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Dude wheres my car?

So it's an equinox sunrise your after is it? Have I learned anything about being somewhere far away at sunrise? Yes I have, if you can't be very close to your intended destination the night before then youd best get up early enough to get there in time. So I did, by three am I was passing keele services going south, at six thirty I was on Dartmoor, minutes later I was putting on walking boots in the half dark and thinking I 'd cracked it. With nothing more than a "hm they've changed the parking place a bit" I opened the gate and headed off towards Fernworthy stone circle, but with the intention to ignore it for my intended destination is the pair of circles that is the Greywethers.

I did a spring equinox here fourteen years ago and it turned out really well, so I'm at it again though walking this time not mountain biking.

So, I'm innocently walking up the track when it starts to do unexpected things, then when Fernworthy doesn't appear on my right I know something has gone wrong, then I remember the strangeness of the new parking place and begin to suspect that I didn't park where I thought I did

But what to do? I decide to wing it, immediately take a dead end track, backtrack, wing it some more. See two big deer with big antlers, then get me compass out, clever boy. I am at least heading north, "right" I say to the departed deer "first left turn, I'm taking it".

About now the sun makes its appearance, half a big orange ball makes it's way out of distant smog, damn and blast it, in a clearing I at least get a few good pictures of the sunrise, even not at my destination its always good to see the moment of rising, and not any old sunrise an equinox sunrise, they're better, they just are.

So after the left turn came and was taken the track got close to the edge of the forest, which is where I wanted to go, but doesn't go all the way so I have to carefully pick my way through the thick forest , open moor beckons I can see it just ahead, am I too far south? North? Dare I hope to be just right, just then the developing sunrise kicks me in the back, I am too far north, but not much I can see the circles but they're far off. Tut and sigh, another failed attempt to catch the golden moment in the act.

I make do with the situation, suck it up and strike out across the severely uneven moor towards the stones.

After what seemed like an age I eventually arrived at my destination, that made me happy, the circles were as perfect as ever and I was only twenty minutes late for the rising, its still got some legs in it so I inexpertly set about trying to capture the beauty of being out about early. But in the back of my mind was, where the hell did I leave my car?

After more self berating (sounds fun, but isnt) cloud quickly comes out of the south and the sun disappears, almost for good.

I begin to console myself with the fact that there is a new stone circle west over the hill, the recently rediscovered Sittaford stone circle. I go west, up and over the tor, following the lowest of three walls. Following the lowest of three walls brings me almost magnet like to a slightly leaning standing stone in a gap in the wall, the stones are just twenty yards from the leaning stone.

Sittaford stone circle is caught halfway between being brilliant and being unvisitable, all the stones are lying down, some lie proud of the grass, some are below ground level but cleared in their entirety, four stone shaped water filled muck holes may yet contain stones, if so then I counted twenty seven potential circle stones. That's brilliant!

One assumes the stones once did stand, excavation only found two stone holes, what does that mean, they never finished it? Or what?

Image of Sittaford (Stone Circle) by postman

Sittaford

Stone Circle

Even with no stones still standing this place should still be sought out, its barely a half mile from the Greywethers over Sittaford Tor.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton

It's now time to retrace my steps, as far as the forest anyway, I don't think I could all the way even if I wanted to. On the way back I showed the Greywethers a little fondness and moved towards the dark forest, ready to do battle with the malevolent spirits that make you lose your car.

Dude wheres my car?

The walk back goes by uneventfully, after a right turn at the crosstracks Fernworthy the welcome appears on my left. Familiar ground, always welcoming. The grass has been mowed very short, and some trees have been felled since my last visit, making the whole clearing a lot bigger, I decided to have as good a look round as possible.

First off the track is a short stone row, pointing directly at the stone circle, but perhaps more involved with a vague but recognisable cairn just before the stone circle.

Veering wildly to the right I'm inspecting small stones in a grassy clearing perhaps a cairn, then theres a small stone row connected to the cairn or perhaps the next cairn with half a cist. Then down a grass corridor to another cairn, a grassy bump with two or three kerb stones. Then skirting round the stone circle its north down another grassy corridor to a sweet little double stone row that terminates at another little cairn, with enough stone showing to suspect kerbing or a ruined cist.

Then it's back up the double stone row for a good ole sit down on a nice flat topped stone, of the Fernworthy variety.

It was a refreshing change to be able to see everything a complex has to offer, the northmost cairn was in the trees still last time I came. I wonder how much the grass cutter gets payed, I came across his handiwork later on in the morning too, if it's more than £500 a week I'm submitting my CV. Oh and where is my goddam car?

Leaving Fernworthy with a sense of unease I make my way down hill towards where I thought I'd parked, where I'd parked all the previous times. It wasn't there, I knew it wouldn't be, it still made me cross though. There were a few no parking signs so I was hopeful that all I had to do was follow the road back and I would come across it at the next parking place. So I walked and so it turned out to be, dude theres my car!

I breath a sigh of relief and swear at the new car park, if it wasn't for those meddling do gooders I'd have gotten there in time.

"Oh well" I  jump in and go to see some more stones.

Ah, that's brilliant. Great blog, I really ought to go to Greywethers and Fernworthy one day, the only question will be "Where's my bus stop?", the answer will be "Far, far away".

Ah but you don't mind a long walk. Make sure you have a look at the 2 or 3 settlements, some very good hut circles. Hope your well.

Maybe next year. Yes, I'm okay that you, still getting my money's worth from the NHS while they try to work out if I have a functioning brain :)

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