Scotland’s Forgotten Centre Stone and Its Strange Legends
What is it?
A five-tonne gneiss boulder set beside a quiet Highland road. Installed in 2015 by Badenoch residents to keep alive the long-running claim that Glen Truim marks the very middle of mainland Scotland.
Where is it?
On the single-track Glen Truim Road, 2 km west of the A9 turn-off at Newtonmore. (OS grid NN 678 941; what3words ///committed.knee.haggling.(drivingwithdogs.co.uk)
Quick facts
- First recorded marker: small Ordnance Survey plaque noted by writer Seton Gordon in the 1940s
- Cross carved into the drystone dyke in the 1980s to impress coach parties
- Present stone: and bronze plaque unveiled at a community dedication in June 2015
- Unofficial: Ordnance Survey will not endorse a fixed centre because coastlines and calculations change over time(en.wikipedia.org)
- Free to visit: no facilities; panoramic views south-east across the Spey Valley
Why this spot?
Local memory insists the first OS plaque once clung to the dyke here. The older Newtonmore schoolbooks pointed pupils to “the centre stone”. When the plaque vanished, two enterprising locals etched a rough cross into the wall, dabbed it with yellow paint to give an air of antiquity. So the story goes—supplied dram-fuelled commentaries to busloads of curious tourists. Community pride finally hefted a five-tonne boulder into place in 2015, anchoring the tale for good.
Ordnance Survey in Scotland
The Ordnance Survey began detailed mapping of Scotland in the 1840s, following earlier work in England and Ireland. Their arrival was driven by the need for military control in the wake of the Jacobite uprisings. A growing demand for accurate land measurement for taxation, land ownership, and infrastructure planning. Using triangulation and precise fieldwork, OS surveyors charted Scotland’s varied and often unforgiving terrain. Often travelling on foot and camping for long periods in remote glens and mountaintops.
The physical legacy of their work—trig points, benchmark stones, and boundary markers—can still be found scattered across the country. Their efforts not only transformed cartography but also helped shape the modern understanding of Scotland’s geography.
Historic hearts of Scotland– Stirling?
Arguments over Scotland’s middle are nothing new. Matthew Paris’s 1247 map sketches a north–south divide that meets at Stirling. Chronicler Hector Boece tells how in 855 the Northumbrian princes Osbrecht and Ælla captured Stirling castle.A bridge was built and crowned it with a crucifix.
Inscribed “Anglos, a Scotis separat, crux ista remotis; Arma hic stant Bruti; stant Scoti hac sub cruce tuti”. (“This cross parts the English from the distant Scots; here stand the arms of Brutus; beneath this cross the Scots stand secure”).
Over the centuries Stirling was hailed as Scotland’s symbolic heart and the strategic brooch clasping Highlands to Lowlands.(en.wikipedia.org)
Is this really the centre?
Modern cartographers deploy mathematics, not Latin.
Ordnance Survey’s 2002 “centre-of-gravity” experiment balanced a cut-out of mainland Scotland and found the pivot five kilometres east of Schiehallion in Perthshire. Include the islands and the point slides to a hillside in Glen Garry above the Pass of Drumochter.
Other contenders dot the map—Gartincaber Tower near Doune, the summit ridge of Ben Lomond and even a peat hag in Glen Quoich that wins the prize for being farthest from salt water. Each claim hinges on what you measure and when you measure it, which is why OS refuses to certify any permanent monument.(en.wikipedia.org)
Myths, Legends, and the Stone’s Strange Reputation
Over the years, the Centre of Scotland Stone has developed its own set of curious local legends.
One of the most striking is the story of a tourist in 2017 who chipped off a piece of the stone as a holiday souvenir. Only for their car battery to die. The passer-by who stopped to help also suffered a breakdown, as did the rescue truck. None of the vehicles reportedly started again until the stolen fragment was returned.
Others believe the site brings good fortune. Two couples who eloped at the stone in 2021 are said to have gone on to have triplets and quadruplets. An earlier tale tells of a couple who paused at the original wall-cross marker for a romantic encounter, resulting in a child who later became a Highland strongman.
And, according to one enduring piece of folklore, anyone who falls asleep on top of the stone will gain the gift of second sight through their dreams.
Falling asleep on it might grant you the gift of prophecy — or just a bruised bum.
wee wild adventures
Whether taken with scepticism or in good fun, these stories add to the stone’s charm and reflect Badenoch’s deep-rooted love of myth, mystery, and storytelling.
How to get there
From Newtonmore cross the level crossing by the station, turn onto the Glen Truim (Phoines Estate) road and follow it uphill for about two kilometres. The road is narrow with sparse passing places; drive slowly and be ready to reverse. The lay-by takes two or three cars. The stone stands on a little island verge. Continue 125 yards west for the Macpherson Monument and a sweeping Spey-valley panorama.
What to expect
No fences, no cafés, no information boards—only the hush of wind through birch, the chatter of meadow pipits and a view that stretches from the River Spey’s silver braid to the hazy blue ribs of the Monadhliath. Allow twenty to thirty minutes, bring a jacket and a flask (there are benches at the Macpherson Cairn). Leave nothing but footprints; mobile signal is patchy, and the nearest loo is back in Newtonmore.
Part of the Cairngorms Story
The Centre of Scotland Stone sits within the Cairngorms National Park — the largest national park in the UK. Known for its wild landscapes, ancient woodlands, and rich cultural heritage. Badenoch, the southern gateway to the park, is a place where stories live in the land.
A symbolic centre in Badenoch Storylands
Whether Glen Truim balances Scotland’s map is almost beside the point. In Badenoch—marketed today as the Storylands—the stone celebrates the region’s talent for weaving history, myth and humour into a narrative that entices travellers off the A9 and into the glen. It is a waypoint for cyclists, a photo-stop for road-trippers and, thanks to its folklore of bad-luck souvenirs and miraculous multiple births, a talking-point in every local pub.
Final Thoughts
Scotland’s Forgotten Centre Stone and Its Strange Legends
The Centre of Scotland Stone might not be officially recognised, and it certainly isn’t easy to fall asleep on, but it’s full of charm, mystery, and Highland humour. With its swirling mix of fact and folklore, from vanished plaques to miraculous births, it’s a brilliant little stop that captures the spirit of Badenoch perfectly.
The views across Glen Truim are simply breathtaking — arguably the most stunning valley in the Highlands — and the silence is worth savouring. Whether you’re here for myths, maps, or just a picnic with a view, this place is well worth the detour.
Scotland’s Forgotten Centre Stone and Its Strange Legends
For more wee wild adventures in Scotland
A Journey to the Stone of Destiny