The Hurlers

On Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, there is a trio of stone circles known as the Hurlers (the name come from a legendary game of hurling on a Sunday. In vindictive mode, the Christian god allegedly turned the players to stone). With its multiplicity of stones and ridiculously easy access (road and village - Minions, not Bodmin - are both within spitting distance) it may well be the best known circle in Cornwall.

With some justice.


The stones  - local granite - are free to visit, and the site is certainly impressive in its size and pleasingly natural. Some of the stones are dressed - as can be seen here - and some have been reset in concrete. But what makes it so uniquely and fabulously Cornish is the fact that - in addition to the prehistoric wonderfulness, there are the industrial ruins of engine houses lurking on the moor.

This was painted from photographs that I took at Easter; I'm considering using another view to create a second painting that will form a pair with this one.

Oil on canvas, 20 x 30"
20 July 2013

To play us out, here is Devonian singer Seth Lakeman. The video was shot at the non-prehistoric cliffside theatre, The Minack, also in Cornwall: