<< Our Photo Pages >> Long Meg And Her Daughters - Stone Circle in England in Cumbria
Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 12 August 2017 Page Views: 36246
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Long Meg And Her Daughters Alternative Name: Long MegCountry: England County: Cumbria Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Penrith Nearest Village: Little Salkeld
Map Ref: NY57113721 Landranger Map Number: 91
Latitude: 54.728035N Longitude: 2.667495W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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SteveC June would like to visit
TheCaptain visited on 20th Sep 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Now to walk around the circle. It's huge, much bigger than my memory was telling me and with a little double stoned entrance up near Long Meg. The stones are basically large rounded boulders, like giant pebbles from a riverbed, and its not really accurate to consider them as standing stones. Lots of young cows in and around the stones, some of which seem to be playing hide and seek.
Anne T visited on 7th Aug 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Long Meg and Her Daughters: We walked along the quiet, shady old hollow ways from St Michael's and All Angels, Addingham to Long Meg and her daughters, coming across a well by the side of the track, plus a solitary standing stone in a field just north of Long Meg. The latter was too close to the field boundary to be a rubbing stone. It wasn't marked on the OS map, nor is it mentioned on the Historic England map search or the entry for Long Meg.
We took my daughter-in-law, son and their two dogs along, and they were amazed it was 'a proper stone circle'. The base of Long Meg itself is currently being used as a shrine, with people leaving offerings even as we walked up to this stone - including flowers, key rings and even a pair of sunglasses!
The rock art on Long Meg stood out well in the bright sunlight. The site was very busy today, and the field full of large cattle, who fortunately kept their distance.
Rkphenix visited on 5th Dec 2021 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5
bishop_pam visited on 27th Sep 2020 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5
sba_dk visited on 17th Jul 2019 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5
JulieRowland visited on 21st Apr 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Very ethereal visit
emerald visited on 21st Jun 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5
NorthernerInLondon visited on 9th Dec 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4
kthdsn visited on 10th May 2014 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5
Kimmy visited on 1st Jan 2014 Great but crap for photos if people park in the wrong place - loads of offerings though !
soulsurfer visited on 20th Sep 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 Lovely site. You can drive almost up to the stones.
jeffrep visited on 20th Sep 2006 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
Richard13 visited on 1st Mar 2005 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 5
BolshieBoris visited on 1st Jan 2002 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5
graemefield visited on 1st Jun 1991 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
hevveh Tonnox drolaf Bladup TimPrevett nicoladidsbury AngieLake Andy B sorschaL sirius_b have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.07 Ambience: 4.29 Access: 4.62
The stones of the circle are the daughters and Long Meg herself is a 3.6 metre standing stone just outside the circle. On the flat surface of Long Meg that faces the circle is a cup and ring mark, a spiral, and an incomplete concentric circle. Nearby is Little Meg
Aerial photography in 1988 revealed a huge earthen enclosure to the north of the circle which meets and matches the flattened northerly segment of the ring.
Tradition states that Long Meg and Her Daughters were a coven of witches who were holding their sabbat, some time in the thirteenth century. Michael Scot, a wizard from Scotland, found them so engaged and cast a spell over the assembled company, turning them all into stones.
In common with other circles, these stones are said to be uncountable, and if anyone can count them twice and arrive at the same total, the spell will be broken. It is also said that when a local squire attempted to remove the stones, a tremendous and terrifying storm broke out overhead and so the project was immediately abandoned. Finally, a prophecy tells us that if Long Meg were ever to be shattered, she would run with blood.
Access: 6.5 kilometres north-east of Penrith on the A686 road, a minor road leads north from Langwathby to Little Salkeld. 0.5 km beyond Little Salkeld a track off to the left leads directly to the site, and there is room to park alongside the track.
For more information see Pastscape Monument No. 12199. The stone circle is also scheduled as Historic England List ID 1007866 (Long Meg and Her Daughters stone circle, associated cursus and prehistoric enclosure).
Note: Some lovely drone aerial photos from Iain P and Stonesy
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