Our next step was the Lake District
where we visited Castlerigg. Absolutely stunning.
Took my breath away. The stone circle is set on the
summit of a hill, which is surrounded by amazingly
formed hills 360 around. I felt very energised by
the place and felt like I was again in a very special
place. The stone circle had a group of stones that
pierced the circle. To me, it felt like a phallic
entering of the circle, a joining of both feminine
and masculine energies. Whilst feeling the energy
there and observing the magnificence, my mind wandered
about the people who had built and used the circle
so many life times gone. I felt that many generations
of people had and still are having ceremony there.
I really wanted to spend more time here but our journey
was time limited so we had to move on. I vowed to
come back to the Lake District as it is so very beautiful
and Castlerigg so invigorating.
Our next stop was a beautiful stone
circle named Swinside. The weather was poor but we
decided to go for it anyway. We walked through field
upon field and finally reached quite a large stone
circle. Unfortunately, because I was cold and wet,
I wasn’t really able to appreciate the place
as much as I would have liked to but the weather added
to the mystery and isolation of the place.
We were on the move again up to the western side of
Scotland via Glasgow and to a place called Templewood.
I was starting to feel like I needed to stop somewhere
and spend longer than a few hours at a site. I love
to spend as least a day if not three at one sacred
site. Just being, drawing, observing, photographing
and experiencing the stillness and the energy movements.
Going from one circle to the next was having its toll
on me so we agreed to stop for at least a day at the
next site.
I then had the strangest experience. Once we had arrived,
eaten and got ready to explore, Linda and Mandy went
off for a walk to visit a number of burial mounds
and Tina and I went straight to the stone circle.
It was a strange circle as the middle was full of
stones, which I had never seen before. Without thought,
both of us walked straight into the circle and sat
down leaning against one of the stones. Immediately,
I felt uncomfortable and uneasy. I felt my life energy
draining out of me. I didn’t know what it was
bur I didn’t like the energy of this stone circle.
I had never felt like this about any of the sacred
sites I have visited.
After a while we left, agreeing that it had a strange
energy. We went to visit the first burial mound but
by this time I was really tired. All my energy had
been drained out of me and I felt an urgency to leave
the place altogether. We went straight back to the
van and waited for the other two. I slept and woke
up feeling awful. What I drew in my diary was full
of death. I just wanted to leave. Linda and Mandy
eventually came back after admiring every flower and
all of nature on their amazing walk but quite unusually
had decided against going to the stone circle. We
left almost immediately even though it had been me
that had needed to stop. We went and had a shower,
which Linda suggested might wash any lingering bad
energies.
