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A carved standing stone with roundel and interlace patterns stands in a grassy field on the Ross and Cromarty coast.
Easter Ross

Hilton of Cadboll Stone

A full-size replica of one of the great Pictish cross-slabs, standing where the original stood by a medieval chapel above the sea at Hilton of Cadboll.

Welcome

In a field above the sea at Hilton of Cadboll stands a tall slab of pale stone, carved from top to bottom.

It is a replica, set up in 2000 where the original stood for nearly nine hundred years beside a little medieval chapel, of which only turf-covered footings remain.

The original was raised in about 800 AD and is one of the masterpieces of Pictish art. Its great panel shows a hunt, riders and hounds in full cry, and at the centre, unusually, a woman on horseback. Around it runs a border of intricate knotwork and strange beasts. In 1676 the slab was cut off at its base and reused as a gravestone; today the original is in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The replica shows how it must once have looked against the sky. Stop in the lay-by, then walk down to see the carving up close.

Before you go

The chapel site and the replica stone are open all year and free.

Stop in the lay-by as you near Hilton; a short walk leads down from the viewpoint to the stone.

Where
Hilton of Cadboll, on the Easter Ross coast.
Open
All year, free.
The original
In the National Museum of Scotland.

Did you know

Carved horses and riders decorate a Pictish-style standing stone on the Ross and Cromarty coast.
Did you know

A woman at the centre.

The hunting scene is unusual for having a woman in the central position.

Roundels, interlace and figure carvings decorate a Pictish-style standing stone on the Ross and Cromarty coast.
Did you know

Reused as a gravestone.

In 1676 the slab was cut off at ground level and reworked as a grave marker.

Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Easter Ross

The real Hilton of Cadboll Stone, carved around 800, is in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. A full-size copy by the local sculptor Barry Grove now stands where it was found, beside the grassy footings of a little medieval chapel above the sea. Its great panel shows a hunt, with riders and hounds, and in the middle a woman on horseback, a rare sight in Pictish art. Knotwork and curious beasts run all round the border. The lower part of the original was dug up on this spot in 2001. Stop in the lay-by and walk down.

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Where it is

At Hilton of Cadboll on the Tarbat peninsula, off the B9165, with a lay-by and a short walk down to the stone.

Close byThe Seaboard villages.
  1. Rocky shoreline curves towards a coastal village beneath low hillsHilton of CadbollUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. Mermaid of the NorthMermaid of the NorthA ten-foot bronze mermaid sitting on a rock on the shore at Balintore, one of the Seaboard villages, her tail under water at high tide.Under a mile 3 min by road
  3. Balintore InnBalintore InnUnder a mile 3 min by road
  4. Grassy coastal path curving above a rocky shoreline under grey skiesCadboll PointThe shore path beyond the village.2 miles 8 min by road
  5. Shandwick StoneShandwick StoneAnother great cross-slab, in its glass case down the coast.2 miles 7 min by road
  6. Whitewashed church with bell tower behind a graveyard and stone wallTarbat Discovery CentreThe Pictish monastery at Portmahomack.7 miles 17 min by road
Directions
Dune grass frames a curved sandy beach with scattered coastal housesAttractionsShandwick Beach1.6 miles
Timber-clad barn buildings with covered walkway and coloured flags along the rooflineShoppingAnta1.7 miles
Ruined stone church with bell tower surrounded by weathered gravestonesAttractionsFearn Abbey3.0 miles
White single-storey building with "Inver Inn" lettering under a dark skyRestaurantsInver Inn6.8 miles
Whitewashed houses overlook a sandy beach with people walking along the shoreAttractionsPortmahomack7.1 miles
Weathered standing stone against a sandstone wall behind green railingsAttractionsArdjachie Stone8.3 miles
Ornate lamppost beside a gravel path leading to a stone churchAttractionsTain Museum8.3 miles
Restaurant tables laid with cutlery beside large windows overlooking the streetRestaurantsGreens Restaurant8.3 miles
Sandstone station building with blue "Platform 1904" sign above the entranceRestaurantsPlatform 18648.5 miles
The Daily for 20 October, from Scotland with love. The broken stone walls of a lochside castle rise from a small tree-covered island, autumn foliage glowing orange against the dark water and forested hillside beyond.

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the stone, and when each is next free.

A grand stone mansion glows with lit windows at dusk, bare autumn branches framing the facade.Links House at Royal Dornoch
  • To stay
  • In Dornoch
  • 9 miles from Hilton of Cadboll
Check datesCulbin Edge, Inverness-shireCulbin Edge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Brodie
  • 13 miles from Hilton of Cadboll
Free 9–11 NovA curved cabin clad in overlapping wooden shingles stands on gravel among wildflowers, arched windows and a door along one side.Boath Cabin
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Nairn
  • 13 miles from Hilton of Cadboll
Free 20–22 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in Easter RossAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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