So where am I taking you today ?

 

I am so excited ! I packed up a picnic and we are going over to Stithians Reservoir to see the Neolithic / Early Bronze Age Cup Marked Boulders . 

I also wanted to share with you and show you the effect of the recent severe heat-wave and drought . 

    Stithians Reservoir this morning .

 There is water at the far end , and we saw some small boats setting sail .

At this end it has almost completely dried up .

A tragedy for the wildlife and the reason we must respect the hose-pipe bans and be mindful in the use of water .

Now lets go on and take the opportunity to see the remains of medieval buildings,Cornish hedges , pathways, possibly bridges and tracks .  There is a huge circle made of stones ,you can see some of it in this picture and more of it in the picture above . I don't  know this circle's story and I am not sure if it is an ancient circle or one that modern hands  have made . It must have taken a lot of work though , anyway .  I love it .

It is so beautiful here and the weather this morning perfect for our walk .

We had no idea where the boulders with the Cup marks were and I had a feeling that they would be up the other end of the reservoir , knowing my luck !

We continued on and I am so glad I remembered to bring my camera .

Then I spotted them ! 

I have no words to describe how I'm feeling here ,  reaching back into the past and touching the hands of our ancestors . 

Ritual , map , star constellations , sharpening tools , a  divination method for predicting the future or asking questions  , a game , egg cups , little oil lamps . What do you think ?

Could this be a stylized stag's head with antlers ?  A snake coiling around ? Are we looking at it upside down ? 

Oh ! I think I know what this might be !  

I am putting these photos on so that people who can't get here can enjoy , study , wonder and theorize about them .

I'd love to hear your ideas .

       Look , there's another faint cup in the middle .

I found some mint growing in the shade of a large boulder  . 

Remains of ancient Cornish Hedges .

Old track way and a little stone bridge .

We saw Kestrel , Buzzards , Cormorants and Sea Gulls . Couldn't get any closer . Didn't want to risk sinking into that deep slippery mud and I believe someone had to be rescued from the mud just the other day ! 

Then we enjoyed our picnic .

                   ....and then we drove the wrong way home  .....the longer route !

......but that's okay as we got to see a bit more of Cornwall's history ....

 .......but we'll go explore the Cornish tin mine engine house another day . ( might be Copper )

Hope you are enjoying the Bank Holiday Weekend and hope the weather is being kind .