Part 6a- Off to Scotland!
So. The cottage is booked, we are all agreed the time is NOW, James the Cat is driving, Flannel can't come because of work (boo), the chinese checkers board is packed, I have planned day trips, road trips and written down directions to various obscure sites (thanks TMA) and we are OFF TO SCOTLAND.
30th of January 2010 we woke at an impossibly early time to drive from sunny Wolverhampton to Aberdeen via Castlerigg. The sun shining for us we have never been so blessed! Snow capped hills and a deserted Castlerigg made for a glorious visit and a intermission break in a long drive and WOW what a place! Ideally Zoe Fox and myself would have spent the entire day there waiting for the sun to go down but the boys were impatient and there was one hell of a drive ahead... Onward Ho!
Holly Cottage is a little dream of a place with no neighbours and wonderful views. Most importantly it had the best kitchen so Zoe can bake to her hearts content and we can all go home a few pounds heavier (mmmmmmmmm choclate drops). We plan a quiet evening, some chinese checkers, and early night and an easy day tomorrow visiting Dunnotar Castle and having a look around beautiful Stonehaven. Lovely.
Monday 1st Feb will mark the REAL start to the adventure. On the list for today; Cullerie even though I wasn't hopeful that this gravelled little site would blow me away! Sunhoney which was actually the main reason we came to this part of the country, Midmar Kirk to be my first experience of a Christianised site, Cothiemuir Wood which I had heard good things about and finally the giant stones at Old Keig. Quite a day really considering its not easy for me to get the troops moving. They need to drink more tea and fuss about. By the time they were all dressed I had loaded the dishwasher, made packed lunches and loaded the car... honestly you would think I was travelling with children! I checked everyone had their wellies only to discover James the Cat hadn't brought any (Its Anglesey all over again) and we set off for the day.
Cullerie is easy enough to find as its labled on the map and to be honest it was really quite beautiful when its covered in snow! No gravel, although the snow had been walked on quite a bit! we had a moment to reflect and the sun came out for us while we watched the farmer in the next field try to herd his slightly confused and cold looking sheep.
Off to find Sunhoney, shouldn't be hard... Except we are still peering at signs (flying past at James the Cat speeds) when we are suddenly at Midmar Church! Well, suppose we could visit there first as we somehow bypassed Sunhoney. A lovely site! Untouched snow and sunshine we have a lovely cup of hot chocolate and a bikkie before having a good circumambulation and a nice look around the church grounds. James and Zoe find some impressively long icicles and proceed to have a sword fight and off we go back the way we came to try to find Sunhoney.
I get the feeling that the owners of Sunhoney farm would be happier if there wasn't an ancient stone monument on their property. We did spot the sign second time round but only because I remembered reading that it was a small farm sign and no other indication. Martin had read about Sunhoney years ago and was quite excited about his trip, so the sorry looking overgrown circle that greeted us was quite a disappointment. Still, the recumbent is a beast of a stone and they all have a "warm glow" about them which I found quite appealing. As we left, a rather unhappy looking farmer came out of the house to frown at us... ah well!
Lunch break at a rather nice little tea shop and we cant believe what great time we are making. Still, its about 2pm when we get started towards Cothiemuir Wood and the day it already starting to get a bit dull. Thank God for the burial ground else I'm not sure we would have found the place! I rather like the idea and I dont feel that this modern addition detracts from the site at all. The snow on the road up to the car park was an easy 2 feet deep and we were all thankful for the snow tyres and some good driving from James.
What a magical site! Surrounded by trees and snow the area had not had many visitors and felt untouched. Zoe vanished into the woods to pretend she is a pixie and James promptly started hugging stones while we took photos. Eventually it all descended into farce and a snowball fight ensued! We all quickly headed back to the car as the light began to fade for a quick hot chocolate in the hope we can still find Old Keig before it gets to dark. I have the vague idea which way we are heading but Martin refuses to believe me. "But TMA says this way, I wrote it down", "I'm sure I saw something this way, its over here"... on we go in the direction Martin made up! Eventually James decides to ignore him and listen to me and we turn around. At the crest of the hill I see something in the trees, "its down there on the left at the bottom of the trees". Nobody believes me... but I know! So I head off towards the fence, looks like a bank, Zoe and Martin run up no problem and get over the fence but I'm quite a bit heavier than these bunch and I SINK up to my waist! Funny. Everyone is laughing but not a soul comes to help me. Luckily, Zoe promptly falls over face-first and James reaslises his shoes are stuck, so I'm no longer the only soggy one. I go running off down the hill and STILL nobody believes that its there. Half way down the hill with 3 feet of snow and the light fading fast, Martin thinks we should turn around and Zoe has been rolling around so much that she is soaked through and shaking. But I KNOW its here! I can feel it. Just wait. A few more steps and THERE IT IS! A wonderful silent beast hiding from general view and how beautiful and untouched it is! We circumambulate we play in the snow like children and manage to get back to the car just as the last bit of light falls out of the day.
