Dale Farm is a palpably peaceful place. People arrive, guests, family, friends from the city, and by the time they leave say they can feel it seeping in to their veins. Even I, usually rushing round like a maniac, take a moment to breathe it all in before I start my Monday morning commute.
So what is the secret? Well it is quiet and in the countryside and removed from other places but there is something more than that….the only other place I can remember having the same feeling was during a visit to the Machrie standing stones on the Isle of Arran. This area too is full of reminders of an ancient past.
The area around Hunmanby is rich in archeological remains. A landslip occurred in 1907 revealing a 1st or 2nd century BC British chariot burial site in which a chariot was buried horse and all (just past the carpet shop). There is an ancient ‘wooden henge’ at the bottom of Bartindale Road. A tumulus on a local farm was opened up to reveal an ancient burial site containing 15 skeletons. Roman pottery and flint axe and arrowheads are frequently found in and around Hunmanby.
Throughout the Wolds there is a profusion of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Roman sites including long barrows at Fordon and at Kilham which have been dated to 3700 B.C. A Neolithic henge monument has been identified at Maidens Grave Rudston and, most impressive of all, the Rudston Monolith; this is the tallest prehistoric standing stone in Britain, alleged to be a as deep as it is high.
The Romans arrived in this area around A.D.71 and our predecessors, the Masseys and the Holders, tell us how they were visited by a ‘diviner’ … water etc … who asserted that a Roman Road once passed right through the farm (Bill recreates this experience on our Facebook page). Apparently we live at a swirl of ancient energy highways. Three ley lines (if you believe in such things) converge at Dale Farm including one from Stonehenge.
Well, whatever the reasons, this a tranquil and magical place. Please try to visit the Rudston Monolith while you are here. You will find it in the church yard, be impressed and take photos with suggestive captions.
