Twelve Apostles at Dusk

Twelve Apostles stone circle, Burley moor. Yorkshire

The Twelve Apostles circle is thought to have been constructed during the Bronze Age and is about 4500 years old. It's true purpose, or who built it is not known, however the Victorian antiquarians who first came to these moors thought it was used by the Druids as a sort of clock for telling the hours or seasons.

The circle is at the junction of two important prehistoric tracks which cross the moors and one of them is believed by archaeologists to have been a major prehistoric trade-route that crossed the mid-Pennines. Around 1800 BC – the academics guess – the ring of stones took shape.

It is believed that originally there were 20 stones with a central pillar in the middle - this would have given the impression of a sort of dial with the shadow of the sun, or moor pointing to various stones in the ring.

In recent years many of the stones had fallen down and were scattered in the deep heather on the moors, but some of the local people resurrected them and the circle in this state is what we see today. It is still a beautiful place with superb views across the moors. But it is battered and bruised, and whatever Spirit once resided here is probably long departed.

Late one afternoon I found myself with some friends exploring the old tombs East of this circle. I kept one eye on the sky and knew that the a sunset from the stone circle could be good. I set off at a good pace, leaving the others behind and arrived at the circle just as the sun was setting. The sky was perfect and I managed to capture the light hitting the side of the stones, whilst the smoke from the gamekeepers burning the heather on Denton moor across the valley drifted across the sky.