By: Blonde One
February 2020
Dartmoor has many of these amazing features. Apparently of the 16 that are in Devon, 14 are on Dartmoor. They vary in diameter and state of repair but all are worth a look. If the weather is good the shadows cast make excellent photos and if the weather is bad they give a brilliant navigation feature! The fabulous Legendary Dartmoor website has some fascinating information about these mysterious circles. It is believed that some were a kind of meeting place as they are often at the edge of field systems whereas others were close to burial mounds and so thought to be associated with some kind of ritual.
Many of the circles feature in local legends. Grey Wethers is a site just below Sittaford Tor and is the only one on Dartmoor to have two stone circles. They are pretty spectacular and fairly easy to get to either from Postbridge or by going through Fernworthy Forest. They were restored in the late 1800’s and it seems that no-one is really sure how faithful the restoration was to the original. One Grey Wethers legend suggests that a farmer once bought them thinking they were sheep! Maybe he had had too much Jail Ale that day?!
Dartmoor’s stone circles do not really compare to places like Stone Henge or Stanton Drew, but they are still a good feature to head for when you’re out and about.
