Stroll to Long Meg and get a sense of history (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Stroll to Long Meg and get a sense of history

10:20am Friday 12th August 2011

• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

Recently I was reading a book about the English Civil Wars of the 1640s. The followers of Parliament in conflict with King Charles I met in secret in 1637 around the Long Meg stone circle to plan their action. This inspired me to enjoy a stroll around the circle, and the day I chose was St Swithin’s Day. It was a lovely day until the afternoon, when I was caught by a huge shower of rain. Legend has it that if it rains on St Swithin’s Day, the next 40 days will be wet! I only hope this is wrong!

Route: From the M6 leave at junction 40. Follow the A686 for about four miles. Turn onto the B6412 to Langwathby and follow this through the village. Little Salkeld is reached in around one and half miles. Cross a bridge with the road bearing left. There is a watermill and car park on the right, there is also strict parking. The telephone number for the water mill is 01768-881523.

Map Ref: Ordnance Survey OL 5

Grid Ref: 568 360

Distance: 3 miles

Time: Allow 2 hours plus extra time for a visit to the working corn mill.

This is a lovely undulating stroll which not only has stunning scenery, haunting history and wonderful wildlife, but also has a mixture of inspiring sounds. There is nothing to beat the sound of a working water mill unless it is the murmur of assorted bird song. Little Salkeld is one of those rare villages which is truly caught in its very own time warp. All it lacks is a pub, but this does not matter as the walk starts and ends close to the watermill tea shop.

1 From the car park, explore the mill and perhaps enjoy a guided tour of the mill and a meal. Be sure to ask if you can walk from the mill and if you do want food or industrial archaeology there is some street parking in the quiet village. The word Salkeld means the ‘spring by the willow trees’ and this is an accurate description. The mill began to thrive when the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 brought peace to the border country. When the Settle-Carlisle railway opened in 1870 this much thrived but it declined from the 1930s as milling became dominated by huge companies. Since 1975 the mill has been building up its customers and with organic farming thriving, so too is the mill which exports flour throughout England. From the mill turn right and ascent the narrow and steep village street.

2 At a T-Junction turn right at a sign indicating Long Meg - Druid’s Circle. Actually the term druid is not correct as the circle is much earlier, but the name is still used. Climb the steep minor road until a narrow track leads off to the left.

3 Although this track is not signed it is the first one to be reached and is less than half a mile from the village. Turn left and continue a gentle climb. The footpath bears right after 300 yards. Continue for about the same distance to meet a very narrow road. Pass Marian Lodge to the right and then over a cattle grid.

4 The circle of stones approaches with the main group, including Long Meg herself, on the left and the minor group on the opposite side of the very minor road. The circle is in private hands but there is no objection to visitors, but people should remember that the area is grazed by cattle. Long Meg is a tall sandstone structure with Meg perhaps indicating magus or magician. It puts a whole new meaning to the term magic circle. It could also, however, means a megalith which is surrounded by about 70 stones. The word itself has meaning because it is considered bad luck to physically count the stones which are thought to be more than 3,500 years old. From the farm track splitting the circle, a footpath bears right and then veers slightly left . Pass the farm on the left, continue along the obvious path for around half mile.

5 Approach an ancient cross and a minor road which marks the site of St Michael's Church. Also called Addingham Church. In medieval times, churches were sited away from the village. Some were sited in order to bury victims of the plague but in this case the original Addingham village kept being washed away by floods and higher safer ground was chosen. All that remains here are gravel stones and an old cross. Turn right then right again along a very minor road. Parking is less than 200 yards on the right. Look to the right to see the site of Little Meg, a much smaller circle on private land. The minor road with grass verges then descends to Little Salkeld village. Turn left and continue the descent to the mill.

NB: Restrictions on space mean that this article provides a general summary of the route. It is advisable for anyone who plans to follow the walk to take a copy of the relevant Ordnance Survey map.