Summer Solstice is a
well-honoured tradition in many cultures and the quintessential image for most
is Stonehenge.
Experts reckon there are 77
stones of heavily weathered local oolitic limestone, which were poetically
described by William Stukeley as being “corroded like worm eaten wood, by the
harsh Jaws of Time”, which made “a very noble, rustic, sight, and strike an odd
terror upon the spectators”. Although I’m a circle
aficionado, I was particularly taken by the Whispering Knights, a group of
stones huddled conspiratorially together in a nearby field.
Temple Wood
But there are so many other
stone circles, and over the past twelve months, I’ve been adding some to my
collection. My first experience was some years ago, when we took a trip to the
spectacular Ales Stenar, a megalithic monument in Skåne in southern Sweden (pictured above). The
59 boulders form the outline of an oval stone ship, eerily stranded on a treeless
headland. We were there in May, and dozens of skylarks fluted above us in a
dazzling, blue sky. Our daughter, Lauren, was under two and enjoyed the trip
from the comfort of the kiddie backpack.
My recent fascination was
revived by another family trip, this time to Avebury late spring last year,
where we spent a happy afternoon stalking around the mysterious stones against
the backdrop of pale yellow fields and blue skies worthy of an Eric Ravilious
landscape. I wonder if subconsciously his painting Runway Perspective somehow inspired the story ...
A few weeks later, I had the
good fortune to take a trip to see the ancient stones and monuments of Kilmartin
Glen in Argyllshire with my daughter, Lauren, a History of Art graduate who has
developed an interest in all things medieval.
Our favourite site was Temple
Wood, an intriguing stone circle in a magical place even if your name doesn’t
have Celtic origins. It simply begged to be written about, and I hope I’m
forgiven for changing the name to Ivy Cross in my latest short story, Midsummer Glen.
Well and truly hooked, we headed
yet further north to Aberdeenshire, which is littered with prehistoric stones.
The Easter Aquhorthies not only had the coolest name, but the most mystic
circle, with its nine stones, eight of granite and one of distinctive red
jasper.
And just last month, after being
inspired by a wacky episode in season three of the BBC’s Father Brown series
which is filmed not far from here, I realised there was a stone circle within a
40-minute drive. Off we headed to the infamous Rollright Stones. It is an
atmospheric ancient site located on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border and consists
of three main elements, The Kings Men stone circle, the King Stone, and the
Whispering Knights. They say if you go round the circle, counting the stones,
and try again, you never get the same number. We tried and I have to agree.
Where next? I still haven’t got
to Stonehenge yet, but the Hebrides beckon.
Captions: Ales Stenar, photo by Anders
Lagerås
Avebury
Easter Aquorthies
Rollright Stones
Midsummer Glen is now free on
Smashwords. It is book three of a seasonal quartet. Book one is A Walk in the Park, while book two is Last Spring. Look out for the final book, Equinox, due in September.
By Pamela Kelt
By Pamela Kelt
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