After a walk up from Broadhaven to see the Upper Lodge Stones, we carried on along the road in the hope of getting to see this rather less overgrown monolith.
It's clearly visible over the hedge on the approach, but sadly is right in someone's back garden, so permission to view is a must here. We knocked on the door but no-one was in and in view of the setting, we didn't try a sneak. Shame, but there you go. Looks like a very fine stone, someone is lucky to have that as a garden feature!
Disappointment aside, it's a great, if rather unusual position for a standing stone. Not many of the standing stones in this part of Pembrokeshire are set on cliff tops. The sea fills the western vista and no doubt there are some spectacular sunsets from here. We watched the sunset over Ramsey Island later on the same evening, quite lovely.
I visited this stone on the 25/04/2006 and noticed that the house and the land on which the stone stands are up for sale. Lets hope the new owners are as understanding as the previous ones.
Visited 17th April 2003: The Harold Stone is on private land, with no public right of access. Having said that, I've never been made to feel so welcome visiting a site on someone else's land before. To cap it all, this stone is in the back garden of a bungalow. The couple who own the bungalow have got used to people visiting the stone, and they have a very easy going attitude to the wide variety of beliefs held by those who come. They told us numerous stories about people visiting the stone, including archaeologists, coach parties of tourists, Ley Line hunters and stone hugging Pagans. After we'd seen the stone we were invited in for a cup of tea in their kitchen while the boys slept in the car.
Apart from the warm reception, it was a warm and sunny day, and I was very pleased to see the Stone. It's a striking lump of rock, almost white with lichen, except for the upper surface which is green with beautiful hairy lichen. Before she left us to look at the stone on our own, the lady who lives at the bungalow pointed out some distinct fluting at the base of the stone. She has been told that the fluting may have been carved into the stone by the people who put it up to ease the process of fixing it into the ground.
The stone is up above the sea cliff, apparently visible from the coastal footpath that runs between the garden and the cliff edge. There are beautiful views from the garden out into St. Bride's Bay, but the gentleman who owns the bungalow told me the weather can be a problem because the plot is so exposed (something we talked about for a while because I live on top of a mountain, and we had numerous anecdotes to swap). What a pleasant visit! We'll definitely be going back as soon as we get the opportunity.
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