Moving Mountains

On Friday I was given permission to enter Tillyfourrie quarry because a machine operator would be there for a few days, who could supervise my visit. As you can imagine there are enormous health and safety considerations.
After arriving I followed the sound of the machine to the top of the quarry where Gordon the operator was clawing away at the hillside with the arm of an enormous Cat machine. From this vantage point it was possible to see the tip of Bennachie in the distance.
He stopped and accompanied me while I selected two stones - which was more difficult than it might sound as many of the stones of suitable dimension had seams and cracks running through , some of which had been opened when the stone was blasted from the hillside. He used the digger to flip several stones to enable me to check all the faces for indicators of flaws, which was extremely helpful.
Gordon has accompanied many artists round this and other local quarries, including John Maine who worked on Place of Origin : a landscape art project connected to the quarry at Kemnay, which I understand spanned 10 years.

Having worked in these quarries about 30 years Gordon is extremely familiar with the site, and the wildlife which have found these environments ideal, pointing out the nest site of the resident peregrine falcon high on the face of the quarry bowl, which was not too happy about human intruders, and a beautiful trail of frogspawn in a mineral rich pool on the quarry floor.