Images

Image of Bunkerhill Plantation (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Hob

A good indication of how long it’s been standing up.

Image credit: IH
Image of Bunkerhill Plantation (Standing Stone / Menhir) by Hob

Nice view of the Cheviot from this stone.
Many panels of rock art visible from here, and what looks like a prehistoric track, still slightly discernable under the modern landscape, though not really visible on this pic.
It’s a fairly straight track, and if extrapolated, would end up pretty much on the horizon, in the middle of this image.

Image credit: IH

Articles

Bunkerhill Plantation

According to the RSM, this is a 0.7m tall stone, roughly square in section, with grooves on the top, with modern graffitti on the SE side.

A charter of 1238 refers to the stone as ‘The great standing stone on the height’. It’s always seemed odd to me that a stone described as such could be the same one that’s also described as being 70cm tall. There are titchy standing stones in Northumberland, but they rarely get described as ‘great’. The discrepancy here is presumably due to a data entry error or somesuch, as the stone at Bunkerhill looks more like 1.7m tall rather than 0.7m. So still not great in terms of size, but a nice stone nonetheless.

It’s just inside a patch of trees on a very exposed hill with a fantastic view of Hunterheugh, Beanley Moor and Cheviot.

The remains of a tatty old wooden fence, (the kind that normally gets put up to protect stones from being used as rubbing posts) has luckily protected the stone from the top of a fallen pine tree whacking into it.

It’s a fair hike from the entrance to Hulne Park, and permission should be sought before visiting, as access to the northern tracks in the park is restricted.

Sites within 20km of Bunkerhill Plantation