuns, Wirren and Mount Battock - studio pastel sketch on paper |
Anyway, my son Ben and I had a nice but cold walk up the Brown Caterthun to view the hills of Angus and beyond. Ben was much amused at the worn, domed tussocks of sedge that emerge from the moor and with their centre partings look like weird hairy scalps emerging from a Hobbit kingdom, he named them the Skullcaps of Caterthun.
 |
| Dimple or Cup Stone |
 |
| Ben and the distant levelled top of White Caterthun |
 |
| Gorse |
 |
| Kestrel |
Notes;
All sketches and photos done on the day and are copyright.
Please be aware that it is illegal to disturb nesting eagles or other raptors and you may do so inadvertently in your journeys into the highlands. I do not recommend searching for any of the species mentioned in this blog because this may cause undue disturbance to them. With my knowledge of the areas described in this blog I can locate and observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres for short periods of time only.
Weather - mainly overcast with high level blue sky breaks, westerly strong wind with light showers. 7C
Map of the area.