STONE BOTHERING

The Peak District became the first of the national parks in England and Wales in 1951. The prehistoric landscape attracts thousands of visitors every year. Here we list places that are worth a visit in this amazing national park. THE ROACHES The Roaches is a prominent rocky ridge formed from a thick bed of coarse sandstone of Namurian age, which occurs widely across the Peak District. The gritstone escarpment consists of amazing rock formations which are very popular with hikers and rock climbers. The most famous rock formations are Hen Cloud and Ramshaw Rocks. DOVEDALE Dovedale is a limestone valley famous for its interesting rock formations. The rock formations are the result of fossilised remains of sea creatures that lived in a shallow sea over the area during the Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago. The rocks were cut into craggy shapes by glacial meltwater during the two ice ages and formed the landscape we see in these days. The caves in the area were also formed d

Gloucestershire is a historic county in England, that comprises part of the Cotswolds Hills, part of the valley of the River Severn and the Forest of Dean. The county contains many ancient sites and here we list 5 places that are worth a visit. BELLAS KNAP LONG BARROW Belas Knap Long Barrow is a Neolithic chambered tomb, trapezoidal in plan and it consists of a false entrance and four burial chambers. It's believed that it was constructed around 3000 BC by the Neolithic people as a place to bury their dead. The barrow was excavated twice revealing the remains of human skeletons together with animal bones and fragments of pottery. The excavators also reported finding a circle of flat stones beneath the centre of the mound. Unfortunately, these stones were later removed. MINCHINHAMPTON LONGSTONE The Longstone of Minchinhampton also known as the Holey Stone is a single standing stone with natural holes in it. It's believed that the monolith is about 4,000 years old. Local legend s

Wiltshire is home to some of the most impressive ancient sites in England. Some of them are well known and attract thousands of visitors every year. But there are also some lesser known sites that are worth a closer look. LANHILL LONG BARROW Lanhill Long Barrow also known as Hubba's Low, is a Neolithic chambered long barrow constructed about 5,000 years ago. Evidence suggests that the barrow had three burial chambers, but only one survives. Unfortunately much of the barrow was destroyed by farmers over the last centuries. It was once included among the most important antiquities in Wiltshire. The barrow was partially excavated in 1909. Several human skeletons were found in the chambers. COATE STONE CIRCLE Coate Stone Circle is a partly visible stone circle containing five recumbent sarsen stones. Based on his observations in the 1890s, the antiquarian A. D. Passmore suggested that the circle would have once contained over thirty stones. He recorded nine stones surviving as part of

Scotland is well known for its stunning landscape. Mountains, rock formations, caves, cliffs, islands, you name it. The further north you go, the wilder it gets. Here we list 5 impressive geological formations that are worth a visit. THE STORR The Storr is a rocky hill on the Trotternish Peninsula of the Isle of Skye. It's an example of the Trotternish landslide which is the longest such feature in Great Britain. The Storr was formed by underlying sedimentary rocks that collapsed under the weight of the basalt, tipping everything sideways and creating this unique landscape. The area in front of the cliffs known as the Sanctuary, features a number of pinnacles that are the remnants of the ancient landslides. The most iconic geological feature is certainly the Old Man of Storr. KILT ROCK Kilt Rock is a sea cliff so named for the resemblance of a pleated kilt, with vertical basalt columns forming the pleats and intruded sills of dolerite forming the pattern. This beautiful geological

Somerset is a county in Southwest England well known for its prehistoric landscape. The stunning landscape is composed of rolling hills, large flat expanses of land and an extensive coastline. Here we list six prehistoric sites that are worth a visit. CHEDDAR GORGE Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge formed by meltwater floods during the periglacial periods which have occurred over the last 1.2 million years. The gorge is almost 400 feet deep and three miles long. This is England's largest gorge and it consists of crags, pinnacles and caves. The most popular caves known as Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave, were produced by the activity of an underground river called Cheddar Yeo River which emerges in the lower part of Gough's Cave. The caves contain stalagmites and stalactites which can be visited by the general public. Cheddar Gorge is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest known as Cheddar Complex. The gorge is also known for the discovery of Britain's oldest com

