Bunty May Marshall (Member no: 179)

Fairy Stone

The whole area surrounding the site has a certain mysticism about it

The first section of Mondays 20km hike around Harden and Bingley took us through Cottingly Woods and I *finally* found the beautiful ancient carved Fairy Stone. A little light trespassing took us into the scout camp woods and there it was in all its glory. Previous trundles around these parts led me to find other, less prominently carved stones nearby but I somehow failed to locate this beauty. Until now.
Very little has been written about this incredibly well preserved cup and ring marked stone. First found in 1966 by a local forester Ronald Bennett, some thousands of years after its creation, some time during the Bronze Age era. The whole area surrounding the site has a certain mysticism about it. There is a Neolithic Stone Circle on the nearby Harden Moors, which is, again, very ambiguous and under-documented.
Finally finding this stone after frustratingly missing it on previous treks absolutely made my day and gave me the energy and bounce I needed for the 20km hike ahead of us.