Maiden Stone

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

Historic Scotland names no parking: the stone is near Chapel of Garioch, 4.5 miles north west of Inverurie off the A96. A small surfaced car park sits beside the stone, which reviewers describe as easy, with the stone a few steps away; no official charge or free statement exists, so the status is recorded as unknown.

Driving pin: the car park, 48 m east-south-east of Historic Scotland's own pin; a short footway leads to the stone. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only.

About

The Maiden Stone stands beside the Garioch road near Chapel of Garioch, below Bennachie: a three-metre cross-slab of pinkish granite carved some time after AD 700 and one of the grandest pieces of Pictish sculpture in north-east Scotland. On the cross face, a man stands between two sea monsters, perhaps Jonah and the whales, above a ring-headed cross with interlace, key pattern and knotwork. The other face carries four panels: a centaur and other animals, a notched rectangle with a Z-rod, a Pictish beast, and a mirror and comb. Legend says the laird of Balquhain's daughter bet a stranger she could bake bread before he built a road to the top of Bennachie; he was the Devil, and as she fled he turned her to stone. The stone is boxed in against frost from about mid-October to April, so visit in summer to see the carvings; a small car park is beside it.

Check today’s timesSee all times

Maiden StoneCovered for the winter from about mid-October to April; the stone is boxed in against frost and cannot be seen

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'The stone can be viewed during the summer months, from around April to mid-October. It is covered over winter to protect it from frost damage and cold weather. The cover may be put in place slightly earlier or later depending on weather conditions.' On 20 October 2026 the stone is likely to be under its winter cover until about April 2027, though the roadside plot stays open.

A short path from the car park to the stone, which stands in a small grass plot by the road with an information panel. No toilets or other facilities. Visitors can join Historic Scotland's Monument Monitor project by photographing the stone.

Photo: The Maiden Stone's carved face with its Pictish symbols, standing in a grass plot beside the Garioch road under an autumn blue sky. Ralph Greig, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maiden_Stone_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7647516.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.