May Craig

May Craig is a small rocky island off the Aberdeenshire coast in north-east Scotland. It lies less than a kilometre south of Newtonhill and about a mile and a half north-east of Muchalls village. A separate islet with the same name sits three miles further up the coast. The land behind the island holds traces of early settlement. Pictish people once built megalithic monuments along the old trackway called the Causey Mounth. Two stone circles, Old Bourtreebush and Aquhorthies, still stand among the fields. Nearby historic houses include Elsick House, Gillybrands and Muchalls Castle. Visitors walk the quiet shoreline paths and see the island’s low cliffs and tidal rocks. The view stretches along the North Sea coast towards the hills of the Mounth. The stone circles lie close to farm tracks and can be reached on foot. The area feels remote despite its closeness to villages.