We chose to do something a bit different for this holiday and do a spot of island hopping. I've always had a yen to go to Anglesey and David felt the same about the Isle of Man so it made sense to combine the two and go away for a bit longer. I haven't been presented with an opportunity to do some intense stone bothering since we went to Orkney way back in 2015, but this trip more than made up for it🪨🪨
Our usual approach when we're away is to spend the first day doing something which doesn't ask too much of us and gives us a chance to find our feet somewhere new and rest up after travelling. Often it'll be a National Trust place or like this time a local gentle walk which leads out from the front door of where we were staying. The intention is that it's relaxing rather than taxing, but I might have got a tad excited when I came across the Bodowyr burial chamber in a local farmer's field. Like the others coming up it's Neolithic, but all you're seeing here are some of the remaining central stones. This one has never been excavated and I rather like to think that hopefully the person for whom it was intended is still quietly resting in peace.
I wasn't very calm either when we stumbled across this massive standing stone lurking in the hedge. It was much taller than me. David knew it was there, but as usual I hadn't bothered looking at the map or the route. Some things don't change😀
The one below is Bryn Celli Ddu which is the only one on Anglesey which is aligned with the rising sun at Midsummer. The earth mound was reconstructed during the 1920s and it was found to have a patterned stone [no longer there] plus its very own single standing stone inside. I've been in a few of these in my time, but have not encountered that particular variation before.
On our final day here we thought that we might pop into Barclodiad Y Gawres, but disappointingly my info was out of date and they only offer a few guided tours during August these days to stop vandalism. However, the universe was on our side and it was open to the public for a single heritage day. The date was 13th...definitely lucky for us! It meant that I could see the famous patterned stones inside at close quarters. They were done by pecking at the surface with quartz pebbles and hammer stones.
Once on the Isle of Man David put an extra loop onto our planned wander which meant I could take in King Orry's Grave. This is the largest megalithic site on the island, but nowadays it sits divided between two sites split asunder by modern housing and a road. It was still impressive though.
Unlike Orkney neither of these islands seemed to have many stone circles. We did climb up to Mull Circle enroute to another destination, but a closer examination showed it to be nothing like any other stone circle I've ever seen and believe me I've been to a few. Whilst going round I commented to David that they looked more like Bronze Age burials. As it turns out this is precisely what the monument is...six pairs of cists formed into a circle. Every time I visit a new site there's more for me to learn.
This final stone was an unplanned for extra. We disembarked from the ferry at Heysham and dropped in for a quick wander round the village before travelling again. The local church was open and I met my first ever Viking hogsback grave marker. Seeing one has been on my wish list for ever, but you need to be up north or in Scotland to find them. This particular 10th century one was found buried when the church was being extended in 1812. This fact alone has meant that it's now the best preserved one in the country. There's something rather pleasing about seeing all that Pagan imagery within the context of a Christian setting.
More adventures to come.
Arilx
