England in May

[ken s]

I just booked tickets to London in May. I plan on staying one week in Cornwall and one week in Yorkshire. Stone circles and very ancient sites will be my main interest. This time I will take the Hassy and shoot B&W only. Any suggestions? Thanks, Ken

 

[bogeyes]

You may wish to take a look on www.amazon.co.uk and search for STONE CIRCLES there are many books on offer. May is a great month for blossom and spring flowers. The weather is often very changable so bring an umbrella!

 

[Dave Miller]

Leon is the resident stone circle man. May is the best month of the year here.

 

[bill schwab]

Stone circles and very ancient sites will be my main interest.

Ken,

I did a similar tour several years ago and the Stone Pages Website was a very valuable tool. See it at:

Dead Link Removed

Have fun!

Bill

 

[Bob F.]

As others have said, May is a good month to visit: "April showers bring forth May flowers"... Spring is in full flood and the weather can easily be fine & sunny if you are lucky (or p'ing down with rain if you are not...). With two weeks to stay, you should get a wide range of weather...

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com is a useful resource for ancient sites.

Have fun, Bob.

 

[Brac]

If you can manage a stop in Wiltshire on your way between Cornwall & Yorkshire you can see the best of them all viz. Stonehenge near Amesbury, & Avebury between Devizes & Swindon.

 

[Ron Clark]

Hello Ken s

Sorry I'm a bit late in replying but I've only just joined this forum and found your postings - so I hope you don't mind me joining in.

I don't know Cornwall at all but Yorkshire is a great place for photos. Try Richmond and Aysgarth for the waterfalls. Try to get up onto the Yorkshire Dales for stunning landscapes and the Lake District isn't too far either so do try to get over there too.

Hope you enjoy England - 2 weeks isn't long and you'll miss oh so much. Jan and I will be going off to North Wales again this year - seen so much there - missed so much more ;-)

Ron

 

[roteague]

I just booked tickets to London in May. I plan on staying one week in Cornwall and one week in Yorkshire. Stone circles and very ancient sites will be my main interest. This time I will take the Hassy and shoot B&W only. Any suggestions? Thanks, Ken

Sad, that you are going all that way and not taking any color film, a shame really. England is such a beautiful country.

 

[Andy K]

If you are travelling from London to Cornwall you will pass nearby Stonehenge and Avebury. Also if you get the chance check out Silbury Hill. The largest neolithic man made hill in Europe.
I think you will get better photographs at Avebury than you will at Stonehenge. When I was a child we used to be able to walk around Stonehenge but it has since been stolen from us and fenced off.

 

[Lachlan Young]

If you are travelling from London to Cornwall you will pass nearby Stonehenge and Avebury. Also if you get the chance check out Silbury Hill. The largest neolithic man made hill in Europe.
I think you will get better photographs at Avebury than you will at Stonehenge. When I was a child we used to be able to walk around Stonehenge but it has since been stolen from us and fenced off.

This is OT but does anyone know how many stone circles there are that have a road running through the middle? There is one about two miles away from where I live and I keep meaning to go and photograph it!

Lachlan

 

[Brac]

This is OT but does anyone know how many stone circles there are that have a road running through the middle? There is one about two miles away from where I live and I keep meaning to go and photograph it!

Lachlan

I would guess Stonehenge & the one you refer to are probably unique in that respect. I think we must blame the Romans for running a road through Stonehenge. There has been talk of diverting it away possibly through a tunnel at gi-normous expense. Although it is no longer possible to wander around the stones, you can still take some nice shots through the wire fence! At Avebury you are quite free to weander around the stones & there is an interesting museum there & other attractions.

 

[Bob F.]

This is OT but does anyone know how many stone circles there are that have a road running through the middle? There is one about two miles away from where I live and I keep meaning to go and photograph it!

Lachlan

Stonehenge does not have a road, but Avebury has and so does Long Meg and her Daughters - those are the two I have been to, no doubt there are others... In centuries past, they were not always viewed with the same respect they have now. Lots of stones can now be found as part of a local 15/16/17/18th century house's wall...

Check out http://www.themodernantiquarian.com Go to the search page and you can tap in your postcode and find the nearest sites.


Cheers, Bob.

 

[FrankB]

The Dales is a great location. If you're after waterfalls then this site gives you some great locations (just ignore the accompanying photographs; you could drop your camera and do better! ). Thornton Force is good but will be very busy in May (do-able if your patient!), Scaleber Force is my favourite, and usually remarkably quiet.

For stone circles, Leon's your man. For Wiltshire and surroundings BobF is very knowledgeable.

Avebury is one of my favourite locations to shoot, despite me never having made a successful image of the stone circle! (I'm not saying it can't be done, just that I haven't yet done it! :rolleyes: ) I would advise a walk by the Calne Locks in Devizes, as there are plenty of opportunities along that way.

