Rollright Stones
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I visited the Rollright stones for the first time in November 2005. Despite it being fairly close to where I live, I had never been here before! It is an amazing circle and although the stones are not massive like Stonehenge or Avebury it is just as impressive. Dowsing is popular here as there is an enormous amount of energy to be picked up especially right in the centre. Whilst we were there we got a lesson in dowsing and I was offered some healing! Located near Stow-on-the-Wold it is only £1 to get in and is well worth a visit.
The Rollright complex today consists primarily of three sites, the Whispering Knight's portal dolmen, the King's Men stone circle, and the King Stone. Several alignments are connected with the complex. The original ritual use of the place would have primarily involved rites of passage and death rituals and dates back probably to 3000 BC.
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Folklore ascribes that the number of stones in the complex cannot be counted and intriguingly, of the surveys done here, no two agree. One early illustration of the circle shows 30 stones, another describes 46, and one survey describes just 22 stones! As the twentieth century progressed the numbers increased dramatically, with surveys differing at 58, 60, 71, 72, 73, 77 and 105. The present-day 'guesstimate' is about 77.
The best-known folk tale of this place is of the King, his men and the knights, who "were once men who were changed into vast rocks and fossilised," as Camden first put it in 1586. The King's men sometimes go to drink at a well near Little Rollright, as does the king, but he only goes at certain times. At midnight however, on certain days, the King's Men have sometimes been known to come to life, join hands and dance in a circle. This sounds more like a folk remnant of ritual use here.
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Below are a selection of photographs from my visit there.
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