A decade of The Modern Antiquarian

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thesweetcheat T
thesweetcheat Jul 13, 2009 00:17:15
Replying to StoneGloves

My girfriend and I visited Arbor Low on the first holiday we had together (1997) - that was what got me hooked. I got the pocket-sized Burl softback stone circles book in the fab Bakewell bookshop, but when we went back the next year for a week around my birthday in November 1998, my g/f brought along a surprise present - TMA! She had lugged it from York on train and bus to get it to the Peak District for my birthday, so I've no idea what shop it came from, but it's been treasured ever since. [I had heard about the book as I had been buying Julian's records since "St Julian" and was massive fan anyway, plus I was just starting my own stone circle obsession, so she couldn't have picked a better pressie!].

I've never taken the book "out", but did manage to cram it into a crappy black and white photcopier prior to our first West Penwith holiday in 1999, so Julian introduced me to Boskednan, Merry Maidens, Tregeseal and Bowscawen-Un, plus all the quoits, etc. He also got me to Blakey Topping, Mitchell's Fold and others.

Since then we've moved to the Cotswolds, where a whole new section of the book was waiting for me. Although there are better "regional" books (I'm thinking Cornwall mainly), TMA is still the only one with a comprehensive national coverage of all different types of site, plus colour pics and excellent essays.

I started looking at the website a couple of years ago, but a bereavement followed by a month ill off work over Christmas/January this year finally got me around to posting stuff. I now use the website to plan trips out and about as often as I can - so much to see, so little time to see it all!

M megadread
megadread Jul 13, 2009 00:27:43
Replying to thesweetcheat

The gazeteer is good i admit but i tend to trawl the net for up to date info rather than rely on the book.
I'm not "dissing" it in any way, as i said i'd never part with mine but it's the quirkiness i find fascinating, comments like "bitten on leg here," that see through top worn by Dorian and the hilarity of Julian ending up in the ditch whilst visiting Barbrook 1, i mean, the parking site for Barbrook is large enough as it is but across the road is a massive layby used by truckers that's almost always empty, how the fuck he managed to get in a tangle parking there is beyond me. : )