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Wuthering Wilds and Standing Stones
January 2022

Jo and I took a weekend break, joining our pals Catriona and Steve to explore the wilderness of Dartmoor, famous for The Hound of The Baskervilles story and for its imposing prison.

Our hotel was a beautiful old allegedly haunted Manor House in a wooded valley. Everything in that region has a powerful atmosphere.

The wind whistled around us as we drove up to the desolate moor, with its sweeping grassy vistas and rocky tors. Many people have lost their way on that wild and remote place...

Initially we couldn't find an ancient site we were searching for, but the moor drew us ever further in... We parked the car in the middle of nowhere, to be greeted initially by a particularly friendly pony. We turned away for just a moment, but when we looked back the pony had disappeared, as if into the aether.

It took a while to find the standing stones, but our friends called us with excitement when they came across them. Climbing the rough terrain, we were fascinated to see a whole avenue of ancient stones leading to a cairn where an important chieftain had been buried. Noticing a dark hole in the ground beneath weathered stones, we realised we'd all found another burial chamber. Finally, we came across a stone circle, smaller in size than Stonehenge, but likewise with a big heel stone standing a short distance away. Rising up behind this place was a rugged hill with a dark imposing rocky tor at its summit.

We felt the sense of many mysteries there. Interesting musical riffs are now filling my head and I'd love to return to further explore that extraordinarily atmospheric place...