Two months without a trip. I must be slipping! Not that haven’t been out and about of course, just nothing really of note.
I have been dithering about whether to head to Portugal or Malta next. Egypt whetted my appetite to see more ancient stuff and, although there are for sure prehistoric sites to be seen in Portugal, the temples in Malta are spectacularly old - apparently predating the pyramids and Stonehenge (although of course Stonehenge was a johnny-come-lately stone circle, built as the fad spread down from Scotland). Anyway, Malta it is I think.
Now as I start to look at possible dates to go, I find I have painted myself into a temporal corner. It seems that I have just enough pre-booked gigs and other appointments spread out over the next few months that getting away for a week or so may prove challenging. Not the worst problem to have, I would be the first to admit, but irksome none the less.
Still, all is not lost. There is a whole country’s worth of short trips out there to explore. Added to that it is Autumn, which is my favourite season and one in which I like to spend as much time as possible out in nature - partly because of the exceptional quality of light, partly for the changing colours, and of course ‘shroom spotting. For the first time there is absolutely nothing stopping me from fully savouring the season.
I figure that I can combine some nice, secluded walks in the country with a desire to visit some ancient sites. Since my energetic education in Sedona, I’m quite keen to do some more dowsing around these sites too. Now the village of Birchover in Derbyshire has a high concentration of both natural beauty and stone circles in the vicinity, so seems like an ideal combi-outing.
It will also give me an opportunity to try out an app called Hiiker recommended by my brother. It seems to combine elements of AllTrails and OS Maps, so could be an ideal single app to replace those. Selecting a nice figure of eight route covering Stanton Moor and Robin Hood Stride, I head to Birchover and park up in one of the spaces by the Druid Inn.
I strike out around Eagle Tor and across the hills and fields to Elton. It is a beautiful day and there is no one else about (at least for the first hour or so). Ideal.
There are plenty of livestock about though. As friends will know, I had a run in with some sheep whilst out walking some months back. Entering a field which was full of sheep, I had expected them to part before me as is the natural order. Not so much. About 80-100 of them converged on me from all across the field, led by a very fat and aggressive ram (yes, at that point I noticed that the field had both rams and ewes and it was also lambing season so I guess they felt particularly protective). All I could think at the time was that being trampled by sheep would be a particularly embarrassing way to go. I wondered whether, if I gave the lambs a wide berth, I might get away with it, which I largely did other than for evil stares and a sizing up from devil ram.
Anyway, over the next few months it became apparent that herbivores generally - sheep, cows, deer - have no fear of me, and completely refuse to be spooked and run away, as is right and proper. So much so that I figured I must either be non-threatening to the point of emasculation or I am a reincarnation of St. Francis.
And so it turned out to be today : complete indifference from almost every critter I passed. The only exceptions were a sheep which wandered into my path and headed towards me in a fashion that suggested that it wanted to see who would back down first and move out of the way (me obviously) and a cow which started moving towards me. I had the distinct impression that it was going to lick me. But then it was a warm day and I had done some strenuous walking. It was probably sensing the prospect of a salty snack.
And so onward to the curiously named Nine Stones Close. Curious because there are only 4 stones and not really any sign that there were ever more. Although the layout suggests that there probably were.
Time for a little dowsing. I have no idea what the dowsing rods are picking up (I’m assuming energy of some kind), but I am definitely getting interested in learning some more. The results seem pretty consistent, and largely independent of who is dowsing - which greatly surprised the sceptics on the tour that I attended in Sedona. Further investigation is required I think.
In this case, there was a single line running through the stone circle in this direction:
Now I’m surprised that I missed this circle last time I was out this way as it is not far from Robin Hood Stride - a large rock outcropping, so named as Robin Hood is reputed to have enjoyed leaping from rock to rock here. I had to look this up as I had assumed that it was just some cultural appropriation by Derbyshire!
