Timeless Devotion.

Continuing the occasional series on henges, monoliths and stone circles

There is something quite special about a gathering of great stones standing in a circle, shrouded in their enigmatic silence. From time immemorial, humans have had a deep fascination with and reverence for such places.

For those ancient monuments, their exact origins are lost to time, though many seem to have remarkably accurate astronomical alignments. Whatever their original purpose, one cannot fail to be moved by their presence.

Twelve Apostles

I have, to date, only visited The Twelve Apostles once, a couple of years ago with my family. It sits in the middle of a field a couple of miles out on the edge of Dumfries and is easliy accessed. Slightly ovoid in shape and measuring 292 feet (89 metres) at it’s broadest, it is the largest stone circle on mainland Scotland. Despite having a biblical name with associated traditions, it is in fact much older, built somewhere between three and five thousand years ago. Initially seen from the field’s gate and partially hidden by summer’s crop, their presence wasn’t fully appreciated until we were among them. A wonderful place of historical and spiritual significance, yet almost hidden in plain sight.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostles_Stone_Circle

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Coming forward at least three millennia, we humans are still connected to and inspired by our ancestors sufficiently to want to build sacred sites of a similar nature in the modern era.

Whitlenge

The circle at Whitlenge Gardens in Worcestershire is a fine example. Set in a commanding position overlooking surrounding meadows and woodland, it is quite an imposing structure. Probably built as an impressive extension to the wonderful gardens, it is as far as I’m aware, also a place of ritual and the celebration of our connection with Mother Nature.

If monuments of this nature are of interest, both are well worth a visit.

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Images of the Twelve Apostles were taken with a 1950s Dacora 1 (120 format) folding camera on Ilford HP5+. The Whilenge images were taken with a Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 on Kentmere 100. Both rolls of film were developed in caffenol as usual.

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