Just how I like my ancient monuments, devoid of people, but not devoid of character. The Nine Ladies stone circle may be small, but it’s one of the highlights of a highly ritualistic landscape and very enigmatic.
The Cork Stone near the Nine Ladies Stone Circle in the Peak District looks very much like a menhir or standing stone, but is in fact a natural millstone grit erratic. Though considering how many Neolithic and Bronze Age sites there are nearby you’d like to think that our ancestors probably venerated it. I know I would have!
The Andle Stone, like its nearby neighbour the Cork Stone, is a naturally occurring monumental chunk of Millstone Grit on Stanton Moor, Derbyshire. The name obviously derives from the fact that it has ‘andles and foot holds to aid your 3m climb to the top. Once there you can take in the wonderful view and read the many inscriptions gouged into it by the likes of JJ Roberts. Not quite sure what our venerable ancestors would have made of it or, indeed The Duke of Wellington, who also has an inscription on the Western face of the stone.
FIELD-MARSHALL/ DUKE OF WELLINGTON/ DIED 14 SEPT 1852,/ AGED 82 YEARS,
/ ASSYE 1803 WATERLOO 1815./ T MASTERS.
/ LIEUT-COLONEL/ WILLIAM THORNHILL/ 7 HUSSARS/ DIED 9 DECR. 1851, / AGED 71 YEARS,