It’s about time I photographed this standing stone. Not only is it just down the road, within easy walking distance, it’s also on land owned by friends of ours - so we’ve passed it many times.

The menhir is clearly signposted from the village. You crest a hill with, to the north, a small ancient-looking wood, full of boulders and the occasional cow. The menhir is on the south side of the road, across a field and on the edge of another small wood.

It’s a large stone, nestled among ivy-covered boulders and rocky outcrops, so it’s easy to imagine there might be other, unrecognised stones within the wood. The creators of these monuments often chose sites with an eerie or auspicious feel, so it’s possible that the arrangement of the boulders is as significant as the standing stone itself.

I hurried down to the stone because it was a beautiful All Hallow’s Eve day. The sun was setting in a clear, wintry sky. Perfect, I thought. Actually, I was wrong. The sun was already behind some trees, and only faint traces of it remained on the stone. So I’m going to have to revisit this one - perhaps many times.

If you visit this stone, please look out for the horses. The owners often have two ponies in this field. If you see electric fencing or tapes, please treat them with respect - for your own sake as much as the animals’.

This is, in fact, a perfect location to base yourself if you want to explore the many megalithic sites in the area. The owners operate three self-catering holiday cottages (gites) - see here for details. They are set within beautiful grounds which include a number of other stones that may be boulders, though some look remarkably like small menhirs.