Three Shire Stones (Reconstruction)

This is a reconstruction of a burial chamber, apparently done in 1736. It’s the spot where the historic boundaries of Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire meet – perhaps those boundaries really were centred on whatever these stones used to be: presumably a longbarrow. Now there are 3 blocks of limestone supporting a huge (well, relatively) capstone, but overall the feeling is small and cosy. The monument sits right next to the road – the roman Fosse Way – but it was only on my third drive-by that I actually spotted the thing. It sits nestled back, next to a wall. I sat underneath it for ages, it’s very quiet and protective feeling – perhaps the only original stones are the ones underneath that you can sit on. As usual at such places there was litter everywhere – this despite it being apparently miles out, and not all of it could have blown in from the road. Rather fortunately some of the rubbish was plastic bags, so I collected two whole bagfuls and took them back to the car. People eh. It is bound to be the haunt of pissed teenagers but I wonder what they think they’re sitting under. It’s a strange spot because it doesn’t feel quite authentic and you can’t really tell whether anything is original or not. But it’s different.