<< Our Photo Pages >> Long Meg - Standing Stone (Menhir) in England in Cumbria
Submitted by Andy B on Sunday, 23 December 2007 Page Views: 19996
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Long Meg Alternative Name: Long Meg & her DaughtersCountry: England County: Cumbria Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Penrith Nearest Village: Little Salkeld
Map Ref: NY57063716 Landranger Map Number: 91
Latitude: 54.727582N Longitude: 2.668264W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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PAB 43559959 lichen patsyp would like to visit
TheCaptain visited on 20th Sep 2022 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Before heading east over the Pennines, I have time to go and visit Long Meg. A new car park has been made which is well signposted, which leaves a 500 metre walk to the stone circle. I start my visit with Long Meg itself, as there are a few other people here who go the other way. What a lovely stone, standing proud overlooking the circle with its spirals and of course the face of Long Meg herself.
bishop_pam visited on 27th Sep 2020 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5
trystan_hughes visited on 12th Apr 2016 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5
NorthernerInLondon visited on 9th Dec 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4
ModernExplorers visited on 7th Mar 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Fascinating standing stone with carvings on next to a large stone circle
fingland visited on 22nd Aug 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 I was impressed by the amount there was to see on this site and when it was complete it must have been very impressive.
And you can park next to it so useful for people of limited mobility but is a large area of field to get around on foot.
jeffrep visited on 20th Sep 2006 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
Richard13 visited on 1st Mar 2005 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5
megalithicmatt visited on 1st Jan 2004 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4
kthdsn visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5
FrothNinja visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5
Andy B visited #3 in our rundown of favourite standing stones (and pairs) in Britain
Andy B MAIGO Bladup rldixon DrewParsons AngieLake nicoladidsbury kelpie NickyD coin have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.55 Ambience: 4.36 Access: 4.55
On the flat surface of Long Meg that faces the circle is a cup and ring mark, a spiral, and an incomplete concentric circle. Nearby is Little Meg.
Aerial photography in 1988 has revealed a huge earthen enclosure to the north of the circle which meets and matches the flattened northerly segment of the ring.
Tradition states that Long Meg and Her Daughters were a coven of witches who were holding their sabbat, some time in the thirteenth century. Michael Scot, a wizard from Scotland, found them so engaged and cast a spell over the assembled company, turning them all into stones.
In common with other circles, these stones are said to be uncountable, and if anyone can count them twice and arrive at the same total, the spell will be broken. It is also said that when a local squire attempted to remove the stones, a tremendous and terrifying storm broke out overhead and so the project was immediately abandoned. Finally, a prophecy tells us that if Long Meg were ever to be shattered, she would run with blood.
Access: 6.5 kilometres north-east of Penrith on the A686 road, a minor road leads north from Langwathby to Little Salkeld. 0.5 km beyond Little Salkeld a track off to the left leads directly to the site, and there is room to park alongside the track.
Note: Damage to Long Meg reported, see comment
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