This ring is possibly the oldest stone circle in the UK, and It is currently undergoing some serious, years-long digging in the area to determine more about the large community around it. I bought a recent book and will be following this in the future.
Unsurprisingly, the weather is still very windy with an occasional misting or sprinkle, but this is instead of the downpours of a couple of days ago. Note, however, that the car park nearby is pretty full and buses full of tourists are still stopping by.
My rental car is the blue Vauxhall closest to the camera. Did I mention that I hate it?? It is a hybrid, which means it turns itself off every time I stop to let someone past me, which is maybe 100 times a day, although today was not too bad as I was mostly on legitimately two-lane roads. Also, it is an automatic, but it has a weird shift level where to reverse you push it forward and to drive you push it backward--just plain awkward and not logical.
In this photo, you can see that Maeshowe, which is a famous and huge chambered burial mound, is very close to this henge. Both are about 5,300 years old.
Some information about the sites if you can read these or enlarge them. Feel free to copy and download them. In any case, you can see what this henge might have originally looked like.
This map shows how the henge and Maeshowe were located in a strip of land between two bays. Sea level would have been lower back then, but the bays are deep and would still have been there, but with a possibly broader land connection between them.
It was so windy and cold that even the cows had the sense to lay down to stay warmer.
Originally, there were 80 standing stones here. In the past, you were able to get right next to them and touch them, but they have blocked the access off to allow the grass to recover.
This is my outdoor outfit these days. I have on a t-shirt, heavy hoodie I bought recently, and a windproof rain jacket. Unfortunately, I packed thinking it was June instead of early March, so the only shoes I brought were sandals!! Keeping my upper body warm helps keep my legs and feet warm, assuming my shoes do not get wet.
Whoever put up this sign obviously knew it would blow away into the farm in the distance, so it is fastened to a cement paver!!
I just returned from a four day dog show and am catching up on your journey, I think you are having more weather discomfort than I found when I traveled in October. But I bring my hiking boots and ended up wearing them almost every day. I never made it to the northern island but by October the ferry and travel choices were limited and I pretty much ran out of days.....5-6 weeks sounds wonderful compared to my 16 day count.
ReplyDeleteI was here in early October, 2008, and it was not that cold or rainy then, either. I think I just hit it wrong. Funny thing is that it was cold when I was in North Yorkshire, but became sunny and warm as soon as I left for Scotland. And right now, London is having a heat wave, but only until I get there this weekend!! And you really do need several weeks to really explore. In 2008, I was only in Scotland for two weeks, which is why I came back now.
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