Book of the Month August 2025

Stone Lands

Our book of the month for August is Stone Lands by Fiona Robertson.

Stone Lands is a beautiful journey through grief and our relationships to humans and place. In this deeply personal account of the ancient landscape Fiona guides us to stone circles, burial chambers, lone standing stones and subterranean fogous across the length and breadth of Britain.

Each site offers a focus for Fiona’s grief offering a sense of hope and comfort in a time of crisis. In the stones Fiona finds there is solace and comfort. This, for so many of us, I think, rings true. They are often places that can give us hope in moments of grief or emotional pain. They act as sturdy markers in a world which can feel unsteady.

Have you read Stone Lands yet? Let us know.

“Journeying across Britain, from West Penwith and Avebury to the Lake District and Orkney, ​Stone Lands uncovers the magic and rich history of our incredible prehistoric standing stones. It conveys the delight that lies in tracking them down, as well as the solace these ancient places offer in times of darkness.

A few months after discovering that her beloved husband, Stephen, had incurable cancer, Fiona Robertson began to write this book. A long-time megalith enthusiast, she found the ancient stones resonated with her more profoundly than ever as she faced the prospect of losing him. Set upright thousands of years ago, the megaliths are symbols of endurance and survival, standing in contrast to our ephemeral human lives. Infused with folklore, legend and mystery, they enchant the landscape and bring magic to our modern world.

This enthralling memoir is woven delicately around great grief but is ultimately about embracing life, joy and ancient wonder - a luminous reminder of what it means to exist on this earth.”