Having found very little in the way of sacred sites to keep us in Rutland or Leicestershire we headed northwards towards Nottinghamshire. We had in mind to head for Dale Hermitage, but there would be an unexpectedly pleasant detour first, for as we passed round the outskirts of Nottingham a place popped into mind – The Hemlock Stone. One of our blog readers had mentioned it in a comment recently, and I had not had a great deal to say about it at the time. For some reason it impinged on my thoughts very strongly today. Kal did a quick calculation and we found that we were only 20 minutes drive away. Then, we should pay it a visit.
We arrived and parked in the Bramcote Park facilities, which today included a convenient ice cream van. Far too cold for that, but Kal wasn’t going to be put off. We wandered across the road to Stapleford Hill, and were fortunate enough to have the place to ourselves for the duration of our visit. Everyone else was busy being entertained in the park.
Free To Roam
I don’t cope with barriers very well. Demarcations. Fences. Gates. Ditches. Boundaries of any sort. I like to think of the land as being open and free. That’s part of what our grandparents believed they were fighting to preserve, so you could consider it a “landright” – an inherent right to roam freely on the land if not causing harm. When I’m retired I intend to walk the Belinus Line from the south coast to the north without deviating. That will be one hell of a book, right? I can write it in prison. Anyway – The Hemlock Stone.
As we approach we see the railings around the stone “protecting it”. Well, it is sandstone, so it will wear down easily. Yet, I assert my landright and intending no harm I hop over the railing, as does Kal. It’s his first time here, but my second.
Today felt different from my last visit (which was in February). The energies are much stronger. I felt a tingle of excitement as I sat on the stone. Something was going to happen!
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