Showing 1-10 of 3,516 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Long Meg is now 12 feet high. Camden said "15" but Mr Robin Collingwood reminds me that this was Camden's conventional figure; when he was in doubt as to an exact statement he put down 15. Various authors, not measuring for themselves, have simply followed him. Hutchinson's 18 feet I take to be a misprint for 15.
Todd, who first reduced the height to 12 feet, mentioned that the stone was hollow at the top, "like a dish or a Roman altar"; and Gough repeated this. What it really is like was found by Mr George Watson, who got a ladder and climbed up to see. He found a V-shaped groove running across the stone in a northerly direction, very broken and jagged, as if it had been struck by lightning. Possibly the stone was thus injured between Camden's time and Todd's - the greater part of a century. Probably, however, Camden overstated the height.
At any rate the stone was not hollowed at the top to serve as an altar, or to make the Danish King's seat less insecure. A reminder to do one's own research, even if it means remembering a ladder. From a report of a meeting of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Society, in the 'Penrith Observer', 26th July 1921.
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Posted by Rhiannon
11th June 2023ce
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Visited 27.02.23
I visited Castlehowe Scar Stone Circle on my way back home from Cornwall. I was disappointed to see a feed ring in the centre of the circle (picture submitted). This is not a recommended conservation option!
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Posted by markj99
5th March 2023ce
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