A friend and I visited this area number of years ago. It was a cold muddy January day in 2005. We did take a few photos but they're not digital. We had visited several other sites that day including the Merry Maidens, the well at Madron and Men-an-Tol, but this really was the highlight.
We had driven down from Glastonbury the night before. I was still healing from a broken ankle the previous summer so the walking was a bit treacherous, with all the holes in the surrounding fields hidden by small clumps of growth. After a bit of effort, we were able to find this stone circle and also walking by what appeared to be a miniature version of it! Nice to hear it is more accessible now, but the mystery of it and its hidden quality was part of its appeal. It reminded me of an ancient sundial, with its large center stone resting at an angle.
In 2002 I wrote a poem about this place, before having visited it, that won the Morris Cup in the Gorseth Kernow. I was asked to read it on the radio via BBC Cornwall--the announcer said I had captured the place very well, considering…I do hope to go back again…
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I lived nearby in the village for three weeks in January 1993 (house and cat-sitting). Hiked up the hill to the clumps every day, and walked for miles through the woods and fields of winter barley. This is an extraordinary area! Even on damp wet days. That year January saw roses in the Abbey and forsythia in gardens; it had been a wet autumn apparently. I took a lot of photographs (35 mm) and I will try to scan them in and post them at some point...
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This is indeed a lovely spot. It was one of the stopping points on a brief tour of the area at the Ancient Sacred Landscapes Network conference in summer 2000. Nice to see that even though there were clearly solstice campers coming through the area, the Smithy site was relatively free of trash (not so Avebury or the orchards at Glastonbury, sadly...)
I hope to hike all or part ofthe Rideway track this summer when I visit, and will certainly be spending time in this location; White Horse Hill and environs is my favorite place on earth.
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this is my favorite spot in England; something about the surrounding countryside viewed from the top of White Horse Hill; the trees and meadows take on a timeless quality. Sounds silly but I feel a part of something there. Looking down towards Long Compton on a clear day...magic. I love the walk along the Ridgeway to Waylands' Smithy too.
I recently got the white horse tattooed on my back. :)
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there will be an interesting event there at summer solstice and for a few days afterwards: Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies will be performed in the stones. It will be nice to have a play there since last year's production of Cymbeline with Mark Rylance (ooh la la) was cancelled due to foot and mouth and other problems...
I have not been to the Rollrights (or England) since Samhain 2000 and am looking forward to coming this summer for the ASLaN conference and other events...
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I have travelled to the UK frequently and enjoy visiting sacred sites. My favorite so far is Boscawen-Un,a nd Lands End in general. I have also visited Glastonbury and the Rollrights, Avebury and northern Wales numerous times.
I'm a writer, singer, teacher and lover of nature.
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