From there a brief detour to look for and completely fail to find the Hermit’s Cave. Strike one for Hiiker! Maybe next time…
The trail then heads back to the pinch point of the figure of 8. As I approach the Druid Inn again, I briefly flirt with the idea of heading up to Rowter Rocks on the hill behind the pub. This is an interesting place which has been built to look like a druidic ceremonial site, but was in fact constructed by the local parson, Thomas Eyre, about 3 centuries ago. Of course there is nothing to say that Thomas didn’t have some interesting hobbies…
Still, I have been to Rowter Rocks a number of times. Time is moving on and I have other missions today. Meh, I move on past and up the hill towards Stanton Moor.
Now first stop on this leg of the walk is the Doll Tor stone circle. This is not on the route that Hiiker is monitoring and it tells me so in no uncertain terms. At least the off-route functionality works.
This is a beautiful, small stone circle tucked away inside a wood and not easy to find. As I head down the hill towards it, I pass a couple who I assume have just come from it. The guy asks me if that’s where I am heading. When I answer in the affirmative, he gives me a knowing smile and just says “Sweeeeet”. Yes, this stone circle is strictly for connoisseurs. I could tell you how to get there, but those in the know like the fact that it is secluded. It is on the maps, I will leave it as an exercise to the reader!
As luck would have it, I have it all to myself today. As usual there are signs of offerings (including a jaw bone) and I notice that off to the side someone has left a photograph of an old couple. I assume it is someone’s deceased relatives and is quite a poignant reminder that some people still view these places as sacred.
Out come the dowsing rods and my goodness, this is a lively place. I circumnavigate the circle (clockwise of course as is the form with such things) and establish that there are two leys crossing within the circle. I wander into the centre and the dowsing rods go crazy. This place has some juice! I definitely need to learn more about this to understand the particularly weird motions inside the circle. From my Sedona expedition I learned that the famed Sedona Vortices are just places where ley lines cross and the energy begins to rotate and I guess that is what we have here. Has a really positive vibe to it and a lot more accessible than Arizona!
My business with Doll Tor concluded. I head up to Stanton Moor. I’m not following the prescribed route any more, but just want revisit Nine Ladies Stone circle and see if I can find a spot that Ethan and myself found earlier in the year. Stanton Moor has a number of stone circles, but most are either very small, covered or in disrepair. Nine Ladies is the best known one and usually quite busy (oh how I love it when the schools go back!).
Enroute I pass the Cork Stone and the old quarry
And quite apart from there being plenty to see, Stanton Moor is just a beautiful spot.
What I am looking for is a small mound. A few months ago Ethan and myself both dowsed in the vicinity of this and established that there were 4 points around the mound where we got hits with the dowsing rods - indicating two lines crossing and presumably a vortex and so I wanted to go back and see if I got the same effect. Which of course I did.
The mound doesn’t look entirely natural, so I assume it was put there to mark the spot. Perhaps someone is buried under it..? I don’t imagine that this is the sort of spot that would attract an excavation.
Mission accomplished, it is time to head back to to the car. I had done something aggravating to my knee earlier in the day and, rather than stop at the half way point, had foolishly carried on walking and now it was beginning to make me wince. By the time I had completed the steep descent back down to the Druid Inn, the pain was excruciating. Ah well, I’m sure it will sort itself out.
Just time before leaving Birchover to get a “You ain’t from around here are you boy?” glare from one of the locals on his way for a Friday night pint at the Druid, as I was sat changing footwear. Gotta love small villages.
I definitely now have the urge to do more autumnal wandering (at least once the knee pain eases up). I have a few days booked in Monmouth in October. This is partly because I have fancied visiting the Brecon Beacons for a while and this looks like a good base. There are also sections of the Offa’s Dyke trail in the vicinity and I’m keen to do more of that after walking a very short section in North Wales (and will likely return to do the Clwydian Range section).
I would like to pretend that I have a very clear and focused plans for places that I want to visit but in truth this trip was driven by the fact that Premier Inns were offering free breakfasts for stays between certain dates. Such are the winds that fill the sails of retirement meandering!
Too much bloody fun if you ask me....
It looks you've been having fun and also gone full hippy, never go full hippy! 😂