Cringle Park Stone Circle.
2015-ongoing
A few moments from where I live
the place of countless perfunctory park laps
on working from home days
distractedly circling the familiar playground
tennis and basketball courts
and the stone circle
head full of work, worries
always scheming, getting a few steps in.
I made an inquiry
on the Friends of Cringle Park Facebook page
about the origins of this stone circle.
Different bits of information gather
park life memories, personal histories, stone circle ambiguities
Levy henge! Modern myth.
Seems like
it’s a copy of the Burlington Earth Clock in Vermont
by an organisation called Circles for Peace
who build Megalithic Stone Circles
to aid inner healing and world peace.
Google takes me to the bio of one their founding members –
Avalonia Moonstone. Priestess of Avalon.
Bridging the magic of Avalon to the ones who are awakening
although she herself came in awake
a galactic, adventurous, entrepreneurial soul
truly blessed with many natural and psychic gifts
a passionate dancer, writer, traveller, poet, mystic, singer and healer
a living embodiment of all she holds sacred
Avalonia creates magic out of raw organic materials
embracing her passions fully
Avalonia walks in balance and follows her heart.
I contemplate my career and life choices.
Who else could I be?
Nine Ladies Stone Circle.
24.02.24
The Stones Project's
first collective research fieldtrip
we walk together to our destination
four women and special guest Steve
arriving at Nine Ladies
via an established path
and an English Heritage information sign
quite a few people mulling around
teenage girl with family says ‘Is that it?! It’s pathetic!’
We split up but stay close
creating a space shared for our own quiet contemplation
prowling, observing, note-taking,
photographing, filming, clay pressing.
The stones are cold, smooth and scarred.
Remnants of a fire in the centre of the circle
tree-tied wishing ribbons and amulets
memorial candles and
rain-protected photos in plastic wallets.
Someone asks us what we’re doing
we say that we’re academic researchers with
interests in ancient stones.
They offer some insights.
Bamford Moor Stone Circle.
04.04.2024
Ascending from Bamford train station
alone and glad to be
walking at a pace
up onto the moor
scampering around to bad signal google maps
searching for the stone circle
in the mud, heather and drizzle.
Finding it is a gentle high
it’s smaller than I imagined
just me here, magic
birdsong, faint distant traffic
I circle it, photograph it, take some clay pressings
Then, resting on one of the cold, quiet stones
I crinkle open a packet of crisps.
Hordron Edge Stone Circle
13.04.2024
Weekend walking ascent
past Ladybower Reservoir
up top
with Jack
Hordron Edge Stone Circle
sits on a mowed moorland edge path
spacious with big open views
It’s pissing it down
warm earthy smell.
Our sandwiches sog
rain on my camera lens mystifies photos
clay slips in my hands.
The smallest of the stones
precious, gorgeous
lively, continuous
is embellished with pale turquoise, lilac and
copper-coloured endolith.
Templebryan Stone Circle.
18.08.24
Fieldnotes:
Near the roadside
Spotted driving by on the way to Drombeg
Turn around and go back, park up
On private land by the looks
No clear or welcoming entrance to the site
We admire it from afar, wonder if we can get closer, size up ways to get in
We decide to walk up the lane and knock on a cottage door close by
Wellies on the step
No answer just a tiny yappy dog
Back down the lane
Leg-up for mother over the cement black mid-height wall
Her hip is bad and I notice this in her walk, wasn’t like that last time I saw her
A slight side to side waddle to contemplate the lull hurt
Into the overgrown stone circle field
Uneven ground, matted brambles at the fields edges then clumpy grass
We pass a small mudded trodden pathway through the bushes by the roadside
That would’ve made for an easier entry point
At first I think the stone circle looks more modern than others?
Shapely standing stones with deep linear textures
Lively with yellow lichen
A small quartz stone in the middle
Amongst tufty grass
No information sign here
This stone circle is tucked in at the side of a field close to the main road behind the hedgerow
with cottages scattered up the hill and a few across the road
The weather is mild
I take some photos and clay pressings
The clay I’ve brought is different to the one I’ve used before
More puffy and lightweight and bright, bright white, it doesn’t feel as good but it’s what I have for the trip.
On the way back to the car
A man from one of the houses over the road waves and comes over to chat to us
Our worries of trespassing swiftly fade as he tells us of
Coachloads of Swedes arriving every year “wailing and dancing”
The man tells us of a tunnel that ran underground from the stone circle up to a small chapel on the hill.
This collapsed many years ago.
A connection between two worlds or world orders? The ancient world and Christianity.
He tells of an fairy fort nearby that is unusually square shaped – a place not to be disturbed as would bring bad luck.
Drombeg, South West Ireland.
18.08.24
Follow signs from the main road up a narrow lane ascent
High up, a small, busy carpark cuts into the hillside
Scandi blonde family with a fancy van
Well-kept summer hedgerows along the short path to the site
The tidy trimmed path leads to a gate then things open up
With the stone circle ahead, an information sign to the right, and an expanse of fields down to the sea and big black rocks to the left. Stunning. Is this the Atlantic sea? What are we looking out to? TBC.
People mooching around
In groups and pairs
“These are holy stones – be respectful!”
“Make a wish!”
