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Down Tor

Stone Row / Alignment

Fieldnotes

This was my second attempt to witness the summer solstice sunrise at Down Tor, last year my daughter and I camped on a Tor half way between carpark and stone circle/row, but it was raining windy and cloudy so we left it for another time...this time!
Well well well what do you know, despite last nights awsome sunset, I awoke this time to clouds and fog, at least it wasn't raining, so I gave it another go.
The walk to the stones is long and arduous up and down over three rocky tors the last one not so rocky, in good weather a delight to trek over. But this time on the second hill the fog came in really badly and I got turned around and ended up very lost. five in the morning in fog on the moors alone isn't the most happy feeling Iv'e embraced. It wasn't till I stumbled across the cuckoo stone that I realised where I was and with a view to the resrvoir through the fog, I knew which way to go.
Before long the tallest stone could be seen peeping over the low hill, then another and then more, untill my relief must have been obvious even to the small bird that was drawing me on.
Even in the fog this place is cool, the perfect little circle with internal cairn and the stone row, starting of with a whopper of a stone( reset deeper than the original stone hole) but quickly dwindles to knee high stones. I followed the row up to the other cairn, the terminal stone is about 5 ft tall but doesn't go all the way to the cairn, it stops about 50 m away. The pound is still quite well preserved several stones sticking up maybe entrances to huts.
Now it was time to go and find Yellowmead after a long soggy walk back to the car
postman Posted by postman
22nd June 2008ce
Edited 22nd June 2008ce

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