Latest Folklore

The site is also known as the Grey Ladies and on moonlit nights folklore says that ’ the stones spin and dance.‘
A Derbyshire Antiquarian writing in the 19th Century told of a farm labourer who while resting at the stones found an old clay pipe. He cleaned it out and began smoking his tobacco. ‘A peculiar and delicious scent’ came from his pipe, he then noticed by one of the stones that the ground had become transparent, and when he gazed into it he saw a beautiful world. More colourful than anything he had seen, with gaily dressed small people.
Fairies are mentioned in many of the local tales of the stones, from fairy dances to the playing of pipes.

homepages.rootsweb.com/~marcie/kernow/austell2.html

A giant travelling one night over Gwallow downs, near Charlestown, was overtaken by a storm that blew his hat off. He immediately ran after it, by having a large staff in his hand, which rather impeded his progress, he pitched it in the ground, until his hat was secured’ but after wandering about for some time in darkness, without being able to find his hat, he gave over the pursuit, and returned to secure his staff, but this, also, he was unable to discover, and they were both irrecoverably lost. When daylight appeared, the hat and staff were both found by the inhabitants, about a mile asunder’ the former lying on the ground, the latter in a perpendicular- position. The hat lay on Whitehouse downs, and bore some resemblance to a mill- stone, very thick, but not of great diameter. This singular stone continued in this place till the autumn of 1798, when some regiments of soldiers being encamped round it, fancied, as it was a wet season, that this giant’s hat was the cause of the rain; so they raised it on its edge and rolled it over the cliff into the sea. His walking staff still remains stuck in the ground near the Charlestown mills, being an enormous pillar of granite, about twelve feet high above ground, commonly called Longstone. It is no less curious than true that the Longstone is a perfectly isolated piece of granite, there being none within miles of the position it has so long occupied.

The nine maiden’s may be based on the norse tradition of the nine other worlds as the location of nine maidens folklore in the area of perthshire and angus are in the same area as hog’s back tomb stones which are of norse origin .

I was taken to this site a couple of times by a now deceased relative as a child & remember having infinite fun sticking my hands through the holes! As Stargazer has mentioned, the local legend is that the Longstone & Tingle Stone uproot themselves & take a trek to nearby Minchinhampton to drink from the spring. Never understood that one myself, but then again why do the people in the nearby village of Avening also celebrate Pig Face Sunday on 14 September each year? Do make your visit coincide with a visit to Avening church at the very least as it remains the only church in England founded by a queen – Matilda, wide of William I.

Henry VIII is rumoured to have stood on this mound to watch for a signal from the Tower of London to announce the beheading of Anne Boleyn.
Apparently this is just a myth as he was in Winchester.

The Romans documented that here at the Hills of Dunipace, there was at least one peace treaty brokered between them and local Celts in the 3rd century. The Roman Emperor, Severus came here in person for this purpose in 210, Severus’s son Caragill may have returned here soon after for more peace talks and the usurper, Carausius brokered another deal in 286. In the past it was thought that the hills were erected to commemorate one, two or all of these treaties.

William Wallace is said to have met with King Robert Bruce here in 1298. Wallace supposedly persuaded the Royal Bruce that he should fight on, in the interests of Scotland and it’s people, and not sell the Scottish crown to England through land deals.

Edward I of England came here on 14 October, 1301 to sign a peace warrant with Scotland in order to appease the French King (who was an ally of the Scots at the time).

Other similar hills in the valley were excavated and were thought to be natural remains of the post glacial beach. On top of one nearby (and less prominent) hill, which was destroyed for road building materials, was found an ancient burial cist with remains. The use of natural features like this, for sacred purpose was also uncovered by the archeos, at nearby Cambusbarron (-at Dunipace, burial continues to this day – the site was Christianised in the 12th century by the erection of a chapel at the foot of the hills, the remains of which can be seen beside the modern cemetery). Thankfully, the hills at Dunipace have been left more or less untampered by the archeos, but it looks pretty much like these hills are mostly natural. However, the almost perfectly flattened top of the SE hill makes me think that it may have been artificially flattened for ceremonial use. The NW hill was badly damaged by flooding in the 16th century so it’s impossible to say if this one had the same flat top.

Arthurian madman/scholar, August Hunt, in his online book, the Road to Avalon, theorises that King Ban and his wife left the Stirling area with his son, the infant Lancelot, and crossed the Carron here at Dunipace.

The area is at the heart of UFO country; The town of Bonnybridge is just a few hundred yards away at the other side of the nearby roundabout.

