Dunning: Pictish History and Dupplin Cross

If you are planning a stay in Dunning, different interests may shape your choice: Pictish history, a Roman earthwork or golf. The relevant points of interest and practical arrangements differ.

St Serf’s Church and the Dupplin Cross

The site of St Serf’s Church was very likely an ecclesiastical centre in the early medieval and Pictish periods. Fragments of Pictish carved stones found in the churchyard and on the church grounds have been dated to the 9th or 10th century AD. The suspected ecclesiastical significance describes the site, while the dating establishes the age of the fragments: these are two distinct clues to the site’s history.

The Dupplin Cross is a Pictish stone inscription from the early 9th century. Its design reveals the close links between the kingdoms of the Picts, the Scots and Northumbria. Compared with the carved stone fragments, which are broadly dated to the 9th or 10th century, the cross is dated more precisely. The Pictish heritage therefore includes both a clearly dated cross and finds with a broader date range.

The earthwork at Kincladie Wood

At Dunning Roman camp 420m NW of Haughend, an earthwork consisting of a ditch and rampart is visible on the ground in Kincladie Wood. The rest can only be seen in oblique aerial photographs. Visibility and access conditions may vary depending on conditions on site. The visible section should therefore not be mistaken for the entire enclosure.

The enclosure measures about 700 metres from east to west and 675 metres along the cross-axis, covering approximately 46.5 hectares. The two axes are similar in length; the area figure gives an idea of the extent of the entire enclosure. The size of the site and the traces visible during a visit on the ground are therefore two distinct aspects.

The site was probably used during one or more campaigns in the 1st or 2nd century AD. Compared with the early 9th-century Dupplin Cross, the earthwork belongs to a much earlier historical period. The heritage described here therefore includes both a Pictish inscription and traces of a camp probably used for military purposes in Roman times.

Visiting the church and cross

Admission to St Serf’s Church and the Dupplin Cross is free. A car park in the village of Dunning is about 25 metres from St Serf’s Church and the Dupplin Cross. The route within the grounds is a separate matter: from the entrance, a level, tarmac path leads 20 metres to the monument at the church and the cross. The two distances are therefore measured from different starting points.

Golf in Dunning

Dunning Golf Club is located in Rollo Park, Dunning, PH2 0RH. Club visitors are asked to call the starter to secure a tee time. As this instruction may change, check it again before your visit. This makes golf a separate reason for a trip, alongside visits focused on history.

Discover more destinations: Braco, Invergowrie, Morenish, Glendevon, Grandtully, Kenmore, Perth, Dunkeld.

For the broader travel overview: Perth And Kinross.