HISTORY
Stories of the stones By local historian and Dartmoor Guide Paul Rendell Across Dartmoor there are a number of stone circles and stone rows built by Bronze Age people. Probably even then, people must have loved to hear a good story. These people would have come back from hunting wild boar and recount tales of bravery or how they came across a scary monster. And now in the 21st century there are many stories told about these standing stones. There is a wonderful stone circle at Scorhill, near Gidleigh. Scorhill is in a group of eight stone circles to be found in a curve around the north-east of the moor, including Grey Wethers (two circles), Sittaford, Fernworthy, Shovel
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Down, Buttern and White Moor. There are possibly yet more to be found within this area - Buttern was discovered lying on the ground and Sittaford was recently found, hidden under vegetation. Scorhill Circle consists of 23 standing stones today, but possibly had about 35 stones when it was first built - there are number on the ground. This stone circle has lots of stories about things that have happened there. Many years ago, two male walkers from Chagford were standing outside the circle talking, when one spotted
an adder slithering across the circle towards them. When it reached the edge of the circle, it stopped, as though it had reached an invisible barrier. It went back and forth trying very hard to get through this barrier. One of the walkers used his trekking pole to help the snake escape by lifting it up and over the invisible barrier and it went on it way. On another occasion a local lady was out riding her horse when she spotted something very strange. A small group of moorland ponies had arrived just before she got there - the lead pony
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