This is very vague but. The heel/king stone was said to awaken and play the fiddle to the stones in the circle which would turn into Nine Ladies dancing around to his song. What night of the year etc. this happened i have forgotten, someone told me this story a long time ago

Before the Dolmen at Goward Townland was named Pat Kearney’s Big Stone, it was called Finn McCool’s Fingerstone.

Apparently the story goes that the GIANT Finn threw the Cap-Stone playfully from Spelga, which is over the mountains nearly 3 miles away. Finn’s finger’s have left their impression on the cap-stone from when he lifted the beauty.

In the old days there were also tales that Finn thereafter used the chamber beneath as his bed.

Best not to wake him, cause I heard that he was a big lad!!

At midnight, when the moon was full, young maidens would test the fidelity of the men they loved by offering the stone a cake baked from Barley meal and honey wetted with milk. They would then circle the stone three times on their hands and knees, knowing that if their man appeared before they finished their final circuit he would make a faithful husband.

source
explore-gower.co.uk/arthursstone.htm

This is said to be the burial place of 5 kings or chiefs.

A 17th century witch also claimed to have practised witchcraft here.

There have been many ‘fairy’ stories surrounding this site throughout the ages.

A local writer, R. Menzies Fergusson wrote a collection of stories which were first published in 1912, called ‘the Ochil Fairy Tales’. This book contained some tales from his own imagination, and some stories which were adapted from previous local folklore.
One of the stories which he adapted from existing lore went roughly as follows.

Sometime before the union (pre 1707) a man named David Rae ,a farmer from Tullibody fell in love and married a local woman, Janet Cokley.
Janet was vain and flirtatious and gained a reputation in the small village, to David’s dismay.
David met a fairy while working one day, and he confided in the wee guy re. his marital strife. The fairy (named ‘Red Cap’) told him to put a magic stone into her broth which would change her ways. David tried this but Janet found the stone and threw it out the door.
The following Halloween while returning from a party near the hill of Airthey, David met his wee friend again and explained that the stone plan had went to pot. Red Cap told Dave he’d arrange that if Jan didn’t change in the next year, he and his wee pals would escort the dirty whore off to fairyland the following Halloween.
Jan didn’t change and the powers of the local kirk became involved in the whole thing and Jan became ostracised.
The next Halloween, instead of going to one of the local parties, Dave persuaded Jan to go to bed early.
The next morn Jan was gone and Dave discovered that the front door was still barred. Local folk who’d been to parties the night before, told Dave that they’d seen a funny little cloud with Jan on it, moving toward Dumyat Hill (monkey style?!?) and on to the Fairy Knowe.

Fergusson reports that there were actual church records in Stirling and Dunblane proving the existence of Janet, which worries me.
This woman was by all accounts only flirting.

*John, I’m only dancing, she turns me on, but I’m only dancing, she turns me on, don’t get me wrong, I’m only dancin’*

Was it the fairies?,
or the presbytery?
or poor (paranoid, jealous) Dave who arranged for her removal?
Hopefully, for 15th century Jan, it was the fairies.

Fergusson adds that this story has long been a warning to ‘those wives who were tempted to forget their home duties and obedience to their lawful husbands,’ an example of how our lore was used to control and possibly to cover up truths which people didn’t want to tell or hear.

Another story,’Wee Tommie’, tells of a lost child, who was rescued by the fairies and was taken through a secret opening in the side of the mound into a cavern in the knowe where he was looked after by the fairies before being returned safely to his parents.

I’ve added a couple of links for another 2 of Fergusson’s adaptations.

Hawkesdown hillfort is haunted by a warrior and a fire-breathing dog!
Steven Shipp, ‘East Devon hillforts’, Wisht Maen 4: 17-18 (1995)

Be careful when exploring the Chilterns ... a cougar, puma or some other unidentified ABC (alien big cat) is said to prowl around these parts ... something to think about when staggering around the thick woodland Wain Hill in the fading twilight ...

“When Roseberry Topping wears a cap,

Let Cleveland then beware of a clap !”

The stone was said to have been a sacred symbol dedicated to (and/or containing the spirit of ) the pagan sea-god, ‘mannan’ or ‘mannau’, where the stone and the district gets it’s name.
There are 2 suggested original locations for the stone.
The first one is about 600 yds south of the present location at the bottom of Lookabootye brae (see bit about Robert Bruce), at the very edge of the carselands, which were at the edge of the post glacial sea loch which flooded this area about 8000 years ago. Although the stone is certainly not that old, if this is the true location, perhaps the anscestral memories were taken to the neolithic, to when the stone was erected. It is also possible that the surrounding flat lands which were once the sea bed (also originally named after mannan/mannau) were seen as a gift from mannau after the seas receded. This land may also have been prone to tidal flooding in the neolithic.
Another suggested location is on an island nearby on the tidal River Forth, possibly Inch island 2.5 miles away or Tullibody Inch, 3 miles away.

