I have been drawn to visit a number of Stone Circles recently including Castelrigg, Arbor Low, Nine Ladies and Avebury.

Nine Ladies Stone Circle is located on Stanton Moornear Youlgreave in Derbyshire. The site is managed by Englsih Heritage. I’ve provided a link below. It’s surrounded by Woodland including Silver Birch Trees. It’s possible to do some short walks including the stone circle. The land you pass through varies from heather moorland to spase woodland. I found the site to be relaxing and energising. There is a tenth stone 30-40 yards away. The rumor is that it was a man who turned the ladies to stone because they were dancing on the Sabbath day.

I have visited Castlerigg Stone Circle a number of times. It’s located in a large field not far from Keswick in The Lake District. On this occasion I came on the evening of the Summer Solstice. The energy was more intense than usual and there were still people drumming and enjoying the energies of the day.

Avebury

I visited Avebury Stone Circle last month and also had the chance to visit the Museum and the Manor House and Gardens. I was pleased to see that you could not only touch the items in the museum (apart from a few exceptions) you could also try om the costumes to see how they would look on you (as can be seen in the picture below.) The dresses made for girls weighed a surprising amount. From there I visited Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow. I was impressed by the scale of West Kennet Long Barrow. It stands out on the hillside. It is cool in barrow and you can get a sense of the world the creators must have lived in. I had hoped to see the white horse but I couldn’t see it from any of the ridges I was walking on. It will have to wait for another day.

Arbor Low

Arbor Low is a Neolithic henge monument atmospherically set amid high moorland . Nearby is enigmatic Gib Hill, a large burial mound. It is sometimes referred to as the Stone Henge of the Peak District. It is surrounded by beatiful countryside and commands great views of Derbyshire scenery. Gib Hill, a large burial mound, lies two hundred yards south-west. The barrow consists of one mound on top of another. It is a Neolithic oval barrow with an Early Bronze Age round barrow superimposed at one end (Wiki). In 1824 William Bateman excavated the site. Findings included a flint and an item that was probably a polished stone axe. “The earlier long barrow was made of clay mixed in layers with charcoal and cremated human bones” (Derbyshire Heritage). In 1848 Thomas Bateman excavated the site. He found flints and oxen bones. When the work was nearly complete a stone cist crashed through the roof of his tunnel. It was reerected in the grounds of Lomberdale House but has since been relocated to it’s original site.