Today’s visit to this truly hidden (partial) stone circle was a complete surprise. A friend had asked me along on day trip to the Dorset coast via Corfe Castle then along to Studland for a walk to ‘Old Harry’. How could I refuse? While plotting the route to Studland my friend had noticed a stone circle marked on the OS map about 2/3 miles from Corfe Castle on the road to Studland, so we thought we’d have a go at finding it – as a bonus to all the other delights of the trip.
After initially missing the pull-in we turned round, stopping at a small parking area opposite Rempstone Hall; a gate into a wood and a bridlepath sign pointing to Nine Barrow Down is what to look out for. Going through the gate we turned right into a small wood which was a mixture of deciduous trees and plantation pines. The pine needles under our feet made our footfall silent – all rather lovely.
The stone circle was hard to find – we passed one solitary dark red sandstone before we eventually found what is really the remains of a stone circle, now just a semi-circle. Approximately eight stones plus the solitary stone as you enter the wood; the circle stones were covered in moss and being dark reddish brown in colour were well camouflaged amid the pine trees.
Later in the day, we went into the Heritage Centre in Swanage where I learnt that the Rempstone Stone Circle had been erected in the Bronze Age 4,000 years ago by the Beaker people and built with Studland sandstone.
Seems to be an atmospheric place. Cheers, reminds me of Binghill up here (its in slightly better condition, emphasis on slightly).