(St. Michaels Hill Extreme Left)
So Yesterday I had electricians in working on my house so I had no power thus no internet. Well, I live in one of the more rural and naturally beautiful places in the UK so I figured I'd lead up the dog and go explore some of our more beautiful ancient monuments. I live in an area that is full of ancient circles (Stonehenge is right down the road), old Iron Age hill forts, and some ancient monuments that we can't accurately date. St. Michael's Hill is one of these. Located just outside of the sleepy village of Montacute it is part of a series of ancient sites that people have inhabited for thousands of years, and the area itself is full of historical questions. Though St. Michael's hill is believed to have once been military fortification, there are many questions surrounding its original construction. The more unorthodox historians refer to it as one of the Glastonbury pyramids. Though I'm not sure if this is true, there are interesting historical references to it being the location where the holy grail was buried by Joseph of Arimathia. An interesting coincidence alongside this local myth is that the villagers who live at the foot of the hill have the longest life expectancy in the UK. Today the hill is topped by an 18th century tower and is covered in woods and the climb can be a sharp upwards trek. So without further adieu, let's go explore St. Michaels Hill.
My child and fellow explorer. For those who haven't seen one of my walk with me posts before, this is Sasha. The brains of the outfit. She is a six year old husky that I rescued as a puppy and my ever stalwart companion in all that I do. My policy tends to be that if I can't take my dog with me somewhere then I just don't go.
So off we go to start our walk. The paths go in an upward circular fashion all the way to the top, though we do take a couple shortcuts.
Barely 1/4 of the way up and already the view is beautiful so me and the four legged one stop to take it in before the fun stuff starts.
On ward swiftly becomes upward.
And more upward.
And back to the path, and yes more upward.
As you reach the top it levels out to a flat area with small moat like defenses dug around it. Considering these were dug over two thousand years ago, it's actually quite impressive. You could wrap a football field around this level of the hill fort over three times, so you kinda start to get an idea of big a task this must have been.
So one more level to go up before we get to the top, so onward and again upward.
The view up from where I'm walking.
And finally we make it. To give my fellow Steemonians an idea of the view here's a pano shot.
It is an interesting place as directly north is Glastonbury Tor which is another Stonehenge dated hill construction and to the west is another hill fort area called Ham Hill. As you can see the areas surrounding these structures are beautifully flat. The view north.
Me pointing to the Ham Hill fortification and ancient monument sites to the west. It's rather humbling to reflect on what other human eyes have witnessed in this very spot. Roman legions marching in formation with their helmets and shields reflecting in the sun. To the Celtic tribes who inhabited the region these invaders must have seemed like red clad demons whose steady progress marked the end of life as they knew it. Later and across these same hills and flats came the marauding Saxons looting their way across the British countryside after the Romans left. By the time the Normans arrived in 1066 this monument had stood witness to millions upon millions of human lives rising and blooming in peace or wilting in war. Standing on top of it looking out, only one humbling thought comes to mind. Brevity.
While taking a rest and admiring the view I noticed the slopes of the monument were covered in beautiful snow drops and wild garlic. No season easily relinquishes its grip, but here we can see spring beginning to voice it's challenge to the bleak monochrome British winter.
Wild garlic also known as Ransoms beginning to poke their head up on the eastern slope. It's a flavor and smell that always goes hand in hand with the approach of spring.
Well, I never climb St. Michaels without climbing the tower. The view is to beautiful to pass up. So up we go again.
So time to hang out of some barred windows and take some tippy top photos.
Montacute Manor House sitting quietly on the flat below.
Having gotten a fair bit of exercise Sasha and I figured we'd call it a day. So one we bid the hill fairwell and took one last look before climbing down.
The walk down.
As we reached the bottom it occurred to me how fortunate I am to live in such a beautiful place. It's easy to become engrossed in the day to day and begin to believe that what is small is is big, what is irrelevant in the long run is actually important. Sometimes just getting out and contemplating the world you live in from the ground you walk perspective can realign your priorities. Natural beauty has a way of making the relevant clearly visible. So with these thoughts in mind I made my way to the path home and left one of my favorite places.
A tired dog is a happy dog.
Well fellow Steemit folk, that's it for now. Thanks for reading my humble post and I hope you enjoyed. Farewell from Sasha and I and looking forward to all of you guys awesome content.