A short drive from our caravan in the Eden Valley is an ancient stone circle called Long Meg & Her Daughters. It is in fact the second largest stone circle in the country. Legend has it that Meg and her daughter’s were turned to stone as they danced on the Sabbath. Meg is the tallest stone and stands tall and proud. A magic spell prevents you from counting the correct number of stones in the circle apparently. The morning we visited we had Megs family all to ourselves, apart from the herd of cows grazing amongst them.
We parked up near the circle and walked into the nearby village of Little Salkeld. Here we enjoyed a morning brew outside the pink watermill, where we would return later for lunch. Next on our agenda though was a walk to Lacy’s Caves. We admired the red sandstone cottages ( most houses in the area are built using the local rosy coloured stone) which we passed en route.
We followed a farm track passing the buildings of Townend farm and past golden fields of barley on one side and the Settle Carlisle Railway on the other.
Presently we saw a signpost for Ravendale Bridge and so followed the arrow into the woods, walking along the old Long Meg Mine tramline.
Lacy’s Caves were commissioned by Colonel Lacy of Salkeld Hall. They were built into the red sandstone cliffs by the river Eden in the 18th century. It was the fashion in those days to build follies and grottos to entertain guests in, Colonel Lacy even employed a villager to live in his caves as a hermit. A must have for gentry back then apparently! Apart from building the caves, Colonel Lacy was also famous for trying to blow up Long Meg and her daughters. The mystical circle was saved by a very convenient thunderstorm.
The hermit would have had a picturesque riverside vista anyway.
We then retraced our steps back into Little Salkeld, counting numerous butterflies on the way. 🙂 The menu at the mill had looked so tasty, we decided to stop there for lunch. Little Selkeld Watermill is an 18th Century working organic flour mill which has a shop and cafe serving good vegetarian food. I really enjoyed my Homitey Pie. 🙂 There are mill tours , but we just settled on a bench outside to enjoy our dinner.
After lunch we headed back to the van and Wil assembled our hammock! It’s very relaxing , once you figure how to get in and out. 🙂
Have you visited any of these places?
Or hung about in a hammock? 😃
sunshine and celandines 
What a lovely place to wander, love learning a bit of local folklore and history. 😊
It is quite an undiscovered corner of Cumbria.x
You always find the nicest places to visit 😃 x
Not to far from the caravan we bought. So just had to explore. 🙂
That looks like a perfect day out.
It was lovely. 🙂
Another place to put on my “to see” list. When my kids were small I found a seat sale to England and my husband and I went for a quick visit. We stayed south around the Cotswolds but I think we found three or four stone circles to visit as well as a special visit to Stonehenge at dawn, just us and the security guard. I don’t know if they still do that. I’d had to arrange it all from Canada by FAX!! That tells you how long ago it was!!
You were very privileged, I believe it is very touristy and busy now. Long Meg & her Daughter’s is the second biggest circle after Stonehenge. X
It looks a super place to visit. I have tried a hammock, great fun but I found it hard to make a dignified exit.
Haha, yeh it takes a bit of getting used to. X
Thanks for reminding me, on your lovely blog, about those caves in the sandstone. Years ago I followed the River Eden from source to Carlisle. I bivouacked in the caves one night on the way. Very dry and cosy.
Further down the river at Lazonby and Armathwaite there are some impressive sandstone cliffs by the river where we used to climb if it was raining in the Lakes. Worth a look next time you are up there.
Bought a cheap hammock from Aldi and slept very well in it for several nights last time I was in France.
Thanks, I will have to explore the area more. It’s kind of our second home now. You have had an adventurous life!
Looks like a wonderful place to explore. That vegetarian lunch looks nice too!
It was very tasty indeed. 🙂 And we’ll, it’s a pink mill. 🙂
Looks to be a good walk and interesting area. The stones looked eerie x
We had a good old wander. Can’t wait to explore more! Cx
I love these kind of sites. I’ve never been to see Meg and her brood. I’ve been to Castlerigg many times, and my favourite place is Orkney which is littered with Neolithic sites.
Castlerigg is more well known I think than Long Meg. X
Great post! One should never try to blow up a stone circle!
Exactly! Luckily the men he employed to blow up the circle got spooked when there was a great crack of thunder. X
Gorgeous – love the pink buildings.
They are lovely 😃
To be honest I’m not terribly interested in stone circles, just don’t see the point of them at all. I do like the red sandstone cottages though, and the pink buildings look lovely 🙂
The local red sandstone is beautiful Eunice and the watermill, well it’s just so photogenic. Pretty in pink. 🙂
We never been there. Need to plan a visit.
What a great place, have never heard of it before, super photos. I would love to visit one day.
You should, it’s a delightful area of Cumbria. x
Lovely area, I know it well. I have friends who live in Lazonby and often go up there.
Wonderful. Hope to visit Lazonby soon and walk along the river from there. x
There’s a little campsite there and an outdoor swimming pool (summer only!)
Great, I will look out for them. X
Lovely, but we seem to be having weird weather & not getting out & about as much as we hoped. Still want to do some more walks before we go home. Have a great weekend & take care.
The weather is not the best Susan, especially today. Good luck with the rest of your trip!
Looks like a good walk wit plenty of interest.
I’ve heard of the Long Meg stone circle but never visited. Looks like it would be “worth a detour” as they say in the Michelin guides!
You go everywhere, so add it to your list. 😄
😂
This looks a lovely and interesting walk. We have a similar stone circle legend for the nine ladies on Stanton Moor in Derbyshire, with an outlying stone said to be the fiddler who played the music the ladies danced to!
I love your hammock, I quite fancy one for the garden!
Thanks for the inclusion in your post. Long Meg and her daughter’s is such an impressive stone circle and I love to visit. 🙂
The Pink Watermill in my post is unfortunately no longer a cafe, although it is still pretty to photograph.