Long Meg and Her Daughters
Penrith, Cumbria, England
Stone Circle

'Long Meg' is the name given to a tall sandstone megalith that stands outside one of the largest of the British stone circles.

There are several legends associated with this circle. One claims that a holy christian man transformed a local coven of witches into stone. Another claims that if the stone of Long Meg is chipped then it will bleed (please don't try this!). Still another legend claims that the stones of the circle cannot be counted; there are seventy...or are there?

The stones are arranged in the shape of a flattened ring measuring about 110 metres by 93 metres. The long axis runs east-west. From the centre of the ring, the tall outlier is very close to the direction of the midwinter sunset.

The outlier is decorated on one side with a spiral and concentric circles. Another of the few decorated rocks in Cumbria is at the nearby kerb circle of Little Meg.

Images ©2000, 2014 Martin McCarthy, Theasis Photography

Nearby Sites

0km Little Meg Kerb Circle
(NB: All distances are as-the-crow-flies. Lochs, mountains and beautiful winding roads will make it further. Sometimes much further.)