Have good light and a great trip,

Frank

 

[Andy K]

If you look carefully enough there is a standing stone in London. It is known as 'the London Stone'. Only a fragment now remains of what in the sixteenth century was described as 'a great stone set into the ground'. I have not been there for many years, but the London Stone used to be located behind an iron grill set into the wall of the Bank of China on the north side of Cannon Street opposite the Cannon Street tube station.

Some also believe there was once a stone circle on the modern day site of St Pauls cathedral and that there was also once a temple of Diana on the same site which previously may have been a site sacred to Frigga or Freya, hunting deities in pagan times (hence the nearby Friday Street and Distaff Lane, Friday being the sacred day of Frigga and the distaff one of her sacred attributes)

There may have been other stones at Tower Hill and All Hallows. Which would explain the line of the ancient Roman road which once ran through these points, the eastern end of Cannon Street is all that remains of this road. The line runs : St Martin's Ludgate - St Paul's Cathedral -the London Stone - All Hallows - Tower Hill.

 

[Ron Clark]

This is OT but does anyone know how many stone circles there are that have a road running through the middle? There is one about two miles away from where I live and I keep meaning to go and photograph it!

How the heck did they get planning permission??? I always thought that such sites were well proteced by law.

Ron

 

[Andy K]

This is OT but does anyone know how many stone circles there are that have a road running through the middle? There is one about two miles away from where I live and I keep meaning to go and photograph it!

How the heck did they get planning permission??? I always thought that such sites were well proteced by law.

Ron

Such sites have only been 'protected' in the las fifty years or so. The roads are centuries older. Look at the stone circle at Avebury, not only does a road run through but there is a whole village built within the circle.

But increasingly these days for 'Protected by Law' read 'fenced off and chargeable to view'.

 

[pentaxuser]

Depends how you define "very ancient" but if moderately ancient will fit the bill then I'd try a number of the abbeys in Yorkshire such as Fountains or Bolton. May is a good month but be warned unless we are very lucky it may still feel like early Spring temperature-wise. Good daylight until 8:30pm but short sleeves it is NOT!

Pentaxuser

 

[Leon]

stone circles in cornwall ..........

My faves are

Hurlers

Impressive three circle arrangement, although quite ruinous. In the shadow of the Cheesering on Bodmin Moor. Ruined tin mines around the place. Often lots of people milling around though, difficult to photograph

Merry Maidens

Very peacefull small circle with some outliying stones to be found (ie the pipers)

Boscawen Un

A bit of a treck off the road but well worth the walk. Another small circle with an odd centre stone with a precarious lilt.

Men An Tol

A circular stone in a stone circle - weird! Not much of the stone circle left though. Another short treck that's worth the effort.

there are quite a few others circles. If you're tempted by the chambered tomb - here are a few to consider .....

Lanyon Quoit

very photogenic - and right next to the road

Chun Quoit

difficult to find and a bit of a walk, but reall worth the effort. It's taken me 4 years and 6 trip to cornwall to find this, but I'm glad I did. I'll be there to get some pics again in March, cant wait!

Trevethy Quoit

Quite easy to find and not far from the Hurlers.


That'll do for now - the modern antiquarian is an excellent resource and you'll find loads more info there - including OS references and people's thoughts of the sites (along with some dubious photos). You'll be able to search for the northern sites there too.

Avebury and S'henge are good places to go to SEE a couple of the early Massive-Henges (Avebury itself and Durrington Walls Nr Woodhenge)and stone circles but are quite difficult to photograph because there are always so many people around (unless that's what you're after of course) and they are so damn big. It's worth venturing out and around the Avebury area to see some of the peripheral sites like the Devil's Den, West Kennet Long Barrow (spent many a night in there) the Avenue ... I could go on all day, but I'll spare you that.

Have fun!

 

[FrankB]

For stone circles, Leon's your man.

It'd be really tacky to say, "I told you so!" wouldn't it...?!

 

[Struan Gray]

A couple of thoughts for someone visiting Cornwall to look at ancient sites.

First, don't neglect the industrial archeology. Lots of abandoned and ruined mines, tin tunnels, pumping houses, mills, sheds and counting houses. Dating back further than you might think.

Second, consider spending some time on Dartmoor. It's not too far out of your way, has tons of neolithic and other monuments, and better cream teas than you'll find in Cornwall. Some tasters here:

http://www.richkni.co.uk/dartmoor/relics.htm

 

[Steve Roberts]

A couple of thoughts for someone visiting Cornwall to look at ancient sites.

First, don't neglect the industrial archeology. Lots of abandoned and ruined mines, tin tunnels, pumping houses, mills, sheds and counting houses. Dating back further than you might think.

Have a look at: http://www.geocities.com/okeltor/index.html
The video tape/DVD is available in NTSC format but don't forget to specify. It's an excellent production and Graeme will often do a deal on all three films if you ask. They're all good, even if I'm biased having done some of the camera work on Kitty and Legend!

Steve