King Robert the Bruce is said to have visited the area in the 12th century, and left a glove, called a mannan, on top of the stone. On return the glove was missing and he ordered a squire to find it telling him, ‘look aboot ye!’ This is a second, less likely and less accepted origin for the stone’s name. The local council’s motto is ‘look aboot ye’ and is emblazoned on some of the litter bins in the area.

Another explanation for the “Heel stone” name is that it comes from “Helios”, as in Sun ... as it marks the rising of the midsummer sun, it sort of makes sense, but you’ll never know ...

The whole glen around here is filled with legend and peopled with ghosts and spirits. Rosslyn Chapel is a mysterious and fascinating place. It has been argued that this is not a Christian site at all, but a temple to Freemasonary. The vaults under the chapel are thought to contain the Holy Grail, fragments of the cross that Christ was apparently crucified on, the ark of the Covenant, the remains of a UFO and scrolls which could throw the whole of Christianity into turmoil (if it isn’t already). The chapel contains carvings of Green Men, American plants (which pre-date the Columbus crossing) and eight dragons at the base of the very famous Apprentice Pillar. These are thought to be eight dragons of Neifelheim which were said to lie at the base of Yggdrasil. Balls of light have been seen moving around the area of the chapel and the ghost of a monk has been seen on many occasions both inside and outside the chapel. Roslin Castle has a ghost dog which haunts and howls here, along with a White Lady. The drawbridge to the castle itself has also been the site of an apparition of a black knight on a black horse which gallops off the drawbridge- legend has it that the hoof prints of the horse can be seen on the vertical rocks upon which the drawbridge has been built- not that we looked- far too steep a drop! We did, however have a strange experience here…another time methinks.

The plaque reads;
‘In which the Royal Standard was last pitched for the muster of the Scottish army on the Borough Muir before the Battle of Flodden, 1513. It long lay in the adjoining field, was then built into the wall near this spot and finally placed here by Sir John Stuart Forbes of Pitsligo, 1852.
Highest and midmost was desiret,
The Royal Banner floating wide,
The staff a pine tree strong and straight,
Pitch’d deeply in a massive stone,
Which still in memory is shown,
Yet bent beneath the Standards weight
Marmion.‘

This standing stone is said to mark the grave of Diarmid, a mythical hero who was associated with Finn MacCool.

Legend has it that Maes Howe is protected by a being called Hogboy.

This was known as ‘Dvergasteinn’ by the Viking raiders who settled on Hoy- the home of dwarfs.

‘According to one local legend, it was said that the area was inhabited by a giant called Etin or Edin. He had three heads and was blamed for the loss of cattle, sheep and people. Many tried to kill him, only to fail miserably. Eventually three brothers attempted to try to kill the giant, but they each decided to try separately. As the first brother left, he gave the others a knife which he said would shine if all was well but would rust if he was in danger. The lad set off and came to the giant’s broch. The giant decided to ask the boy questions about Scottish history- none of which he could answer. The giant then turned the boy to stone. The second brother noticed the knife had rusted and set off to find him. The outcome was the same for him, and he was turned to stone. Then the third brother decided he had to find the other two. On the road, the third lad met a poor old woman, with whom he shared his food. She told him many stories about Scottish history, and from a bag she took out a large bundle which she told the boy to use if he was in danger. When the lad arrived at the broch, the giant pulled him in and before eating him asked him questions about Scottish history. This time the brother was able to answer the questions. The giant, somewhat surprised, was going to kill the boy anyway. But the lad pulled out a double-headed axe from the old woman’s bundle. Bringing it down on the giant, he severed all three heads at once. The two brothers were then restored, as were all the other missing people.‘
From ‘Myth and Magic: Scotland’s Ancient Beliefs and Sacred Places’ by Joyce Miller 2000.

Bronze Age barrows on the down are known as the music barrows, and are traditionally thought to be home of the fairy folk. According to folklore it was possible to hear the fairy revelry if you placed your ear to the barrows at midday.

mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/dorset/dorset7.html

The area is said to be haunted by phantom Roman soldiers seen several times over the years. Traditionally they are said to appear at times of national crisis. They have also been seen at Bindon Hill and Knowle hill.

mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/dorset/dorset7.html

It is thought that King Arthur’s Round Table is buried at Bossiney Mound.

Once a year, at midnight on Midsummer Eve, it is believed that the table rises out of the ground and stands in the moonlight.