Girdle Stanes & Loupin Stanes Stone Circle View all content for Girdle Stanes & Loupin Stanes

We took this trip because Littlestone wanted to take some books down to the Samye Linge Tibetan Monastery. I checked for what was in the area as far stone circles were concerned and came up with the Girdle/Loupin stone circles. We stayed at Marilyn’s Motel in Eskdalemuir which consisted of two wooden buildings decorated in Tibetan style and very comfortable, though we were slightly squashed in the smaller building. Samye Ling was a mile and a half down the road, and a place to visit just for the joyous (and slightly over decorated temple) and also a vision of ‘wedding cake’ stupas. The landscape of hills, valleys and rivers is marred to a certain degree by industrialised forestry and yet the beauty of it all is captured as one drives along the lanes round here. The stone circles are easy enough to get to (and only about a mile from Marilyn’s) that is if you do not have a weak ankle! But glorious when you do get to them. Situated close to the White Esk river which burbles quietly over a shallow bed. This river in fact took the other half of the Girdle Stanes as it moved over the landscape through the centuries. The story is that perhaps half the Girdle Stanes were taken by the river after which the Loupin Stanes were erected, there is supposedly a stone row joining the two circles, rather uneven, but it could also be interpreted as station stones along the way. We are going back to this area, the Girdle stone circle is very serene. As a matter of interest there is a prehistoric trail to take; three Iron Age forts to climb, and of course the circles and a settlement. Castle O'er looks good. http://www.langholmwalks.co.uk/pht/sitelist.html A Victorian interpretation! https://archive.org/stream/langholmasitwashhysl#page/n37/mode/2up

Posted by moss 23rd June 2018ce

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