Argentina is known for its stunning and varied landscape. But in Northern Argentina, the landscape becomes more dramatic and also more colourful. Most of the landscape is composed by desert, valleys, hills and mountains. The colourful landscape is the product of a complex geological activity that started around 600 million years ago when the area was still under water. The different colours of sedimentary layers that compose the mountains and hills have been formed during different time periods. The rocks with shades of green are believed to be the oldest ones. Here we have listed four jaw-dropping places that are unmissable in Northern Argentina. FOURTEEN COLOURED MOUNTAIN (SERRANIA DE HORNOCAL) The Fourteen Coloured Mountain is a limestone formation called Yacoraite which is a largely Mesozoic geologic formation. The mountain is mainly composed of rock outcrops from different time periods and it was created between 130 and 65 million years ago. Dinosaur remains and other fossils have

Sarsen stones are sedimentary rocks mostly made up of quartz sand cemented by silica. The stones are found mostly across England, being Wiltshire the county with the largest amount of these stones. It's believed that they were moved to the area through glacial action during the ice age, around 5 to 10 million years ago. Sarsen stones were used in the construction of ancient monument such as Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circles. But they can also be found scattered naturally across fields. In this post we list 5 places with large amounts of sarsen stones that can be visited in the county of Wiltshire. PIGGLEDENE Piggledene is probably the most famous site of its kind, containing a large amount of sarsen stones scattered across a field. This site is a remnant of a much larger landscape of sandstone periglacial deposits. Many of the stones have been removed in the past to provide building materials in the area. It's possible to see where the stones were worked, split and cut. It&#

Cornwall is a county in Southwest England and it's known for its beautiful landscape and also for the huge amount of ancient sites. Cornwall is a delight for explorers and people interested in learning more about life in ancient times. Here we list 9 ancient sites that are totally worth a visit. MEN-AN-TOL Men-an-Tol consists of four granite stones: a holed stone with two upright stones to each side arranged in a line and a fallen stone at the foot of one of the upright stones. It's believed that this monument dates to either the late Neolithic or the early Bronze Age period. The real purpose of this arrangement is unknown. It's believed that this site was used for ritual and ceremonial purposes. Legend has it that the holed stone can cure children suffering from rickets if they are passed through the hole nine times. The stone was also believed to increase women's fertility. TRETHEVY QUOIT Trethevy Quoit is an impressive portal dolmen (cromlech) consisting of five stan

If you are on the lookout for places to bother stones, Wiltshire is certainly one of the best destinations in Great Britain. Wiltshire is a historic county in England known for the stunning prehistoric landscape and the ancient sites. It's a place to wander around and explore England's past. STONEHENGE Stonehenge is an obvious choice for this list. This impressive monument is part of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument consisting of a ring of massive standing stones and horizontal stone lintels capping the outer circle. Two different types of stone (bluestones and sarsens) were used to build it. Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. AVEBURY HENGE AND STONE CIRCLES Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles. It's believed that the complex was constructed between 2850 BC and 2200 BC. The henge survives as a huge circular bank and ditch. Within the h

Somerset is a rural county in South West England, offering a wide range of prehistoric landscapes in addition to impressive ancient sites. The county has a long history of settlement and is known to have been settled from Palaeolithic times. It's steeped in history and folklore, making it the perfect place to explore England's past. Here is a list of the top ancient sites in this amazing county. GLASTONBURY TOR Glastonbury Tor is certainly one of the most iconic ancient sites in England. It's a hill with a 14th century tower on its top which is all that remains of St. Michael's Church. Glastonbury Tor is a conical hill that rises 158m above the Avalon Marshes. Its peculiar shape is due to a combination of the unusual geology and the distinctive terraces surrounding the hill. The top of the hill is formed from a succession of rocks assigned to the Bridport Sand Formation. These rocks sit upon clay and limestones deposited during the early Jurassic Period. Read more about