Did You Know… There’s a Hidden Stone Circle in Inverness?
You don’t need to travel to Clava Cairns to stand among ancient stones.
Most people do. And yes, Clava is incredible. But tucked away behind modern Inverness, quietly sitting near Raigmore Hospital, there’s a prehistoric site that most people walk past without ever realising what they’ve found.
And once you know the story, it becomes even more fascinating.
A Walk That Starts in the Present
I started my walk at the UHI Inverness Campus and crossed over the Golden Bridge, the pedestrian bridge that takes you across the A9.
It feels like you are just moving towards modern Inverness. Campus to hospital. Nothing particularly ancient about that.
But then the stones appear. Low. Quiet. Easy to miss. And yet they take you straight back around 5,000 years.
More Than Just a Stone Circle
At first glance, it looks like a small stone circle. But it’s actually something much more complex.
This is the Raigmore Cairn, also known as Stoneyfield, dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. What you see today is only one part of a much larger ceremonial and burial landscape. Archaeologists uncovered evidence of a timber structure, a central cairn, burial cists, and a surrounding ring of stones.
So this wasn’t just a circle. It was a place of ritual, burial, and meaning.
The Stone Circle That Walked
Here’s the part most people don’t know. These stones are not in their original location.
When the A9 was upgraded in the 1970s, the entire site was under threat. Instead of losing it, the site was excavated and then carefully moved. Stone by stone. Rebuilt nearby in a layout that reflects the original as closely as possible.
A Few Surprising Facts About This Site
- It is even been called the stone circle that ‘walked’.
- The stones originally stood about 600 metres north of Raigmore Hospital, closer to the Moray Firth
- They were moved around 500 metres west to their current location
- The relocation took place over 13 winter Saturdays in 1974 to 1975
- The move was carried out by local volunteers, including schoolboys, led by burgh architect Bill Jack
- The relocation followed a “Save the Stones” campaign after fears the site would be lost
- The site was recorded in 1760 by Bishop Richard Pococke, who described two stone circles
- By 1831, only one circle remained
- Archaeologist Derek Simpson excavated the site in 1972 to 1973 ahead of road construction
- The site dates back to around 3600 BC
- Archaeologists found pits, post holes, burial cists, and cremated remains
- The remains included two adults and a child buried in an urn
- At least 52 wooden posts once stood on the site, forming a rectangular structure with a hearth
- The stone ring formed part of a platform cairn with kerb stones up to 1.7 metres high
- Drill holes in some stones show attempts to remove them using explosives
- Finds suggest the site was still in use around 750 years ago
Could These Be the Original Outlander Stones?
Outlander made the standing stones of Inverness famous. Most visitors head straight to Clava Cairns because of that.
But long before film crews and visitors, sites like this already existed quietly in the landscape. Early records even describe more than one circle in this area, although not all survived.
So you can’t help but wonder. Could places like this, hidden in plain sight, have helped shape that idea of Inverness and Outlander?
Look Closer… It’s Not Just Stone
If you look closely at the stones, you’ll see pale greens, greys, and soft yellows across the surface. That’s lichen. Many visitors, especially from abroad, don’t recognise it, but it’s actually a partnership between fungus and algae, and it only grows where the air is clean. In places with pollution, it simply can’t survive. So what you’re seeing here isn’t just texture or colour, it’s a sign of the purity of the air and a living layer of time slowly building across these ancient stones.
A Landscape Full of Ancient Sites
And this is just one.
Across Inverness and into Strathnairn there are dozens of prehistoric monuments. Cairns, standing stones, burial sites. Many of them far less visited. Some almost forgotten.
- Culduthel Cairn chambered cairn
- Clach na h’Airm (and nearby cairns and standing stones)
- Corrimony chambered cairn (often spelled Corriemorrie locally)
- Clava Cairns
Which means you don’t have to follow the crowds to experience something ancient. The quieter places carry just as much history.
Why This Place Matters
What I love about this place isn’t just the age of the stones.
It’s the story of survival.
A prehistoric monument. Nearly lost to a road. Saved by people who decided it mattered.
And now it just sits there quietly behind a hospital, with no crowds and no fuss.
If You Go
- Start at UHI Inverness Campus.
- Cross the Golden Bridge over the A9.
- Walk towards Raigmore Hospital and keep your eyes open.
- It’s easy to walk straight past it.
- And when you find it, step inside the stones.
- Because you’re not just looking at something ancient.
- You’re standing in a place that has already lived more than one life.
A Community Effort and an Ongoing Mystery
First of all, a huge thank you to Susan from The Ness Guest House for kindly sharing a photograph of the information board as it stood here a few years ago. It’s a brilliant snapshot of the story, and I’ve also included an image of the stone as it stood on my visit (2026).
And now for the new mystery…
“Perhaps you were one of those who donated your equipment or strong arms to help move the cairn to its new Raigmore home?
If so, perhaps you can shed light on another mystery. Two additional prominent stones have appeared since the cairn left its original home. Look at the plan and you will spot them; they are very carefully aligned with the others. Were they found far below the soil during the removal excavations? Or perhaps they were discovered here and included in the reconstruction, although this seems less likely.”
And this is where it gets interesting.
Somewhere between lifting the stones, transporting them, and carefully rebuilding the cairn, two extra stones seem to have joined the circle. Not just dropped in randomly, but placed with care, aligned as if they had always belonged.
So where did they come from?
Were they buried deeper than the others and only revealed during excavation? Or did they appear at the new site, quietly added during reconstruction? And if so, why? It’s a small detail, easy to miss, but once you know it, you can’t unsee it.
Next time you visit, take a moment. Look closely. See if you can spot the stones that don’t quite belong.
And if you do… you might just be standing inside another mystery that no one has fully solved.
References
Highland Archaeological Research Framework, Raigmore Cairn (Stoneyfield) Case Study
https://scarf.scot/regional/higharf/highland-archaeological-research-framework-case-studies/raigmore-cairn/
The Megalithic Portal, Raigmore Cairn (Stoneyfield)
https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=14758
The Ness Guest House, The Hidden Stone Circle of Inverness
https://www.thenessguesthouse.com/stone-circle/
Archaeology for the Highlands, Raigmore Cairn Relocation and Excavation News
http://archhighland.org.uk/news.asp?newsid=278
The Inverness Courier, Down Memory Lane: Moving story recalled of ancient stone in Inverness
By Contributor, Published 19:30, 18 January 2021 https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/down-memory-lane-moving-story-recalled-of-ancient-stone-in-inverness-224606/
Ambaile – photograph of the original Stoneyfield Stone Circle in it’s original location – Stone Circle at Stoneyfield/Raigmore, Inverness
Wee Wild Adventures at more Cairns and Standing Stones around Scotland
- Clava Cairns – Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting Clava Cairns https://weewildadventures.com/everything-you-need-to-know-before-visiting-clava-cairns/
- Clach na h’Airm – The Hidden Gathering Stone of Strathnairn https://weewildadventures.com/clach-na-h-airm-the-hidden-gathering-stone-of-strathnairn/
- How to enjoy a Midsummer Adventure at Clava Cairns https://weewildadventures.com/how-to-enjoy-a-midsummer-adventure-at-clava-cairns/
- Corrimony Cairn – Ancient History and Rare Birds https://weewildadventures.com/corrimony-chambered-cairn/
- Standing Stones Aberdeenshire – Ancient Circles and Hidden History https://weewildadventures.com/standing-stones-aberdeenshire/
- The Mystery of the General’s Well Inverness https://weewildadventures.com/the-mystery-of-the-generals-well-inverness/