The first time I went, I wondered, on the way up to it, how on earth anyone could have possibly balanced the stones so perfecttly on top of each other like that! Upon further inspection, it became clear that the stones were naturally weathered, as were all of the big boulders in the vicinity!

On more than one visit, the wind has blown so hard it's been difficult to remain upright. This, combined with the heavy rains, create the wonderful, natural shapes that make it such a popular place to visit.

The weathering caused by the rain swirling down over the rocks over the centuries do cut some amazing grooves and gullies... Have you been to Carn Brea, near Redruth? There's an amazing stone there - can't remember it's name for now - something like the Giant's Seat or summat - is an incredible work of natural art!

These "cupmarks" you mention - are they fairly deep and uniform? If so, it could have been what I believe is known as the Jubilee Stone (or similar. I really should have researched this before replying!) It was bored in order to house gunpowder which was then ignited to commemorate some monarch's Jubilee (Victoria?) It's said that they are pitched to play the national anthem in bangs if ignited in the right order. Yeah, right! :D

Nice story tho. ;)

I hope Mr Hamhead or someone can come by and iron out my poorly researched information here! :D Maybe I should have waited till I was in front of my computer so I could have looked stuff up.

G x