Sunny and warm breeze
We sit on the bank to the right of the stone circle and survey the scene
Salmon, butter, soda bread, peanuts and tea-bread.
A women takes off her anorak, puts it over one of the smaller stones and sits on it
Like a canteen chair
An young woman with long blonde hair, short shorts and an athletic frame heads to the middle of the stone circle for a photo shoot
Lots of photos being taken
On i-phones and cameras with big lenses.
I observe people waiting for moments of the stone circle being empty
And then pouncing to take photos
We are all here sharing the stone circle but there is a practice of wanting it solitary or to ourselves in the photos being taken. The photographic sense of solitude. This is interesting to watch.
Popular tourist site.
Summer bushes of yellow flower, pink flower (check photos and confirm).
We walk down to the remnants of a small stone house close by, there is a sign that explain the speculated ways of life of it’s original dwellers.
Then we move to the stone circle
Taking photos, a few clay pressings, touch the stones, moving amongst them, looking out to the distant sea
A flat topped stone is covered in offerings and amulets
Looks like someone has just emptied out their pockets
Colourful, shiny, eclectic
A broken key
An unused plaster in its packet
A full ketchup sachet
A 20 euro note!
Lots of coins
Flowers (some woven)
Driftwood
Is this ritual about leaving something? Does it matter what you leave? Some offerings seem more like litter. Does somebody man this stone? Is it cleared periodically? Does the wind scatter offerings across the landscape?
Keakill, South West Ireland.
19.08.24
On the way back from night at Gougane Barra
The weather is bleak, high winds and sideways, relentless rain
Past half built houses – the celtic tiger crash of 2008 when Ireland had to be bailed out by Europe
Ascending up a small windy lane
Parking on in a tight spot beside a mountainous drop
One other car parked up
Two men go through the gate
Whilst two women wait
A sign to the stone circle creaks and rotates in the wind on it’s wonky post
We give it a minute then head into the field
Boggy boggy land
Cowpats splat
I pull my mac down over the side of my face against the slapping rain
Filming my slopping footsteps across the soggy terrain
We notice a big solid creamy bull watching us from the entrance to the next field
With no gate to separate us
Mum is nervous
That’s why the women waited!
Hasty moments and documentation follow
We’re here now
But that bull!
A stone circle
With two large standing stones
And a small ground level stone circle
The stones are sturdy, solid, still amidst the wild weather
Sloppy squelch
Misty vistas but can feel we’re high up with the land spreading outwards
Mucky hands and hasty retreats
Back in the car
The rain smacks against the windows
A bit of adrenalin
Brief but intense visit
I feel like this site is a goodun’ and hope I’ll be back to explore it more
But know I probably won’t anytime soon, if at all. Hold onto this time.
Knocknakilla, South West Ireland.
19.08.24
Heading further west? TBC
To get there – across an incredible road that stretches between the mountains with expansive views below
The Blackwater Way – come back to walk here?
Carpark below, fir tree forest behind
No one else here
Short boggy path ascent
The stone circle is surrounded by a waste high wire fence with wooden posts
A few amulets and offerings woven into the fence by the entrance
Late afternoon, great light, the rain has stopped and the wind has slowed right down
More sheltered here tucked into the valley
With view opening up below
Tidier plot
Some standing stones, others have fallen
Small circle of stones to the side
Ring marks
Long Meg and Her Daughters, The Lake District.
02.09.24
Up from little Salked on the River Eden
Uphill ascent with heavy rucksacks for the week ahead
Bit of drizzle
Taxi from the train station was a bit steep
Our the same-but-different anoraks rustle as we move in between the stones
First thermos
The stone circle is big in diameter! Biggest I’ve seen.
A small quiet road intercepts the circle
A big oak tree and a few other trees by the roadside
It dries up and it is very still
Different birdsong
Not sure what birds but I count five variations
Drizzle on the ascent then
Stillness and not wind, the rain ceases at the stone circle
No wind in the big oak tree
Us and one other paid – a woman and a man with a bushy long white beard speaking in German
A country road cuts through
We circle the inner circle
Counting the stones
69 stones, no, 66 stones – later we read about the stones being uncountable
And the stone circle being 120 metres on it’s long axis
Guidebook says
A coven of witches turned to stone
Or
Long Meg’s lovers – if shattered would run with blood.
Long Meg is 12 foot high in red sandstone and stands apart from the stone circle
Watching, guarding, protector, outsider
I think of childless and promiscuous women who stand outside of circles too.
Distant train
Rhythmic farming equipment from nearby farm – sawing, a tractor. Agricultural land.
A distant train.
Cows or bullocks gather in the next field
A cow mounts another cow and one of them loudly moos
I stand still and listen deeply, starting with my rustling anorak, panning out to the stones, then onwards across the field
I hear the bullocks stomping tribally and continuously ripping grass from the ground
This sound pulls me down to the earth
I imagine the close up sounds of the grass being ripped, like the yanks of a bikini wax
Disturbing the worms and bugs below
I dwell on the stones and for the first time try to imagine the hidden parts of them underground
Under the same ground that the bulls pull from
How deep to they go?
How lively are they with worms and bugs, damp in the rich soil nutrified with young bullock poop
Tribal bullock stomping
The sounds of druids dancing
The sun rising.
Continuous and lively.
Music in the landscape. Love it when the deep listening reveals something.