Men-an-Tol, Men Scryfa and the Nine Maidens Stone Circle are all in close proximity, so these are all included on this page. Lanyon Quoit is also very near, but a short ride away; all 4 are easily visited together. There is quite a walk to the nearest monument, which is Men-an-Tol, and it is a rather longer walk (but not too hard) to get as far as the Nine Maidens. A footpath passes all artefacts on this page.

Men-an-Tol

The origins of these stones is unknown; it is not even known if these are the original configuration or whether they have been re-erected this way. The holed stone traditionally was believed to have power to heal illness and naked children were passed through it three times to cure rickets and tuberculosis, after which they were dragged through the grass three times toward the east.

Adults with rheumatism or back problems would crawl through the hole nine times against the sun.

Men Scryfa

Men Scryfa translates as Stone with Writing, there being some early Christian writing on the menhir. The inscription on the stone reads "RIALOBRANI CUNOVALI FILI", meaning Rialobran, son of Cunoval, thought to be a local king. This Latin writing dates about 500 AD and the stone marks a grave. Whether the stone itself dates from earlier times is unknown, but it seems likely..

No pictures yet about this engraved stone.

Nine Maidens Circle

This circle is in poor condition but, situated in isolation on a hillside I found it a magical place. The circle is some 22 m in diameter and there are only six stones still standing, 10 in total. Burl suggests there were originally 22. What happened to the missing stones is not known.

The Centre Stone

In 2004 this circle was partially restored and, although I have not seen it, I understand that two stones were re-erected so that 11 now stand.

The Nine Maidens are close to Ding Dong, where there was a famous mine, now a ruin.