MYSTICAL STONE CIRCLES

A Blustery Day at Avebury

Even in the pouring rain with a battering wind destroying our umbrellas,  the stone circle of Avebury is an amazing sight.  My travel-writer tour guide Keith, an expert on the area's stone circles, took me around there on my first day in Salisbury.  I have to admit I thought I was suffering from  hypothermia   I was so cold and wet but it was such a fascinating place and even in the inclement weather it was worth a visit.  I can only imagine how beautiful it must be on a clear sunny day.  This is one of the oldest and larges henge sites in Britain, begun about 5000 years ago.  The unusual thing is a pretty little village is situated right in the middle of it. This area has been occupied since the Bronze age with farmsteads.  And nearby within walking distance are other famous prehistoric monuments as well.

Ancient Stones

The next day it was sunny and warmer so we wet off first for Woodhenge.  The earthwork here began in around 2300 BC and consisted of a circular bank with a ditch.  Instead of stones there were wooden posts in various sizes. And near the centre a small cairn of flints containing the body of a 3 year old whose skull had been split before burial.  This is one of a few pieces of evidence for human sacrifice in Neolithic Britain.

Wooden staves at the Woodhenge Circle

Not too far away is the famous site of Stonehenge a massive stone monument that evolved between 3500 BC and 1600 BC with giant blue stones brought from the mountains of Wales that align with the rising of the sun on the Winter and Summer solstices.  You can no longer go into the inner circle like I did on my first visit back in the '70's, but you walk around and can listen to the history of the stone circle on hand held recorders. 

Stonehenge

The Great Heel Stone

After visiting these circles we stopped by the site of Old Sarum which is the setting for my work in progress Celtic novel Dragons in the Sky.  I wanted to make another visit here to do more research and I did find out a few new things, such as at the time of my novel the fortress of Old Sarum was made of white chalk bricks and that they used totems at the entrance gates, much like our First nations people did. 

The trench around the Hill Fort

Site of the hill fort at Old Sarum

View of Salisbury from Old Sarum

I never get tired of seeing these amazing places, all of them World Heritage Sites.  This opportunity, thanks to my writer friend Keith, provided me with a wealth of information and made it a fabulous experience.

MAKING TRAVEL PLANS: Second Stop: SALISBURY, OLD SARUM, STONEHENGE and AVEBURY

OLD SARUM Iron Age Hill Fort

On my second trip to England in the late '70's I visited an elderly friend who was the last remaining member of a coven in Bournemouth.  I said I was going to visit Stonehenge, and she suggested I go into the inner circle and see what the spirits brought to me.  On my way to Stonehenge I had a stop-over at Salisbury and while waiting at the bus depot, I noticed a sign pointing to an Iron Age Hill fort, Old Sarum, some 4 kilometers down the highway.  It happened that at that time I had been planning a novel with a Celtic theme.  I already have written some of it, a story told to me by a young girl named Olwen who was an acolyte of the Druids, but I wasn't exactly sure of where the story took place. I just knew it was set in the Iron Age somewhere in the south of Britain.

OLD SARUM ( Caer Gwyn, in Olwen's time)  (watercolor painting by me)

What happened next was one of those powerful deja vu moments that you remember forever.  As I walked down the road toward Old Sarum, it became more familiar to me and when I finally arrived at the earth mound and began exploring, I realized that this was exactly the place Olwen had 'told' me about.  This was the setting of my novel, "Dragons in the Sky".  Since then I have made two other trips back to the earth mound, one the following year and another two years ago.  And this year I am returning to revive my research because I have taken that old half-finished novel off the shelf and I'm starting to work on it again.

