The Rollright Stone Circle

I finally made my way to see the Rollright Stones, a stone circle just 30 minutes north of Oxford. While not as impressive as Stonehenge and Avebury, they are lovely in their own right and they are graced by beautiful views of the Cotswold countryside all around them.  It's well worth a wander to see this beautiful place.  

The area consists of three groupings of stones: The Kings Men stone circle (early Bronze Age -- 1500 to 3500 BC), the King Stone (most likely a burial marking), and the Whispering Knights (likely to have been used as a place of burial.)

There are two legends about the origins of the stones. The first legend tells of a king of ancient England who was marching along the ridge with his men (the main circle). They stopped to rest, and while the king (the King Stone) surveyed the way ahead, a group of knights went aside to plot against the king, and were immediately turned to stone.

Another legend goes that while the king was surveying the scene he met a local witch. The witch made a bargain with him, saying, "Seven long strides shalt thou take, If Long Compton thou canst see, King of England thou shalt be." The king, thinking this an easy bargain, replied, "Stick, stock, stone, as King of England I shall be known."  The king took his allotted seven strides, but his view was blocked by the mound known locally as The Archdruids Barrow. The witch triumphantly announced, "As Long Compton thou canst not see, King of England thou shalt not be, Rise up stick and stand still stone, For King of England thou shalt be none. Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be, and myself an eldern tree"Whereupon the king and his men became stones, and the witch turned into an elder tree.  

LOCATION
Located on a minor road just off the A34, signposted Little Compton. There is a small fee for entrance to the main circle, but the Whispering Knights and the King Stone can be seen for free. Free parking in a layby, but no toilet or food facilities.
For more information: 

http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/

 http://www.britainexpress.com/articles/Ancient_Britain/rollright-stones.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollright_Stones

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=140

The view of the valley from the stone circle