Hurlers Stone Circles

The Hurlers are three late Neolithic or early Bronze Age stone circles set in a line on the south-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor, a grouping unique in England. Local legend says they are men turned to stone for playing hurling on a Sunday, while two outlying uprights called the Pipers are the musicians who met the same fate. Excavation in the 1930s found the holes of missing stones, now shown by marker stones, and a strip of granite paving between the northern and central circles, whose stones were all hammered smooth. The circles are managed by the Cornwall Heritage Trust for English Heritage. Reviewers enjoy wandering freely among the stones and the wide moorland views on a clear day, often with ponies grazing nearby. Keep dogs on leads, as sheep and ponies graze the moor. Wear sturdy shoes for the uneven quarter-mile walk from the free car park near Minions, and bring layers, as the moor is exposed.