Mini-Stonehenge, St Nicholas Fields

June 2011

Sunlight through stones, St Nicholas Fields

As it’s approaching the summer solstice, I thought it was about time I included these images of Stonehenge, taken back in April.

Not the real Stonehenge, of course, but our own ‘mini-Stonehenge’ – the ‘Dragon Stones’ in the urban nature park of St Nicholas Fields, carefully created just a few years back, reusing stones dumped here when this area was a landfill site.

Proving perhaps that small is beautiful, that bigger isn’t necessarily better, this stone circle looked more impressive on this particular April evening than the real Stonehenge did when I saw it some years back, on a cloudy day, over the fields. I couldn’t really see the appeal of paying a hefty entrance fee to stand around some big old rocks with a load of other tourists. (I’ve heard it’s much more atmospheric when surrounded by stoned people at dawn on the solstice.)

Anyway, for those of you who can’t get to Stonehenge to celebrate the longest day, here’s a few pictures of York’s own stone circle, surrounded by brilliant green growth in springtime.

Not bad for a former landfill site.

View of 'mini-Stonehenge' – the 'dragon stones'St Nicholas Fields, April evening

4 comments

  1. Love this place!
    Come here every day.

  2. Does anybody know the original function of the stones used in the Dragon Stones circle? Or what type of rock they are?

    • Alun Parsons

      I believe they were used by a local acting group to perform plays at, I’ll try clarify it tomorrow.

    • Gordon Campbell-Thomas

      The stones used be on the inside of the bar walls around York, they were dumped on st nicks when it was called Tang Hall tip. I came across them when I was appointed Project Coordinator of the newly created Urban Nature Park in 1994. With a couple of friends and much beer the idea of a stone circle was conceived. I used a small Kobuta(mini JCB)to collect them together, got volunteers and students from York Tech College, overseen by Paul Hill, technical advice from Fred Emerson and the work of construction began.Each upright standing stone has a counter weight stone beneath it, the upright sits on two solid stainless steel pins cemented between them.It took 3weeks to complete. I believe the stones are known as Millstone Grit

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