July 2004 - Stripple and Trippet Stones

Temple - Bodmin Moor

These two sites are so close in sight and sound of the A30, it was amazing that so few of us had ever heard of them - let alone been there.

On a dry, but surprisingly blustery July day, fourteen TDs and friends, ventured out to investigate these extensively ruined, but still evocative stone circles.

We started at the Stripple Stones on land adjoining Hawkstor Farm, with access courtesy of the local farmer. This is allegedly the only 'proper' henge monument in the far South West, and although the encircling bank is now just a linear bump on the moor, the tell-tale energy lines showed its original position quite clearly. We were able to trace many of the incoming energy lines, although, as Larry discovered, the patterns inside the ring seemed weak and confused by the removal or fall of so many of the original stones. There was the usual abundance of both surface and deeper water energies. Even the severance of one side of the site by a more modern stone wall had done little to eradicate the sense of this being in a significant place. It was quite possible to discover a number of the standing stones, which had fallen and to dowse their previous locations - giving at least a mental or energetic picture of the site in its former glory.

There is some form of energetic link between the Stripple and the Trippet Stones, which is not too surprising as they are only about ¾ mile apart. We walked back through the farmyard and onto the open moor, where the Trippets are clearly visible from the dual carriageway. This perhaps is an echo the Bronze Age situation, where the ancient spinal track through Cornwall passes close to both of these sites.

With more standing stones and a number of in situ fallers to study, the Stripples give a clearer indication of the original intention of this circle. Earth energy lines criss-cross the monument forming a star pattern, while other complex lines weave Celtic braids around and between the stones. At least two Ley Lines seem to cross this site, with outlying still-standing stone markers linking them to the visible horizons.

While many of the original stones have fall prey to stone cutters - and there was evidence of half severed pieces in both rings - it is apparent from dowsing, that others were felled deliberately in the 15th or 16th centuries. This was presumably in an attempt to cleanse the still-significant old traditions with the comparatively newly acquired middle-eastern reinterpretation of the world of metaphysics. The fact that that the new cult has arrived, become ubiquitous and largely faded, leaving at least some of the previous stone monuments for our future generation to re-evaluate, speaks volumes about the power and the fascination of sites such as these.

Many thanks to farmer Adrian Mansfield for permitting our access, to Graham for organising the event and to Annie for her write up and maps.

Nigel Twinn

Tamar Dowsers

July 2004