Why I spent an afternoon with Long Meg and her Daughters in an English pasture.
Long Meg and her Daughters is a giant rock circle which constitutes one of the largest prehistoric sites in Great Britain. However, Stonehenge is so busy hogging attention that even some seasoned travelers have never heard of Meg.
While Stonehenge is the most famous stone circle, it is only one of around 1,300 such formations in the British Isles and Brittany. From 3,300 to 900 BCE, people throughout the British Isles and northern France built countless circles out of wood and stone. We know that these circles were religious centers, however, we are still not sure what role these circles played during ceremonies. All we know for sure is that they were important to the people that constructed them considering the effort to drag these stones to where they are now, sometimes as far as a few miles, sometimes well over 30 miles.
A view of the circle from above.
Long Meg and Her Daughters sits near Penrith, in Northwest England. Today’s traveler has quite a journey to visit Long Meg and her family, through winding roads in English countryside. You can act like a local and bring a picnic. But be warned, the land sits in the middle of a cow pasture and your kids (and husbands) might be more interested in their pies than the ones in the picnic basket.
Stones surrounding a cow pie.
Today’s circle has 59 stones, only 27 of which still stand but there may have been up to 70 stones; many have disappeared through the centuries. The stones were placed in an oval shape approximately 100 m (328 ft) across. The smaller stones in the circle are Long Meg’s “daughters.”
The famous Long Meg.
The tall standing stone to the south is Long Meg. She has several designs carved on the side facing her “daughters”, including rings and spirals that would have held some ceremonial importance.
One of the carvings on Long Meg.
The circle was definitely used for burial, and likely for other religious ceremonies. The circle not only lines up with the solar calendar, but recent study shows it may also line up with the lunar cycle. One alignment happens on All Souls Day/Samhain in late fall, when shadows line up Long Meg and several other stones.
Many legends surround Long Meg and Her Daughters, one of which led to its unusual name. One of the most famous legends surrounding the circle is that it was a coven of witches that were turned into stone by a wizard from Scotland named Michael Scot. The legend also says that the stones cannot be counted. If one were to count the stones and come up with the same total twice, the spell would be broken, bringing the witches back to life. Considering the fact that I already put the number of stones up there, the story is probably untrue. I hope.
The name of the circle is said to come from a local witch, Meg of Meldon, who was alive in the early 17th century. From a certain angle, the Long Meg stone kind of does resemble the profile of a witch.
I can sort of see a face.
Long Meg and Her Daughters are worth the 2-hour drive from Liverpool, located very close to the picturesque, waterlogged and heavily traversed Lake District, a mecca for English vacationers. Long Meg is only one of countless stone circles in the area, all of which deserve a visit. Sadly, she was the only one I visited in the area. I should have taken my own advice.
Vera sits patiently amongst the stones. (Yes, I named my rental car.)
Long Meg was seen on Day 20 of my Around Great Britain in 30 Days series! Check it out!
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Check out more of my Hidden History series!
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