And what a day it has been :)
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Part 5- Avebury
We appear to have the taste for it now! To avoid the problems we had at Arbor Low (see Part 4), on the 7th January 2010 we opted for a circle you will definitely be able to see above the snow... Avebury it is then. We kidnap Little Danny and head south on another glorious sunny winters day. Only one wrong turn and there we are!
I've only passed through here once before and Little Danny has no idea where we are taking him (we do this to him a lot) so the SIZE of these things is quite staggering! How the hell do you circumambulate something this size? We have a policy of walking around everything (clockwise of course) before entering the circle/ quoit/ cairn/ etc, but you have actually entered Avebury circle before parking the car! I wasn't happy. Its against my policies. I havn't paid it the respect it deserves! Martin and LD calm me down enough for me to circumambulate the main bit behind the pub and start heading off to West Kennet Avenue. I was in a bit of a strop, but still enjoying the knee deep snow and the fact that LD was lacking a coat and suitable footwear.
West Kennet Avenue has the best "feel" to any place I have visited. The blue skies and snowy ground made it seem magical. We all felt very connected somehow, and the experience was made better by the complete absence of any other visitors. Some of the stones in this area are simply huge and I felt privileged to have these wonderful monuments so close to home. Completing the walk along WKA and then the clockwise tour around Avebury, we all felt warm dispite the January chill. Just enough time to get to West Kennet Long Barrow and have a good view of Silsbury Hill before the sun sets.
By now poor LD is freezing to death and we are all pretty hungry, so the walk up the hill to WKLB is more of a run up the hill. Well worth it for the setting sun snapshots and the pink hue that blessed Silsbury Hill. Wonderful. Another damn good day out, just a bit gutted I didnt make it to the Devils Den.
Maybe next time... :)
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Part 4- Nine Stones Close
It wasn't snowing in Wolverhampton on the 3rd of January 2010. In fact, the sun was shining and it seemed like a bloody good day for a road trip. Arbor Low and beyond, jotting down the directions for Nine Stone Close, Doll Tor and the Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor, we headed northwards on practically deserted roads!
In the distance... snow. The closer we got, the more snow there was and finally, near Ashborne, there were cars in ditches and lots of grumpy looking people stood at the roadside because their cars couldn't get any further! Well, a bit of snow wasnt going to stop me and Super Ralf (thats the name of my car), we have driven through the Alps in a blizzard, a bit of British weather is NOTHING! Ah, but Arbor Low is flat. Could we find it?? Could we hell! Could we even get up the road to it? Not a chance. The snow was above the tops of my wellies and eventually we gave it up (we will come again, we will check the weather first)!
Right onwards to Nine Stones Close we know the way and apparently you cant miss Robin Hoods Stride, so off we go! ALL the way to the end of the road. SO where was it? About turn and you're right, you cant miss it if you're facing the right way and you're looking up instead of concentrating on not ending up in a ditch. Park the car and start the hike up the hill in 3 feet of snow with the winter sunshine blazing. Past a holed stone on the other side of a little brook; an old gate post? On we go and there it is! Nine Stones Close is beautiful with snow and blue skies as a backdrop it remains one of my favourite visits to an ancient monument (even with all the cows looking most upset that we walked on their snow).
So, Doll Tor and Nine Ladies of Stanton Moor, but its already 3.30pm and the light will be fading soon. I'm looking for the Andle Stone, I've seen the photographs and it looks exactly like the turtle out of Neverending Story... can I find it. Not at all, and without it I have no idea which little patch of woodland Doll Tor is hiding in (we will come again, we will get better directions).
Onto the moor and its already getting dark. Thank God for those little signpost things so we knew we were heading in the right direction. We still had no idea how long it would take to get there and neither of us fancied being lost on the moors in the dark without a torch. Pick up the pace a little, then break into a trot, I sent Martin ahead around the next corner with my fingers crossed, 'cuz if its not there then we have to head back and a day out to see 4 monuments would have been a cold day out to see one! YAY its there, just enough time for a quick circumambulation and then a very quick walk back to the car with the last of the light.
All in all, a good day! We didn't end up in a ditch and now we have an excuse to come back in a few weeks time :)
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Part 3- New Years Day on Anglesey!
