STONE BOTHERING

High on the moors of North Cornwall, not far from Wadebridge, stands one of the county’s most impressive and mysterious ancient stones. The St Breock Downs Monolith, often called the Men Gurta by locals, rises tall and proud above the rolling landscape. It is the largest and heaviest standing stone in Cornwall, a silent sentinel that has watched over the land for thousands of years. Though simple in form, its presence feels immense, as though it belongs to the moor as much as the heather, the mist, and the Cornish wind. This solitary giant has inspired fascination for centuries. It draws archaeologists, walkers, and dreamers alike, each hoping to understand something of its story. To visit the monolith is to step into the long shadow of human history, where faith, purpose, and mystery merge. The St Breock Downs Monolith is around 4.9 meters tall, or about sixteen feet, and weighs an estimated sixteen tons. It is made of local granite, dark and coarse, shaped by nature and perhaps sligh...

Lima is known as a city of chaos, a sprawling metropolis filled with the hum of traffic and the endless rhythm of modern life. But beneath this vast urban body lies a much older landscape, one that still breathes through the veins of ancient clay and whispers through the ruins that rise quietly between the avenues. Two of the most visible of these old sentinels are Huaca Pucllana and Huaca Huallamarca. They sit in unexpected places, surrounded by buildings, cafés, and sidewalks, yet they belong to another world. They come from a time when this coast was a desert cradle of temples and ritual pyramids, built not for power or glory, but to keep balance between humans, gods, and the earth that sustained them. To walk around Huaca Pucllana or Huaca Huallamarca is to stand inside the echo of a different Lima, one that existed long before the Spanish conquest, before the Incas, even before the Quechua language reached these shores. The Land Before the City Before there were skyscrapers, taxis...

Cornwall is full of places that hum with an ancient stillness, where the land holds on to memories longer than people do. Among the moors of the far west, there are hundreds of stone monuments, barrows, and forgotten chambers. Some are well known, with their names printed on signs and trails. Others, like Portheras Barrow, hide in plain sight. You can drive past it a hundred times without knowing that one of the most quietly powerful prehistoric sites in Cornwall is only a few steps from the road. Portheras Barrow lies near the coast between St Just and Morvah, on a patch of high ground where the wind never seems to rest. From its rounded rise, you can see the sea glittering beyond Portheras Cove and the sweep of moorland stretching inland toward Carnyorth and Chun Castle . It sits in that kind of place that feels naturally sacred, even if you know nothing about archaeology. The horizon feels deliberate, the way the land folds around it feels designed for ceremony or watching the heave...

The Valley of Stones in Dorset, England, is a National Nature Reserve that holds a remarkable landscape of scattered sarsen boulders. These impressive stones, formed during the last ice age, were created by freeze-thaw cycles that caused sandstone from the nearby hills to fragment and slump downhill. The result is a dramatic, almost otherworldly terrain where boulders of all sizes are strewn across the valley floor, inviting exploration and contemplation. The sarsen stones themselves are among the largest and most impressive in southern England. They vary from small pebbles to massive boulders weighing over 100 tons. Their warm honey-brown tones and weathered, textured surfaces give the valley a timeless and mystical character, making it easy to imagine the place as it might have appeared to ancient peoples who first encountered it. Among the scattered stones, a hidden treasure was discovered: a Neolithic polishing stone, or polissoir . This large boulder features a smooth, concave sur...

At the far western edge of Cornwall, stands Chapel Carn Brea. From a distance it looks like an ordinary hill, but once you start to climb it, you sense there’s more to it than the view. Layers of history lie hidden in the earth here, with traces of ancient burials, a lost chapel, and even a wartime lookout. This hill has been important to people for thousands of years. Standing on its summit today, with the wind sweeping in from the Atlantic and the land stretching endlessly in every direction, you can feel the weight of time and the quiet echo of countless lives that once crossed this ground. Chapel Carn Brea sits close to the village of St Just, on the far western edge of Cornwall, only a few miles from Land’s End. Often called the “first hill in Cornwall,” it greets travelers arriving from the sea, rising to nearly two hundred meters above sea level. From its summit, the views are extraordinary. To the north, the coastline curves toward Cape Cornwall and the Atlantic horizon. To the...

Located amidst the fields and quiet lanes of West Cornwall lies a place that seems suspended in time. Sancreed Holy Well offers a glimpse into centuries of spiritual devotion, mysterious rituals, and local legends that have endured long after the stones themselves have weathered the elements. For those who wander here, it is impossible not to feel a connection to the many generations who sought solace, healing, and inspiration in this tranquil corner of the Cornish landscape. Sancreed Holy Well has been a focal point of spiritual life for centuries. The name Sancreed itself hints at its deep Christian roots, derived from Saint Credan or Sancred, a figure believed to have lived in the early medieval period. The well is thought to predate the medieval chapel that once stood beside it, suggesting that the site’s sacredness reaches back into the distant past, possibly even into pre-Christian times when water sources were venerated for their life-giving qualities. The chapel beside the well...

Across the English countryside, beside old roads, at parish boundaries and near ancient churches, there are curious stones that once held vinegar. They are called plague stones, and they are silent relics of one of the darkest chapters in human history. These hollowed boulders, simple and unassuming, tell stories of isolation, desperation, and the inventive ways people tried to survive the plagues that swept across medieval Europe. They are more than carved rock. They are echoes of fear and faith. They remind us that even in times of terror, people sought ways to protect one another while clinging to the thin hope that cleanliness, prayer, and distance might keep death away. Today these stones still stand in places like Derbyshire, York, and Cornwall. Most passersby have no idea what they once were. Yet when you stop and look closer, they tell you everything about the human instinct to endure. What Were Plague Stones Plague stones are hollowed-out stones or boulders used during outbrea...