[visted 08/07/07] I have been a sucker for any rock art in wessexish ever since I saw a lot up north a few years back. It is however very rare about these parts and so I headed over to see this without high hopes. Sadly I completely failed to find a cup on this otherwise purty little stone. There are a couple of small depressions, but nothing I could positively say had been created by man.
Moving on, this somewhat misnamed stone comes up to about waist height nowadays and reminded me of the West Anstey Longstone. It is an absolute peach of a location overlooking the Bristol Chanel, Wales clearly visible in the distance. Also clearly visible is Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station, or as we like to think, the Pixies Mound. Can't really say about the orientation though as it was re-erected in the 60s.
Access is for the fitish but is all footpaths and would be doable in a wheelchair that could handle reasonably rough ground and steep slopes. Feeling energetic I made it up there in 25 mins, about a third at a slow run, and back down in 15mins, running mostly. Walking would prolly take 30 mins mostly all up hill. The effort to reward ratio is quite high on this one!
The Long Stone is aptly sited on Longstone Hill, on the boundary of Kilve and East Quantoxhead parishes. It's said to be 4ft 8ins 'long', 17" wide, and 8" thick. Grinsell says it lay recumbent for many years before being reerected by the Friends of Quantock in the 60s. He wasn't convinced that it was any older than medieval, but another visitor surveying the stone in the 80s mentioned a possible cup mark on the NE side, angling for a Bronze age date.
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Posted by juamei
Posted by Rhiannon
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