Mên-an-Tol
Mên-an-Tol is Cornish for "the hole stone" and is thought to date from the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. The accent on the "e" is for a long drawn-out vowel sound along the lines of "mehn" (do a sheep impression and add an "n").
The overall arrangement with the two standing stones either side of the holed stone has been described as a three-dimensional 101 but this wasn't the case until one of the standing stones was moved in Victorian times to line them up.
Local legend claims that at full moon, if a woman passes through the holed stone seven times backwards, she will soon become pregnant. The hole is not generous in size so the legend may have its roots in the preliminary slimming required to perform the ritual!
On walks
- Carn Galver to Mên-an-Tol (5.5 mile walk)