Mystical Sites

Long Meg and Her Daughters

Long Meg is the third widest stone circle in England after Avebury and Stanton Drew and dates to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

Originally there may have been up to 77 stones although now there are 66 of which 27 remain upright. Long meg is the name given to the tallest stone (of red sandstone) which stands 12 feet high just outside the main circle and has ancient cup and ring markings on it. This will have been a very imposing in its day and might have been enclosed in a white ditch as a result of the nearby gypsum deposits. It is one of a number of enclosures and henges, some of which were built before the stone circle and which mark a large ritual area covering not only Long Meg but also the Mayburgh, Little Meg and Shap Stone Avenues nearby. There is also a spring nearby and there may have been a spring inside the circle originally.

As with all stone circles there is speculation as to their purpose but this circle includes four quartz stone which might have been placed at special points. Naturally folklore ascribed the stones to a coven of witches turned to stone for dancing on the sabbath, but there may be some deeper folklore memories at this site.

The site is important in our story and gives its name to the first of the spectal ladies who protect Eden.

Castlerigg

Castlerigg is one of the most spectacularly situated stone circles in Britain and standing here alone in the winter sun, cupped in the hills and fells, it will not be hard to experience the special quality that has brought wonder and awe to visitors from the earliest times.

Castlerigg is an early stone circle of about 40 stones which may date back to neolithic times (about 3200 BC). It may have served as a regional gathering and ritual centre. It has been a favourite of antiquaries and romantics over the centuries and the subject of many prints and paintings.

As with all places in the World of Eden, we encourage you to come and experience Castlerigg with your own senses and touch time in this special niche in the fells.

Mayburgh Henge

Mayburgh is a strange place. Now dominated by a single remaining stone it is surrounded by a bank entirely made of river stone cobbles, rather than the usual earthern bank.

It is linked to the enigmatic King Arthurs Round table monument next door, but has been rather spoiled by the M6 motorway which also runs beside it. It is close to Eamont Bridge and the Eamont River and also to a spring which might have been important for ritual purposes.

It would seem to predate its neighbour and date back to the Neolithic period when Long Meg and Castlerigg were built. The name indicates that it would have had associations with the May festival, which survived its pagan origins to be marked in rural areas by May Day dances and maypoles.

Now sadly damaged and depleted, it is close to the Tower of Fire in our story and may link to our spectral women.

King Arthur’s Round Table

King Arthurs round table adjoins Mayburgh Henge and is also by the River Eamont, near the Tower of Fire in our stories.

This structure has been excavated several times with mixed results but one of the suggestions is that it was originally covered by a round building in which meetings took place – perhaps even in dark age Britain, the time of Arthur.

It is also rumoured to have been the site of King Aethelred’s convention of the Kings of Britain on June 12th 927 AD when he met King Owain of Strathclyde and Cumbria, Constantine, King of the Scots, King Hywel Dda of Wales and Earl Ealdred of Northumberland and sought to establish the Kingdom of England up to the wall, which was recorded in contemporary chronicles. Of course, the Towers of Eden puts all this down to the spectral ladies and secret power of Eden!