As we were in Keswick for the day, we decided to head towards Castlerigg stone circle, a very short drive out of town. It’s one of those smaller Neolithic wonders which, because of the amazing scenery surrounding it, makes you feel connected to the past and the landscape you’re standing on, in a magical way.
It was also freezing cold, but beautiful and sunny and we all fancied some fresh winter air and some mountain views, without having to trek too far. It’s a magical place anyway – full of mystery and history and one of the most picturesque locations for any stone circle in the country. The panoramic view of the fells in the distance is uninterrupted all around.
We encountered our first mystery as we drew up in the car to park in the little lay-by at the foot of the field. There in front of us was an ice cream van (it was mid-February and about minus three degrees). Odd, we thought, but the ideal location for anything odd.
When we got to the standing stones, we had the place to ourselves. The stones are quite large and have been standing there since the Neolithic period apparently, that’s over 5000 years ago. There are 38 stones in Castlerigg stone circle and inside the ring is a rectangle of another 10 standing stones. No idea what they were used for all those years ago.
The view towards Helvellyn was amazing and the air was so still – the only sounds were bleating Herdwick sheep and the odd raven. A quick game of hide and seek around the stones warmed us up slightly but it was really too bitter to hang around for long.
On a walk up Dodd Fell earlier in the week, our daughter had collected some small but beautifully snow white quartz crystal shards. She had put them in her coat and had forgotten about them, but as she plunged her freezing fingers into her fleecy pockets, she found them. Brilliant! We lined them up along some of Castlerigg’s stones in order to infuse them with magical powers. After a few minutes we decided they must be fully charged (and anyway, we were even more freezing by now) so we collected them up to take home to scatter around the end of our garden (which has always been where the fairies live, she says).