Hills of Britain and Ireland
OS Map of Mount Blair
Height: 744m / 2442ft • Prominence: 400m / 1312ft • Summit : large cairn by trig point • Trip reports (hill-bagging)
Mount Blair summit and grave
Mount Blair stands out as a sentinel in the landscape, an abrupt precursor of the rising Grampians, then Cairngorms from the fertile levels of Strathmore. At 744m (2441 feet) it’s a Graham rather than a Munroe, its prominence above the Balloch and Drumore of 400 meters also gives it the designation of Marilyn. This summit marks the Perthshire/Angus border and the watershed of the Isla. It was also the march of land donated to the Cistercian monks of Coupar Angus by Alexander II in the 12th Century, later, it was also the meeting point of three estates. The summit is a busy place, it has a telecommunication mast, a memorial indicator, an Ordnance Survey trig point and a burial cairn - the subject of this story. The grave is that of Alexander Robertson of Blackwater, known as Alasdair Luath (swift Alexander). This unfortunate man chose to hang himself. To this end, he put a beam across the rim of the Coldrach lime kiln to suspend his noose. This kiln is the largest in the area and is still intact today. His elevated grave is due to superstition. As a suicide, his burial was barred in the consecrated ground of a kirkyard, a decree set down by John Knox with the Scottish Reformation in 1560. His burial site would also be considered a portent of ill fortune to the estate which held it. The solution was his interment at a point where “three lairds’ lands met” – although an arduous climb and hard dig, the sharing of this considered misfortune was worth the effort. This leaves us with no church records of his passing, but it can be narrowed to the late 18th century. Coldrach lime kiln could not have been built before circa 1760 and in the early 19th century human bones were discovered when curiosity got the better of the district inhabitants and an investigation was made to discover the truth about the cairn. Alasdair’s cairn has sheltered many a shepherd, walker and comms tower engineer.
30-Dec-20 • Kevin Greig • flickr
50780734463
OS Map
This is OS mapping. In some areas, OpenStreetMap shows more footpaths
Spatial NI has online OSNI mapping. Click "Basemap Gallery" (4 squares icon at the top).
Now would be a good time for a cup of tea.
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Photos
Please tag your photos and upload them to the British and Irish Mountains group on Flickr
The other photos have been geo-tagged as on or around the summit. For less busy mountains, it can be a little hit and miss.
Mount Blair summit and grave
Mount Blair stands out as a sentinel in the landscape, an abrupt precursor of the rising Grampians, then Cairngorms from the fertile levels of Strathmore. At 744m (2441 feet) it’s a Graham rather than a Munroe, its prominence above the Balloch and Drumore of 400 meters also gives it the designation of Marilyn. This summit marks the Perthshire/Angus border and the watershed of the Isla. It was also the march of land donated to the Cistercian monks of Coupar Angus by Alexander II in the 12th Century, later, it was also the meeting point of three estates. The summit is a busy place, it has a telecommunication mast, a memorial indicator, an Ordnance Survey trig point and a burial cairn - the subject of this story. The grave is that of Alexander Robertson of Blackwater, known as Alasdair Luath (swift Alexander). This unfortunate man chose to hang himself. To this end, he put a beam across the rim of the Coldrach lime kiln to suspend his noose. This kiln is the largest in the area and is still intact today. His elevated grave is due to superstition. As a suicide, his burial was barred in the consecrated ground of a kirkyard, a decree set down by John Knox with the Scottish Reformation in 1560. His burial site would also be considered a portent of ill fortune to the estate which held it. The solution was his interment at a point where “three lairds’ lands met” – although an arduous climb and hard dig, the sharing of this considered misfortune was worth the effort. This leaves us with no church records of his passing, but it can be narrowed to the late 18th century. Coldrach lime kiln could not have been built before circa 1760 and in the early 19th century human bones were discovered when curiosity got the better of the district inhabitants and an investigation was made to discover the truth about the cairn. Alasdair’s cairn has sheltered many a shepherd, walker and comms tower engineer.
30-Dec-20 • Kevin Greig • flickr
50780734463
Videos
Nice we hike up mount blair with few of glenshee.
Drove up to Glenshee early doors & headed up the Corbett Ben Gulabin, hoping to get above the cloud line. Did a circuit of the ...
Lovely day up In glenshee.
The upper section of the River Isla, Angus, Scotland. From Kirkton of Glenisla to Reekie Linn waterfall. A 8.5km of lovely, non-stop ...
Notes
- Data: Database of British and Irish Hills v18.2
- Maps: We use OS mapping for England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Sadly, Channel Islands, Northern (OSNI) and Southern Ireland (OSI) mapping isn't available online, so we use Openstreetmap.