Lanyon Quoit..Madron Cornwall..
The day I fancied pulling in this ancient monument it was totally clouded over and a car and a minibus or campervan were already parked in the small layby. It was so dull that we drove a little further and turned back the way we came. Both vehicles were just pulling out so we parked up and nipped over the style for a quick look but the lighting was as flat as a pancake and we went back to the car. When crossing a style I have a tendency to descend backwards so saw this partial rainbow and in those few moments the clouds had bunched up and there was a bit of blue ( just enough to make a sailor a collar ) as my mother used to say :)
I couldn't believe it honestly and don't think I ever moved faster pulling a camera from its hiding place I practically flew back over that style. Now if you knew me at all you would know that is NOT how I usually move lol..
Hand held and I suppose not particularly special but that rainbow only came out for me at this particular time I'm sure.. Later the same day I got more rainbows and also soaked to the skin but I was as excited as a child with this very short lived partial rainbow in this special place.....
You can see the structure from the road if you stand on the roof of your car and peer over the hedgerows, but it’s well worth the two-minute walk to experience it firsthand. In the field, a large flat stone, or quoit weighing around 12 tons, rest on top of three upright stones. The dolmen was constructed around 2500 BC as part of a barrow, or chambered tomb, the remains of which are barely visible in the surrounding landscape today. Lanyon means “cold pool” in the native Cornish language. The site is also known as “The Giant’s Table,” for obvious reasons, and has been mentioned in Arthurian legends.
Originally, the dolmen was much higher, perhaps tall enough to accommodate a horse and rider beneath it. However, after a storm in 1815, the ancient structure collapsed. In the course of the 1824 reconstruction by locals, one of the supports broke. With only three uprights remaining, the quoit was lowered about five feet and rotated ninety degrees from its original orientation. Today it’s barely five feet from ground to ceiling.
The surrounding moors are windy and beautiful in themselves, and the spot is perfect for a respite on the drive from St Ives to Penzance.
Lanyon Quoit..Madron Cornwall..
The day I fancied pulling in this ancient monument it was totally clouded over and a car and a minibus or campervan were already parked in the small layby. It was so dull that we drove a little further and turned back the way we came. Both vehicles were just pulling out so we parked up and nipped over the style for a quick look but the lighting was as flat as a pancake and we went back to the car. When crossing a style I have a tendency to descend backwards so saw this partial rainbow and in those few moments the clouds had bunched up and there was a bit of blue ( just enough to make a sailor a collar ) as my mother used to say :)
I couldn't believe it honestly and don't think I ever moved faster pulling a camera from its hiding place I practically flew back over that style. Now if you knew me at all you would know that is NOT how I usually move lol..
Hand held and I suppose not particularly special but that rainbow only came out for me at this particular time I'm sure.. Later the same day I got more rainbows and also soaked to the skin but I was as excited as a child with this very short lived partial rainbow in this special place.....
You can see the structure from the road if you stand on the roof of your car and peer over the hedgerows, but it’s well worth the two-minute walk to experience it firsthand. In the field, a large flat stone, or quoit weighing around 12 tons, rest on top of three upright stones. The dolmen was constructed around 2500 BC as part of a barrow, or chambered tomb, the remains of which are barely visible in the surrounding landscape today. Lanyon means “cold pool” in the native Cornish language. The site is also known as “The Giant’s Table,” for obvious reasons, and has been mentioned in Arthurian legends.
Originally, the dolmen was much higher, perhaps tall enough to accommodate a horse and rider beneath it. However, after a storm in 1815, the ancient structure collapsed. In the course of the 1824 reconstruction by locals, one of the supports broke. With only three uprights remaining, the quoit was lowered about five feet and rotated ninety degrees from its original orientation. Today it’s barely five feet from ground to ceiling.
The surrounding moors are windy and beautiful in themselves, and the spot is perfect for a respite on the drive from St Ives to Penzance.