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I have been to this wondrous stone circle on many occasions and never feel I have spent enough time.  The finger-like leaning center stone surrounded by it’s 19 stone companions, and the intriguing circle location surrounded by a gorse barrier, is quite special.  If it is covered in mist it becomes very mysterious and exciting.  Too much time cannot be spent there.  In fact, this is one for an all-nighter.  

 

A site I have visited many times, Avebury is amazing.  It is the largest stone circle of them all and once had two smaller circles inside it that were the fifth and sixth largest.  Around the outside is a massive henge, an earth mound inside which is a ditch.  The mound now 15 feet high, used to be much taller and the ditch which is now 12 feet deep used to be more like 30 feet.  It is still very impressive.

The top photo shows two of the main circle stones.  The one on the left is the Devil’s Chair, so called because of the seat in the stone.  It weighs some 60 tons, is 14 feet wide and 13 feet tall, and is placed so as to view the rising sun on the Winter Solstice. 

 

I last visited this circle on Stone Journey 9 in 2017 and I had loved my time with these stones.   Two years later I returned and was given the same warm welcome as before.   The only change this time was that the broom was in a most vibrant yellow bloom and the floor of the circle was covered with brilliant bluebells.  It looked like a scene from an impressionist painting.  Stones and tree were full of energy and the fields around the site were packed with hundreds of small lambs playing among the adults.  It was all interconnected and life was good!

This was the last stone stop on our 2019 Journey.  Finding this precious dolmen required me stopping twice for directions but once we arrived we were so thankful we had found it.  The stones are massive and stacked in a way I have not seen before.  Aughnacliff is a place to spend time, time we did not have.  Though I did not have any special experiences there these stones really do have a strong portal vibe and I have often wondered what might have happened if I had made the  effort and stayed?

Definitely one of the most unique stone sites I have encountered.  This stone inner-tube, about three feet tall,  stands between two pillar stones, all that remains of what was probably a small stone circle.  Each time I visit this location in SW Cornwall I am intrigued.   Creating this was no simple task and must have been very important to the people who carved it.

It is known to be a healing stone and it is said that passing a small child through it’s center can heal health issues.   I know for a fact that a there are those who still believe in its powers.  The last time Sharon and I were there we came across a couple who were passing their young boy through the hole.

 

To me, there are only a few stone circles that compare to Sunkenkirk.  The location is breathtaking and the circle is one of the larger ones 94 feet in diameter.  When you arrive at the circle, which is about a mile or so walk, it seems to suddenly appear as if a veil was just lifted, allowing you to see the stones.  And the stones are very impressive.  There are 55 good sized boulders set almost shoulder to shoulder.  Many have fallen and all those that have fallen, fell inward, as if pulled in by the energy of the center.  I dowsed a great whirlpool of energy flowing into the center of this circle.

Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery with Knocknarea in the background.  You can barely see Maeve’s Cairn sitting on the top.  This whole region is charged with energy and the hike up to the top of Knocknarea is spectacular.

 

Sharon and I were back in England for a three plus week trip to include Ireland and Scotland.  We began by hooking up with Michael Bott of Standing With Stones fame.  Michael was kind enough to pick us up at our hotel in Oxford and drive us out to visit the Devil’s Quoits Stone Circle/Henge.  It was a most wonderful afternoon.  

This circle/henge had pretty much disappeared over time and it was only recently that efforts were made to save it.  The henge has been re-dug (though not to it’s original depth and height) and the stones are back in position.  Only eight or nine of the original stones are in place but the ones chosen to fill out the circle are great choices.

The circle/henge is really quite large.  The henge is 130 yards across and the stone circle is 86 yards.  I think there were 28 or 29 stones varying in height from three to seven feet.

At one point Michael got his Standing With Stones partner, Rupert Soskin, on the phone for a three-way conference call which was a real joy.  This was my first time to meet Michael or Rupert which was great as I am a big fan of their efforts to improve awareness of megalithic sites and of the high quality of their work.

While getting ready to leave, a beautiful large hawk flew into the circle and landed on a stone across the circle from us.  As we watched, it flew back into the air and returned to the stone.  Then after a short time it took off into the air and disappeared over the trees.  Small blessings make for a full life, and we had been blessed. 

 

This was the first site I visited on my very first stone journey.  I found it to be a most welcoming circle of stones and though I had been exhausted when I arrived, when I left I was full of energy and felt great.  They are as gnarly a group of stones as I have encountered, with holes worn all the way through them.  But they are good fun.  The photo is of the circle entrance.

These are two of my favorite stones, located just about a mile outside of Avebury. The smaller of the two was once a part of Beckhampton Stone Avenue that connected with the west side of Avebury. The larger stone was a part of a cove at the end of the avenue. The Longstones, as they are also called, are massive stones with strong energies. They are often overlooked and I highly recommend them.