Hilton of Cadboll Chapel

At the north end of the village of Hilton, near Tain, a fenced enclosure holds the turf-covered footings of a simple medieval chapel, probably within an old burial ground. The site is famous for the Pictish cross-slab of about AD 800 that stood here, one of the finest pieces of early medieval sculpture in Scotland. Its central panel shows a hunting scene with a woman riding side-saddle, wearing a large brooch, a mirror and comb beside her, with horsemen and hounds chasing deer, and women are very rarely shown in Pictish carving. In 1676 its cross face was defaced and recut as a grave slab for Alexander Duff and his three wives, and the slab was later moved to Invergordon Castle and in 1921 given to what is now the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Since 2000 a full-size replica by the sculptor Barry Grove has stood on the site. Reviewers say the replica is the highlight; park in the village streets.