Here is a description (in Olwen's voice) from "Dragons in the Sky":

West of the muddy river, the downs unfolded into grassy slopes. The meadows were thick with goldenrod and clover. There were farmsteads scattered all along the boundaries of our tuath, fields tilled by the yeomen and seeded with barley and wheat and grazing lands for our herds. The pastures were fed by little springs and the streams flowed into a muddy brown river that separated the pastures from the enclosure of our village. At the edge of the downs were beachwood groves where men hunted deer and wild boars. Beyond this, the Plain stretched out on the horizon.  These were the tribal lands of the Atrebates. No raiders could steal our stock, nor cross our borders, without being sighted from the ramparts of Caer Gwyn’s hill fort.

STONEHENGE

I went to Stonehenge on that first trip and back then you could still stand in the inner circle. What a thrill to be there!  And yes, the 'spirits' did speak to me,  and most strongly, the voice of Olwen.  I've always wanted to make a return visit to Stonehenge, and two years ago I intended to, but a series of mishaps with travel plans caused me to miss going.  So this year I am going back again, to see if I can conjure the spirits of those olden times, and hear Olwen's voice speak to me.

AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE

One place I've never visited is Avebury, the largest stone circle in Britain.  So this year I have planned a visit there and fortunately I have been offered to be tour-guided around all these areas by a local man who often writes for my Travel Thru History ezine.  Keith Kellett lives in Avebury village, and has offered to drive down to Salisbury and escort me to these sites.  I'm just thrilled to be able to visit these amazing historical sites in the company of a local expert! And a big thanks to Keith for offering to chauffeur me around.

Photos of Old Sarum, Stonehenge and Avebury courtesy Wikipedia

THE GREEN LADY OF CAERPHILLY CASTLE

CAERPHILLY CASTLE, WALES

May 29. CAERPHILLY, Wales.
This is the town where my father was born. When he lived here it was a small mining village but in the years since I first started visiting Caerphilly, it has grown extensively and is now almost a 'bedroom community' of the big city, Cardiff.

We arrive late last night (May 28) after a long day touring Bath and Old Sarum, then back to London to pick up our luggage at the Indian Y. Fortunately my cousins came and picked us up at Cardiff train station as there were no available hotels due to the Eisteddfod and no more buses running to Caerphilly.

The next morning, we wanted to show Debra around town. I've been here many times and my sister was here once before. Of course, the big feature in Caerphilly is the Norman castle, "Castell Caerphffili" Wale's largest moated medieval castle where you can see working replicas of seige engines. The fortress spreads over 30 acres and is the largest in Britain and one of the best preserved. It was built in the late 13th century by the Anglo-Norman lord, Gilbert de Clare, in order to consolidat his grip on the lands he had captured. The castle's outstanding water defences were more than a mere moat, but created around lakes forming three artificial islands. Notable features inside the castle include the gatehouses, banquet hall and full sized replicas of seige engines. The banquet hall is still used for functions.

I call this "my castle" because for as long as I have memory, from my earliest childhood, I grew up hearing stories about this castle. My father played in there when he was a child and when he left Wales to find a new home in Canada, his friends presented him with a framed photograph of the castle (which I still have) that always hung the walls of our homes.

THE HAUNTED BATTLEMENTS

There is an intriguing legend associated with the castle: the Green Lady who haunts the ivy-covered battlements. She was once Princess Alice de la Marche, niece of King Henry II and the wife of Earl Gilbert de Clare. She was also the lover of Tew Teg Gruffydd the Fair, the Welsh prince of Brithdir. Disgraced and banished, they say that on moonlit nights her ghost can be seen walking the castle battlements searching for her lost lover.

I was first told this story on a moonlit night as I walked by the castle with one of my cousins. Was she there then, a misty figure hidden in the ivy? I find the story appealing and want to know more. Perhaps it deserves being written down in a novel. Perhaps there's already one written.

A DRUID'S STONE CIRCLE

Yes, there are still those who practice the Druid's religion and that's why Stonehenge is now blocked off and you can't get into the inner circle as I did on my first visit some years ago. But in Caerphilly there's this small circle overlooking the castle. I think there may still be the occasional ceremony held here. And whenever I am in town I like to go and visit.