All three of these images are sited near Ashdown House (see previous post) on the Lambourne Downs in Berkshire. The first, you can make your own mind up about. The other two are 'Wayland's Smithy', an evocative ancient burial chamber.It was said that if you tethered your horse nearby, overnight you would return to find it freshly shoed - but only if you left a gift for the smith, Wayland.
What wonderful, mysterious pictures! I remember a BBC kids show set in that sort of country. It always intruiged me. One day I will visit.
ReplyDeleteIs the top image a recent one or ancient?
I do wish people would stop doing so-called Crop Circles; they've had their day. Unless, of course, someone can come up with something new!
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful buriel chamber, but the two pictures don't seem to resemble each other. I wonder what sort of gift would be needed in exchange for the shoeing. Nice story.
Recent, Sarah - it's one of the infamous crop-circles which have mysteriously become more complex and intricate with the advancement of computor design programs.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that you don't look on the crop-circles as art-forms, Cro. Maybe it's the farmer coming out of you since tilling Haddocks into the productive and bountiful plot it is today? Most of the time, eighteenth century prints bear little resemblance to the subjects when it comes to ancient sites. A huge amount of 'artistic licence' was allowed when portraying landscapes - particularly Gothic ones, when ruins were just made up purely from the imagination. If you wanted an accurate picture, you had to go to someone like Stukely.
I think the traditional gift for Wayland was a bit of food.