To the Ancient Scotland Introduction...

Waterhead Standing Stones (The Machar Stones)

A view along the forest ride. The stones are in there - where the sky meets the fallen trees. The terrain makes it more of a challenge to find the stones, but also more satisfying when you finally get there!
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The south face of the southern stone. (Lit by flash)
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The north face of the northern stone. Old records indicate that it was leaning like this before the trees fell on it. Indeed, it was recorded as leaning badly in 1957 before the forest was planted.
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The south face of the southern stone. (Natural light and long exposure, hence the blurring of the tree branches)
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Another view of the southern stone.
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The southern stone from the north east.
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The northern stone in the foreground, with the top of the southern stone behind the fallen trees.
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A closer view of the northern stone with the southern stone behind.
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A wider view of the ride. Both stones are at the centre-left of the picture with fallen trees between them.
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The smaller of the megaliths at Waterhead - about five feet tall.
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The five-foot megalith.
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The five-foot megalith - still standing despite being clobbered by several falling trees.
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The larger stone, leaning and almost buried under fallen trees.
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The five-foot stone.
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The five-foot stone.
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The five-foot stone.
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The five-foot stone and six-foot yardstick.
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Waterhead farm is near Fintry in the Campsie Hills just to the north of Glasgow.
A little way from the farm (over a couple of rivers, through swampy bogs and finally through a forest) in a forestry fire-break, stand two stones.
The shorter one, some five feet in height, is still standing upright despite having been hit by several fallen trees. Six feet away the taller stone, nearly eight feet in length, is leaning severely and almost prostrate. This has also been hit by falling trees, but is described as being almost recumbant before the forest was planted.
At one time these stones must have had a commanding view, situated as they are on a hillock in the middle of a moor. However, as they are now surrounded by 20 and 30 foot trees, the view is somewhat limited these days.
The almost-recumbant stone is decorated with several cup marks, although these are quite hard to see as they are on the lower face and hidden by remains of falling trees.