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Stone Circle
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Having tried and failed miserably to find White Hag from Oddendale last year (my excuse being it lay just beyond the coverage of my OL5 map), another predictably 'dodgy' Cumbrian day gave rise to another attempt last week.
This time I decided to start from the minor road leading south from the little village of Crosby Ravensworth, parking the car a little north-west of Holme Bridge, near Town Head. A bridleway leads roughly south-west from here known as 'Slack Randy', for some reason or other, starting as tarmac but soon becoming gravel, then grass.
The wind was up and the mist was a'swirling, but, upon taking a left hand fork, the route heads towards and then alongside the sanctuary of a large drystone wall. This eventually swings sharply away to the left, the path continuing in more or less the same line to pass right by the circle. Being a bit of a wimp when it comes to mist 'n' moors I took a bearing here just to make sure. Better safe than sorry......... the result being success!
Lying between the limestone scars of Wicker Street and White Hag, the circle is set in a wonderfully wild location - to be honest in the middle of nowhere - several trees gamely attempting to relieve the harshness of the moor with their spartan profiles, but not achieving a great deal, it has to be said. A large glacial erratic lies a little to the south (ish), not to mention a brace of nearby cairns, with other cairns prominent upon the distant hilltops. The circle stones themselves are pretty substantial, but low-lying and thus lacking the visual drama and haunting profiles possessed by other moorland circles. Nevertheless the vibe here is superb, the peace total, disturbances none. Couldn't really ask for more. Well, a bit of sun, perhaps?
On the way back it's also well worth checking out a settlement site near Ewe Locks. Not sure of the ancestry of the place, but several good hut circles are in evidence. Nice one.
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Posted by GLADMAN
28th October 2009ce
Edited 28th October 2009ce
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