treehugger-uk

After driving back from Mayburgh henge one fine summers day I was on the M6 heading south and had a sudden urge to look to the left of me for some mother hills to pass the time as I took the long drive back to Blackpool. To my surprise I saw this strange stone circle in a field to my left.

Not knowing what it was I logged on as soon as I got home, and discovered it to be Gunnerkeld, which I’d never heard of before.

One week later I was at Gunnerkeld, and what a beautiful place it is. Even the bustle of the M6 couldn’t spoil it for me. This is a truly remarkable place. There is a huge boulder that seems to be made from pure crystal, situated directly opposite the entrance to the circle. There seem to be three circles here in all, a mound in the middle and two concentric outer ones. The place itself definately has an ambience. I got a sense of overwhelming sadness here and I’m sure the place was crying out to me about the indignity of the M6. This truly is a sacred place. The farmer seems to care about it too, but alas the M6 is here to stay. A nice touch was the numerous people who beeped their horns at us knowing where we were and acknowledging our presence here.
Directions

As always I’m submitting precise directions to make your journey easier. Don’t forget to ask the farmer’s permission first. So far we’ve found all the Cumbrian farmers friendly.

From Shap follow the A6 north towards Penrith. Around half a mile north of Shap take a right turn. Follow this road passing over one half of the M6 and under the other half. Take the next left and then left again down a farm track about a third of a mile later. The track leads down to Gunnerwell Farm it also worth noting that if you go south through shap towards junction 39 of the M6 you’ll see a railway line at the end of the village. Towards the left keep looking, and poor old Kemp Howe appears.

This is a very strange place indeed. Most of the stones in the circle have been split in two, possibly an attempt at clearing the stones but 5 stones still survive in the Circle this thing is so big it has 3 Grid Refs!
I visited this site three days ago and its still playing on my mind and im not entirely sure why?

Directions:
Take the road from Warton to Yealand Conyers village. On your left hand side as you drive through the village you will come to a lane called ‘Peters Lane’ (or it could have been St Peters Lane – I can’t remember now and I was driving so I couldn’t take notes!). Signposts are pointing this way to Leighton Hall. It’s probably best here to approach by foot.

On the first bend of the road take the hill up where there is a large wooden gate and a signpost just behind the wall. Follow the sign pointing to Leighton Hall. Basically it is very easy from here (I know you’ve probably heard that a thousand times). In the field behind the gate you’ll see a rocky outcrop at the top of the hill. Go to the summit of this hill/field and over the other side at the top you will be greeted by the Summerhouse/cairn itself.

Well, there’s not a lot I can say that the previous post didn’t say. This place is beautiful, peaceful but has an eerie sense about it too. The ambience and views are amazing. Me and the young lady in the photos aren’t very well prepared when we go to these sites, and like the challenge of finding somewhere. We always find it half the thrill, but we honestly thought this one had eluded us. We had travelled the way to Wennington Road for half an hour but couldn’t find the site at first (obviously we suceeded in the end!).

Here’re the best directions for finding Tatham Hill. Coming from Wray village towards Wennington follow the double bend in the road. Just after the bend you will see a cattle crossing sign on your right and a little further to the left you will see an extremely large brownstone farmhouse and a small bridge in the middle of the road (it just looks like 2 walls either side as the road passes over a small stream). Just past the bridge you will see a metal gate on your right with a gravel path this leads to another gate and leads you directly to the hill. You can just make out the banks on top from the side of the road. Enjoy this beautiful site in good old Lancashire :)