“In you go, girlie,” she says, holding the car door open. “We’re going on another adventure!” Well, it was a while ago now, but I remember it as clear as day. She put my seat belt on and told me to settle down as it was a long drive. No chance of that! Normally, when I go in the car, it means I am going to see my friends but we were going the wrong way, so adventures, here I come! But we were driving for ages… though she said it wasn’t all that far. I admit, I got a bit excited. “Oho,” says the ball-guy. “Two of them squeaking now…” Apparently, she squeaks when she gets excited too. Especially when there are stones. And, when we finally got there… there were lots of stones. I couldn’t wait to get out!
“Rollright,” she told me. Now, I know a bit about Rollright, ‘cause the ball-guy had been reading a book called ‘The Old Sod,’ which I thought was about her, but he said not. It is by Alan Richardson, and ‘pparently, it’s about William Gray, and he’d had some strange and wonderful visions at the stone circle. I remember her telling me that she did too, so I’d found out a bit about the place.
First, we went to look out over the village of Long Compton, where a witch told a king that if he took seven long strides and could see the village, he would be King of England. The rise in the land stopped him and he failed the test. He was turned to stone and became the King Stone, while some of his men became the Whispering Knights.
Well, that’s a good story, and no doubt those two would be talking about ‘seven league boots’ again, but the King Stone is much younger than the rest of the site. It has only been standing there for about three and a half thousand years, but the Whispering Knights and the circle are much older than that! I had a look at the barrow that’s there too and that goes back about four thousand years. There are a lot of ancient burials and cremations around the stones, including those of children, but one chamber in the cairn has never been excavated… so who knows what still lies within? They wouldn’t let me dog though to find out…
She keeps telling me that any bones I find on adventures are not to be chewed. As if I was thinking about bones! They had brought a bowl and plenty of water for me and treats and ham and stuff, but I was way too excited to eat! I don’t often get to go on these long adventures and I wanted to make the most of it.
So, we saw the King Stone and I paid my respects. I also met a Labrador… and I did not dematerialise out of my harness to go speak to him, whatever she may say. I just have a Houdini streak and she said there were too many dogs and people to let me off the leash. Well… what did she expect me to do?
Then we walked down to the Whispering Knights. The stones lean together like people bending to hear each other, but they are all that remains of a dolmen, a burial chamber where a huge capstone is balanced on top of upright stones. The dolmen is nearly six thousand years old and the oldest part of the site.
From here you can see the stone circle that most people come to see and that was our last stop. The circle is also called the King’s Men and is supposed to be the army of the king who was turned to stone. They still get together though, some nights, and wander down to Long Compton to drink, or so the stories say.
The stones are really interesting… full of shapes and forms, and full of holes. They wouldn’t let me go inside, though. ‘No dogs allowed in the circle’, they said… but it was okay for two-legses to climb on the stones, even though they have been there for four and a half thousand years. My two-legses were not at all happy about that.
So, they walked me around the outside of the stones, so I could feel them for myself. I do love these places! We dogs have the Long Remembering of our kind, passed from dam to pup. Maybe these old stones hold the memory of your kind, in case you forget who you are.
There was one last thing to see… a sculpture of the Three Fairies, made from woven willow, ivy, lime and hazel. She says it was made by Adam and David Gosling, and inspired by a painting by William Blake. The sculpture stands here because the fairies come out of the hill below the King Stone at night, to dance amongst the stones. I bet they would have let me in…
Then they took me back to the car. I didn’t really want to go home as I was loving my adventure!
“Don’t worry, girlie,” she says. “The adventure is not over yet.”
Well, I perked up at that and got in the car, good as gold. “We’re taking you somewhere else now…” And ‘pparently, it was somewhere even they had never been!
Whoo hoo!
Much love,
Ani xxx
I’m glad you are getting out. i spend a lot of time on the deck, but I’m not ready to face the real world yet.
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These are old adventures… we haven’t had one for months now 😦
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We would love to be there with you, Ani as you explore these places!
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What a lovely adventure you all had, Ani.
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It was a good day 🙂
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Wonderful! and my two legs remembers the Three Fairies.
I haven’t been on an adventure for a while, not been well, but I’m doing OK, just ache a bit and keep getting twinges. Don’t like having my private parts washed so often, and they shaved my tummy!!! Still, I’m being spoilt more than usual so I don’t mind. Not that I;m a bone chewer, but shame you couldn’t have a little lick if you happened to dig one up, but then that’s not the thing to do on sites like these: precious and important.
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Glad to hear ypu are doing okay, Maggie. I know a lot of two-legses have been worried about you.
Yeah, they won’t even let me dig for bones, let alone have a taste… xx
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woof ❤ so nice to be loved
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❤
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You were so lucky to go on these adventures with your humans. Hopefully, we can all go on adventures again soon. We went to the beach today which was fun. Your friend, Dot!
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I would like to visit a beach, but they are all a long way away from me 😦
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WEll ANi, that was an adventure. I hope you will tell us about the next part. I can’t wait.
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Oh, I will 🙂
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Looking forward to reading about your next adventure.
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Still lots to share 🙂
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It’s about time your two-legged took you with her, Ani, but be careful with the Old Sod moniker or you might have to stay at home next time!
I am housebound by temperament. Strangers frighten me, probably because I was born and grew up in a place called The Shelter.
Your friend, Garfield
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I’d go with them every time, Garfield, but they go places where animals aren’t allowed…which I think is rather mean myself xx
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Wow, Ani, that was some adventure! I’m so glad you got to go on this one. The stones were fascinating and the stories behind them were certainly interesting. I hope you get to go on an adventure soon. I know it’s tough being stuck at home all the time. Take care of you and your two-legs. Love, hugs, and belly rubs.
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It was a great adventure! And there was still more to see that day. We are all missing being able to wander a lot though. xxx
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Thank you for this very interesting journey, and the lovely information, Ani! Enjoy your Sunday, and try to catch some chicken from the fridge. 😉 Michael
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I’m not having to try very hard… it was chicken for breakfast 🙂
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A two-part Adventure! 😀
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Indeed 🙂
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Lol, love that face. I see India Ani is loving these new ‘ventures <3. And a terrific guide too. 🙂 x
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She always enjoys playing out and learning new things 😉
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❤
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You’re so lucky you have all these adventures to remember. I bet the fairies would have let you in too… I hate that, “No dogs allowed,” rule. Lots of licks, Lilie
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Yeah, so do I, Lilie… though they are getting better at letting me come with them 😉
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