An impressive hangover and a 6am wake-up call to start 2010! I had (once again) spent an impressive amount of time on the TMA/ Google Earth application deciding which ones to visit. The plan; The large standing stones Bryn Gwyn, along the coast to Barclodiad-y-Gawres, up to Penrhosfeilw, Presaddfed, Mein Hirion, Lligwy and home (completing a lovely circumambulation of the island too!)
Well, we obviously woke up late after an evening of didge, drums and poi like the hippies we are. So it was decided that one of the sites would have to be eliminated, so we lost Penrhosfeilw as its most "out the way" and we could spend longer at the other places in the restricted daylight window!
Sure wernt disappointed with Bryn Gwyn! What beasts they are! Appart from the somewhat worrying cow stampede and the fact that it was a cow pat bog in places (some of us remembered wellies, some had a day of soggy feet) its a wonderful site and the stones are huge.
On we went to along the coast with the sun still shining to Barclodiad-y-Gawres, only to find it crawling with visitors and closed for the winter! Ah well, had a peep inside thanks to someone elses torch and continued with our journey as the weather changed on us. Presaddfed in the rain, James the Cat got a piggy back to save his shoes and we all had a good laugh at the bit of wood that is in there to get crushed into a million splinters should the capstone ever collapse!
On to Mein Hirion, in the wrong direction and in a blizzard. Intreresting trying to find somewhere when there are NO SIGNS and you think youre going north but youre actually travelling east... but eventually found ourselves in the correct town, then through the town, then out of the town, no stones in sight. A quick U-turn and a brief argument then back through the town. Finally see the fabled local info sign in the carpark and get a rough idea of the direction of the stones, but the light is fading fast and we might not be able to get to Lligwy if we take too long here, so we guess and go chargin up the hill! One party member goes down in a cow pat, another sinks way past the tops of his trainers, and Zoe refuses to clamber over the wall so only 2 of 5 make it to the stones. Oh what stones they are! A reddening sky behind and the amazing views in every direction, these beauties stand strong and proud and were my highlight for the day! Worth the trip if you havn't already been!
Quickly in the fading light we headed northwards to Lligwy and found that no photos could do this monster justice! What a capstone! Does anyone even have an estimate on the weight of this beast. I clambered inside only to have my first ever attack of claustrophobia and clamber back out again! I have no idea how James the Cat managed to sit in there and play the didge, I would have been terrified of hitting the wrong note and causing a collapse!
Anyway, the dark had come! We had quite a long drive ahead and it had started to snow again. Homeward Bound (with a mochaccino to help us on our way)
:)
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Part 2- Devils Ring and Finger
Well, everyone knows there really isn't much to see in the West Midlands (apart from grassy lumps) and being stationed in Wolverhampton means quite a drive to EVERYTHING. Now that my Google Earth application is up and running, I decide to see if I can find anything about an hour away thats actually worth the petrol and find Devil's Ring and Finger near Market Drayton. BRILLIANT!
21.12.09 and the M6 is blocked. Something about widening lanes or extra stopping places or wasting money so the journey takes 2 hours instead and its getting dark. I have some instructions from TMA and get to Mucklestone only to spend twilight driving round in circles and swearing at my stearing wheel. Apparently I read the instructions WRONG because its not even in Mucklestone! I end up (by default, no kind of divine intervention) in Norton in Hales and ask someone if they would possibly know where to find the Devil's Rind and Finger... HE DOES!!! Great directions get us to the farm, but where do we go from here??? I few good knocks on the door and a bit of hanging around (getting darker!!) and the dear old dear points us in the right direction.
Fabulous.
Its apparently not where it was originally and is propped up against a fence near a small woodland. Its a shame really, but I found it much more impressive than Men an Tol (I could actually squeeze myself through this one rather than spectate my skinny friends climbing through!). Worth the journey if you're in the area. I have put instructions on the correct page so you can find your way there!
And then it was Christmas, so no stones for a few weeks...
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Hey Ho, here we go...
Geology graduate who grew up in the (barren) West Midlands, did some travelling and then ended up back in sunny Wolverhampton (mostly by default). Got some fab friends who like rocks as much as I do, so we spend lots of our freetime in country roads arguing over dodgy directions to another stone monument.
I'm as interested in the theories behind this stuff as anything else and think that most people are thinking too small. The positioning and alignment of most (if not all) burrows, megaliths, monoliths, bumps, dips and circles show an understanding of energy that we no longer possess. But thats all a bit too deep to get into on here. These trips are pilgrimages for me, in the same way as people visit churches or Mecca (silly modern religions)
I'm a holistic therapist living with the love of my life, Martin, and a lizard named Stan. I LOVE food as long as it never had a face, I'm rather partial to red wine and I'm happy to be alive and able to walk freely through moor, hill and vale finding sacred sites to "power up" and get me through.
Thats about it really...
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