So I have gathered unto
myself
All the loose ends of Scotland
And by naming them and accepting them,
Loving them and identifying myself with them,
Attempt to express the whole.
Hugh MacDairmid |
|
 |
The Stones of Scotland is a monument by George Wyllie to
commemorate the opening of the new Scottish Parliament building and
was completed in December 2002. It consists of 32 stones arranged
in a circle, each stone representing one of the unitary council
areas of Scotland that were established in 1996. The monument can
be found at the above co-ordinates.
There are three stages to finding this cache:
Stage 1
Find the answers to the following questions. Each answer is a
place in Scotland and you need to find the unitary council area
of Scotland in which each answer is located. A full list of all
32 council areas can be found here.
A) Where the real Macbeth killed Duncan in 1040.
B) Is home to the oldest University in Scotland.
C) Where Robert Burns Died.
D A famous Scottish declaration was signed here in 1320.
E) The Gaelic name for a cave in this region translates as "cave
of melody".
F) Where most of the castle scenes for "Monty Python and The
Holy Grail" were filmed.
G) Is Scotland's deepest Loch.
H) the all time UK record windspeed was recorded here on 1st
January 1992.
J) An ancient settlement that became a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1999.
K) Is home to the oldest sporting trophy in the world, dating
back to 1677.
L) This region has the lowest population of all the council
areas in mainland Scotland.
M) The region's coat of arms shows a red shield bearing three
triple towered castles supported by two leopards.
N) The only Scottish council whose headquarters are based
outside of the council area itself.
P) The scene of many Common Ridings, to commemorate the times
when local men risked their lives in order to protect their town
and people.
Q) The home of Brtain's worst ever poet (though he wasn't born
here).
R) The mass of the Earth was calculated here in 1774!
Stage 2
Go to the Stones of Scotland monument at the above co-ordinates.
Stand at the break in the circle of stones, facing toward the
middle of the circle (and take a minute to enjoy the view!). For
the purposes of this cache, the stone to your immediate left is
numbered 1. The stones are then numbered sequentially around the
circle in a clockwise manner, finally reaching the stone on your
immediate right, which is number 32. Using this system, convert
your answers to the above questions into numbers.
Stage 3
The final cache location is located at:
N 55 (D-J)(N+H).(K+A-L)(Q-G)(E-F)
W 003 (M+A-B)(C-B).(P-R)(F/B)(C-Q)
The final location is somewhere in Edinburgh. Approximately 200
feet west of the cache is the reason for the cache's final location
- walk upto it and admire some more impressive views!
Click to verify coordinates