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England
Men GurtaStanding Stone / Menhir
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This amazing monolith's markings give it an almost reptilian quality, scarred through with quartz. Striped, it gave me the impression of a dinosaur. Peaking over the hedgerow as you approach, It is hugely impressive the closer you get. Towering 12 ft above you, it is a wonderful sight and well worth the hike up here. There was no rubbish either, which had been a concern reading other field notes. The gentle swoosh of the wind turbines in the distance got me to thinking what the erectors of this masterly stone would have made of the surroundings 3000 years on. The silence was shattered by the FMJ screaming at the site of a grass snake. I should think it was more bothered at the interuption of it's sunbathing This post appears as part of the weblog entry Jacksprat's Big Old Tour of Mistakes: Cornwall, June 2007
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Posted by jacksprat18th June 2007ce Edited 14th July 2007ce |
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What a lump!..and I love this North Cornwall quartz seamed stone. As someone has allready said it is a shame about the rubbish strewn about the site...and I would guess it is a local landowner judging by the type of rubbish. I waited patiently for the sun to come out from behind the clouds to get some decent photos...not sure if I succeded yet..will look later. Very windy and wet underfoot, I want to return on a drier day! From here it is not far as the crow flies to Pawton Quoit or the Nine Maidens...but legal rights of way are few and far between and I ended up getting in the car and driving to the others. Perhaps on a nicer day I would have persevered and found a route. |
Posted by Mr Hamhead25th February 2007ce |
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Men Gurta Menhir - 30.3.2003 Marked on the OS map (Explorer 106) as ‘Longstone’. Just a few metres from ‘The Saint’s Way’. The stone seems to be known by various names - the info plaque called it the St Breock Downs Longstone and translates it as “Menhyr Gun Sen Brioc”. This is a true stunner. After having seen many of the usual slim, or diamond shaped Cornish menhirs, this is a quartz streaked monstrous slab of rock! I won’t try to describe how to get here as you’ll probably need a map to get it anyway, or you can head for the St Breock wind farm and try to pick up the dead end road that leads up towards it. Lovely views all around, and to the sea. Slight shame that a large rubbishy tip / soon to be bonfire looking thing was close by (complete with small abandoned cement mixer). The small info plaque says “This is a prehistoric standing stone, perhaps of middle to late Bronze Age (2000-600 BC). The stone originally stood in a setting of quartz pebbles associated with a cairn, which was not used for burials. It was originally 4.9 metres high, but was damaged and its height reduced. Weighing an estimated 16.5 tons it is still the heaviest in Cornwall. The monument figures in local folklore as a medieval and later meeting place, and it was later adopted as a St Breock Parish boundary marker”. This post appears as part of the weblog entry Another Kernow Week
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Posted by pure joy6th April 2003ce |
| This is easy to find,it's by the side of the road in the grass.About 13ft tall with quartz lines running through it.Access no problem.There is a descriptive plaque as can be seen in Phil's photo. |
Posted by hamish22nd February 2003ce Edited 22nd February 2003ce |
Miscellaneous |
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| All the great stones in this area have these veins of quartz running through them. I wonder where they came from? |
Posted by hamish 3rd March 2003ce Edited 4th March 2003ce |
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