Eorthburg Hlaw, or Arbor Low, is known as the Stonehenge of the North and I had a great time finding it on my GPS, and then climbing over a farm fence and tramping across a paddock. Completely different to Stonehenge as no tourists, just heaps of sheep and cows. Dodged animal poo (unsuccessfully) as I climbed the henge bank. It did remind me of Avebury as had a similar ditch.
The stones are all fallen, but they would have been quite large, with Gib Hill, a big burial mound across the paddock. I climbed the Hill and the views were fantastic. It all felt very serene – not so, as I headed toward Bakewell and the Moor.
My Neolithic adventure continued to the supposedly atmospheric Nine Ladies Stone Circle. It took me a while to find it and I drove the lovely brand new Merc up and down goat tracks to get there. I gave up on addresses and started using postcodes.
The postcode for the Nine Ladies was in the middle of nowhere. The views were amazing but I was ready to give up when I saw a small sign that said I was on the edge of Stanton Moor. I climbed the fence and hiked along a narrow path. I did have a moment where I thought .. hmm .. maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. There was something quite eerie about the place with six-foot-high grass and scrub at each side of the narrowest walking path. It got spookier as I came across a number of standing stones on the side of the path that seemed to be looking down on me. I walked for ages and then found a stile to climb over and came out on to the Moor.
The purple flowers were out and I could see a large cork stone in the distance. I had no idea where I was and did wonder whether I would end up lost. Seriously, it was so eerie and I kept thinking I could hear buzzing sounds – too much Outlander I think. I came across some serious stone henge hunting walkers who had maps with them. Apparently, there are a number of circles on the Moor but they sent me in search of the Nine Ladies. Of course it had to be Sunday, and the nine women were turned to stone after dancing on a Sunday so my imagination went totally wild and I marched rather than danced. I came across so many Bronze Age remnants, but the really spooky feeling remained. When I entered the field, the stones were spread in a large circle. They were much smaller than other stone circles that I have visited but there was something about it that made me want to get out of there. Now for the really spooky bit – I got back to the hotel and downloaded my photos on to my computer. Amongst them was the weirdest image. Now I am sure there is some really easy Apple explanation –buzzing sounds, weird stones and now aliens – I was so relieved to jump in the car, lock the doors and speed as fast as possible down the goat tracked hill. Castlerigg is one of my favourite places in the world – I visit often. Definitely not the same on Stanton Moor – yep too much engagement with Outlander perhaps, but check out the photo – OMG 
Sleeping under the stars 