Thursday, March 5, 2009

Long Meg and her daughters

We often find our guests asking directions to the stone circle which they have heard so much about. Well what they mean is how do they get to see Long Meg and what can we tell them about her.

Long Meg is the main stone within a stone circle which is often talked of as second only to Stonehenge. The circle is 350 ft in diameter and there are reported to be 69 stones although it is often joked that a different number is counted everytime you walk round the circle.

Long Meg herself is nearly 12 ft tall and she is made of Penrith red sandstone. Her daughters are made of rhyolite ( basically a granite).

This web page shows a good aerial photograph.

Over the years there have been many stories about the circle, Wordsworth spoke about it and it is also said that the local landlord tried to dynamite the stones until a really strong storm convinced him otherwise.

It is also worth noting that there were anhydrite mines in the area with tunnels under the stone circle.

To reach the stone circle from Wetheral Cottages it is necessary to cross the Eden and head for Little Salkeld. The road out of the village climbs steeply and shortly you will see a sign post on your left.

The stone circle is also on the Little Salkeld/Glassonby walk which we will write about later

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