Nine Maidens of Boskednan Stone Circle View all content for Nine Maidens of Boskednan

I have by now forgotten how long I've been going out stone hunting, but way back at the beginning before the kids were born we came to Lands end, but I decided it was a stone too far for my diabetic wife. The next two trips down here it was too far for my small children, but this is the day when it all comes together. Today we went to the Scilly isles, first stone up the road from Penzance was Lanyon quoit, that's a good one, then we parked in the Men an Tol car park and Eric and me left Phil in the car and went for a walk. All those years ago if someone had said you wont be going to that stone circle until your as yet unborn son is 13 I'd have laughed and come back down the week after just to prove him wildly wrong, but there you go, people who don't exist know the future. We noted the entrance on to the moor where the holey stone is, I didn't mention it to Eric at the time but I intend to quickly call in on the way back. Then Men Scryfa goes by on our left, I fight off the urge to go over, I haven't seen it since my first time, pre kids, so we carry on. The track bends to the right and we follow it on up the hill, I thought we'd have been able to see it by now, surely when we get to the top of the hill we will be able to, and so it is. The top of the hill has a small standing stone standing just proud of the bracken on it, I decide to have a quick look at it on the way back. But from here the nine maidens are clearly visible maybe a hundred yards away, onwards. Eric stops to answer natures call and momentarily loses his phone, but I am blissfully unaware of this because I am at the stones and they are blowing me away, I am alone in brilliant sunshine at a stone circle that it seems I can only get to once in a blue moon, bugger where is that boy I can't see him at all, that's never a heart warming feeling. Then he just pops up out of the heather and mozies on over, all unhurried like. I'm kind of glad that I didn't come before the re-erection of stone/stones, i'm sure the impact would have been lessened if more stones were lying down. Whilst maybe half of the stones have gone the circle is still complete, no quarter is left stoneless. Sweetcheat says this is his favorite site of all, I never really got that, I cant quite put my finger on my favorite site, but being here right now, I can see why he likes it. The stones are tall and made of a fine kinda stone, the barrow on the edge reminds me of Arbor low, the cut off outlier reminds me of Mithcells fold's outlier. I suddenly feel connected with vastly disparate places all around the island, i'm feeling giddy like I did when I got to the ring of Brodgar. The sun is beginning to set, and we're bathed in glorious golden light, but then someone else turns up at the stone circle coming from the direction of the mine whose name I may not mention. We're sharing the stones with a couple now, it's proving impossible to photograph the stones without getting a fat old man in them, then his slim wife points out the full moon just risen in the east. Then my phone alarm goes off, it's a reminder that today is the day of a blue moon, that's two full moons in the same month. It shouldn't have the impact on me that it did, it's a simple occurrence, but it blows me away, you should literally imagine an explosion with me at its epicenter, leaving only a stunned and smiling shell. It's taken maybe 18 years to come here, and not only am I here, i'm here with my son at a very decent stone circle on a beautiful day at sunset and with a full moon rising and it's blue. This is why I do this.

Posted by postman 5th August 2015ce

Comments (2)
I'm in bits, I've actually got tears in my eyes reading that, soft git that I am. "This is why I do this" - yes, yes, yes. When the doubters scratch their heads and look bemused, how do you convey this feeling to them? I never have adequate words.	Posted by thesweetcheat 5th August 2015ce
Silence and a knowing smile is all I give the doubters.	Posted by postman 5th August 2015ce
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