Our second destination, Men-an-Tol was quite a walk from the road, down a muddy path. The land was green and the sky was grey. On our way we met a boy from Holland. He had, he said, been travelling around England in his car looking at Neolithic sites. We suspected he had been sleeping in the car too; he looked thin and dirty. Now a party of four we arrived at Men-an-Tol. Locally known as “Crick Stone”, the site contains three large stones aligned precisely with the sun’s passage from East to West. The middle stone is hollowed into a ring shape and flanked either side by standing stones. Famously Men-an-Tol was used for healing. Our guide said she had used the stones to help her conceive a child. Barren women or sick children were to pass through the ring and they would be healed. If affected with rheumatism a pilgrimage would be made to Men-an-Tol in May. It was advised that the infirm crawl on all fours around these stones from East to West. If your children suffer and are weak-backed, parents should carry them around. “To work the charm properly there must be two people, one of each sex who stands on each side of the stone. The child, if a male, must be passed from the woman to the man and vice versa. Always from left of the one and to the right of the other.” [Courtney 1809] We stood self-consciously with the stones for a while.

Next we visited Madron Well. On walking to the well the path was surrounded by bare branches covered in silver lichens, a sign of air purity. The walk was fraught. The tiny muddy path was overcrowded with dog walkers and tourists. We came to a tree that stood in the middle of a shallow pool. It was covered in rags and ribbons that were torn and muddy. The tree is called a Cloutie, and is traditionally used for healing. The ailing tie a rag or ribbon on to the tree; as the rag degrades, health restores. Having no ribbon or rag on me I carried on down the path. A short way further along the path were the remains of Madron Chapel.