Last week I visited the Rollright Stones and Bourton-on-Water. The Rollright Stones are a place I like to visit when I need to ground myself and feel a link to the ancient past.
The Rollright Stones
The Stones are a group of early neolithic stones, the oldest dating back to around 3,800 BC.
This stone circle may be the inspiration for Weathertop in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Tolkien did live and work in nearby Oxford, so it’s likely he knew about the site.
There are also many legends surrounding the stones. One is that “an ancient king and his army were marching over the Cotswolds when they encountered a witch. The Witch offered the king a challenge, if he could take seven strides and see the village of Long Compton, he would become King of England. The king accepted the challenge, taking his strides, but a mound of earth rose up, obscuring his view.
The witch then cursed the king and his men, turning them into stone. The single, large King Stone is said to be the king himself. The main King’s Men stone circle is the petrified army. The Whispering Knights are the king’s knights, who were turned to stone while plotting against him.
The witch was transformed into an elder tree, which is still said to be in the hedge at the site.”
We arrived, and luckily found a parking spot big enough for my van.
Then I headed through the gate towards the large stone circle, called the Kind’s Men. These stones date back to around 2500 BC.
I usually find a sense of peace sitting inside these stones, but unfortunately there was a large group of visitors this time so I couldn’t totally centre myself.
After this I drove my chair along to the Whispering Knights. They have put matting under the grass for wheelchairs, which makes is much easier to drive on. After a quick pitstop to put my rain cover on, I arrived at the stones.
These are the oldest stones at the site, and are great for photographing on a solstice, the sun lines up perfectly with the gap at the top.
I spent about twenty minutes here, resting and enjoying the peace before heading back down the path.
Instead of going straight to the van I decided to visit the King Stone. This is less accessible, you have to cross a busy road, then go over some uneven ground, the view from the top is lovely though.
The land the Rollrights are on is private, so you should make an online donation when visiting. The stones and the moss covering them should be respected, I’ve seen people climbing on them at times and it can really cause damage.
Bourton-on-the-Water
As we were about to leave the weather started to improve, so I decided to stop in Bourton-on-the-Water on the way home. It is always a busy place, with lots of tourists, but it’s a pretty, idyllic, Cotswold village.
The bridges and paths are sometimes narrow in Bourton, so be wary of this if you are visiting in a wheelchair.
I wandered down by the stream and across the bridges, whilst trying to avoid running over any tourists.
I found a nice peaceful spot by the water and reclined my chair to enjoy the sun for a bit, whilst watching the flowing water and ducks.
It was a nice day out and the stones seem to have had some effect on my mood. I really hope I can finally get there for the winter solstice again this year.
Add a Comment Below