Men A Tol - Cornwall

I was so happy to discover our own pictures of the men-a-tol which we took about three years ago on one of our many visits to the West Country.

On this occasion it was our very first time - we were staying in the perfect Cornish cottage just outside of Tintagel. We set off early the morning towards Penzance, Lands End, Mousehole and St Michael's Mount.

We were out the whole day, utterly blown away (especially at Lands End, as the wind was very strong) by the beauty of the countryside and the sheer majesty of the windswept moors and of the views of the ocean.

Towards the end of the day, as we were leaving Lands End, we decided it would be bright idea to visit the men-a-tol. We had a vague idea where it was. We set off just as the mist came folling in across the sea. We got horribly lost, found ourselves on a farm and I had to jump out of the jeep and go ask directions from a very amused farmer as he was herding his cows into their hold. Armed with directions, we set off down tiny countrylanes with no cars coming past, ahead or behind us. Eventually, through the mist, we spotted a sign that read Men A Tol. We veered off the road and parked on a muddy track. An arrow pointed up a desolate farmtrack so rutted I sank knee-deep into some of the holes.

We smiled nervously at one another and decided to go ahead and do it - how far could it be, afterall? After what felt like an hour's worth of hiking up this farm road, high foliage on either side with the far-off lowing of cattle for even more ambiance with mist coming in even thicker than before, there was another small sign that pointed to a step over a fence on the right. We followed this. The shrubs and plants were almost as tall as I am as we made our way along. There was no one around. It was just M and myself. The silence was a balm and as we walked along the mist dragged its damp fingers catsoft across our faces.

Unexpectedly, the three stones loomed at us. We stopped and stared. It was like something out of a Hollywood special effects department. The setting was one of those truly perfect moments. We moved closer, in awe of this ancient place, knowing that we were in the presence of something other, a sacred place.

Others had been there before us that day. They had left tiny offerings at the base of the hole-stone; tiny flowers picked from the surrounding countryside, bread crumbs and even some small coins. I remember thinking about these previous visitors and wondered what they had asked for as they left their gifts. M and I wandered around and decided that it would only be beneficial to us and we crawled through the stone a few times and walked in a sunwise circle about the stones. A feeling of sheer euphoria and breathlessness came over me and I had to sit down for a bit. It was as if the scene had been set, exclusively for us. It was perfect. I can't remember feeling healthier or happier than I ever did sitting there with the mist rolling in over us.

We left our own offerings after staying our fill and made our way back to the car, a bit quiet but so obviously touched by being there - I know, it sounds kooky and dramatic but it was exactly as I tell it. I can't remember ever feeling so in touch with the raw energy of the world, not even at my first ever visit to Stonehenge.

Our journey back to the car seemed closer and by now not only was the mist quite thick, it had gone quite dark. I pushed thoughts of creatures in the bush out of my mind but was nevertheless relieved to pull the car-door closed behind me.

We left, feeling smug and very content, and after a few minutes drive something loomed at us out of the dark on the left hand side. Set in a small field we found another ancient tomb, this time much larger and even more eerie than you could make up. We parked the car hurriedly and clambered over a fence to go and inspect it. I didn't think that any of the pictures would come out, but they did.

And then, to crown it all, we had a full moon that night. She raced us home. We sat outside in the cottage's paddock and had some fiery whisky and toasted her. I swear she blinked at us.