Castlerigg, and why not?

Castlerigg 26

Image by postman

Pixxx Mar 12, 2005 21:07:27

Ra!

Have just posted this on hh also. Thought i'd be very generous (as is fitting) and let you read it too.

Oh Castleriggleicious!

Truly amazing. If I use words of some gone before, I make no apologies. There are none which describe this wondrous being. Gawdy, I'm on a bit of a medieval knight type type today, forgive me my fair lady.

I went loaded with acrylics and chalks and black paper and wine. Then the americans came. 'Oh my gaad, it's an arwrtist!' Hundreds of them, With Their Banners, And Flags, and one of them even had a megaphone, like they need it, noisy intrusive buggers, ChhYaa... (thats american for 'yes, obviously, are you a thicky or something?')

Then they went away again after about five minutes of chanting (got to stick to the skedule) but not before queueing to tell me how grate I am. And i did a good job at being mystical and Britainish, which really means that i disguised my insults under a thin veil of politeness which was intermitted with the odd grunt and tick.

It really is one of the most impressive sites I've seen, not really so much for the stones themselves, but for the sheer backdrop of dramatic mountainside which surrounds it. Makes me want to don a long cloak and grow a long white beard and speak in tongues and live in a secret cave. Unless thats just a common fantasy completely unrelated to the majgijgic of Castlerigg, which until now has resided in the dankest corners of my mind. Mind you I've always had a thing about beards, it's very sexist that men can grow them but I can't just because of my y chromosome.

Anyways, spare at least 2 hours, if not a day. And take your own provisions, refreshingly there isn't any restaurant or giftshops. Hoorah!

Pix xx

Treeman Mar 13, 2005 01:16:24

Replying to Pixxx

Your enthusiasm seems about right, Castlerigg must be among the most spectacular prehistoric sites in this country and there cannot be very many comparable places anywhere. Been around ages too, some say 5,200 years or thereabouts. There is a mystery about the rectangle of stones toward the east side of the ring with no one seeming to have much idea what it might represent. First time I went there we arrived just as rain was easing off. Getting out of the car I saw a fine rainbow pointing (from where I stood) over the wall into the field where the circle dwells. Talk about a welcoming party. Did you stay at the nearby campsite? It's a great way to experience both sunset and dawn among the stones. Dyer ("The Penguin Guide to Historical England and Wales", London, 1981, p.84) points out that virtually all of the stones remain in their original position. This plus the entirely natural effects of more than fifty centuries of Cumbrian weather give grandeur to a place of pure magic. And the sunsets, the sunsets... Surely Castlerigg was known far and wide. Treeman

Cleira Mar 16, 2005 20:22:20

Replying to Pixxx

>>Makes me want to don a long cloak and grow a long white beard and speak in tongues and live in a secret cave. Unless thats just a common fantasy completely unrelated to the majgijgic of Castlerigg, which until now has resided in the dankest corners of my mind.

I think you'll find that's a common reaction.
Either that or my club or Wanting to do Strange Things in the Vicinity of Old Stones has just got its second member.

rockartuk Apr 5, 2005 00:37:55

Replying to Pixxx

Hi Hob & All
So you ARE the Castlerigg Ghost!
Here's Fitzcoraldo's handy plan for your next visit. The spiral is on stone nr 1.
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/9091
Cheers,
Jan