In May we are visiting this and other sites in the wonderful Peak District, please click here to find out more.

The first time I visited Dol Tor hidden away behind inside the forest plantation that protects it my breath was taken away. It is the most tumble down, ruined site I have ever been to and yet it still holds tremendous energy and attractions.

You come across the site almost by accident. Following the tell tale signs of dried out foot prints you are taken along an old quarrying track into a relatively new wooded plantation. You could even walk past the site if it weren't for an energy present there which makes you stop and wonder "where is this darn circle of stones".

The site itself has been described as a ritual platform, stone circle and burial site. It does seem to have layers of usage all cobbled together and I believe the site has an ancient past. It is believed to have been established as a ritual site around 5000BC with the stone circle been added around 1500 BC. It was used by the local inhabitants as a place of ritual and ceremony.

Today a small plaque tells gives us a rough plan of the tumbledown stones we look upon and you immediately get an impression of rooms and platforms and you wonder what place was like in its heyday.

I sat a while and connected to the guardians of this site and felt the presence of the rock people strongly guarding the portals the place holds. I slept in the main circle and was reminded once again of lives gone by lived and loved upon the ancient Stanton Moor.

Derbyshire holds such a rich layer of Neolithic sites waiting to be woken up and remembered. I was glad and happy at the sight of tree offerings to the spirits of this place and a fresh cut flower sitting atop one of the upright stones reminded me that the knowledge of the ancients lives on it us.

It is a shame to see quarrying works so close to this site. Whilst they are old and unused at this time, I was reminded of the excellent work done in objection to the renewal of old quarrying rights in this precious ancient landscape. Keep the sites protected, keep the energy flowing.