Firstly, happy new year! Secondly, yes, it has been a while since my previous post back in the summer. Now, that we have the formalities out of the way, just what was this New Year’s Day walk all about?

I attempt a walk around a China clay tip quarried landscape every-time I visit St. Austell – called the Old Baal Pit – which is located on the outskirts of the town near Carn Grey Rock. It is a great walk for both the dog and myself, and it takes in some amazing views whilst lasting up to an hour. I managed to avoid heavy rain, and three-quarters of the way through I stopped at the bottom of a small hill. I remembered that there were some unusually large stones at the top, however, my first thought was to timidly walk on. But then I argued with myself: to refuse to walk up the hill, on the first day of 2024, would simply set a bad habit for the remainder of the year. So, up I trudged.

Luckily, I was rewarded with an interesting foggy view of the bay by St. Austell, as well as a chance to take some naps of the interesting “standing stones”, as you can see below.

So, what is the story behind these stones? Having visited many historic stone circles on Dartmoor (such as the Brisworthy Circle back in the summer of 2023) I was interested to find out more.

Well, it turns out that the history of the stones stretches back to… the 1980s. This is the claim of one commentator on Google, who states the following:

These standing stones were put there by ECLP China clay company in the 1980’s , by their landscaping department, as a feature. Nothing more. They have no scientific or historical meaning. I helped.

Obviously the stones themselves are ancient, but the arrangement appears to have been far more modern. But despite the lack of historic value, the walk remains a fantastic one; hopefully I will be able to continue the route in the years to come.