Having just returned from a trip to St Martin’s on the Isles of Scilly. I thought it would be worth mentioning a couple of interesting rocks that we came across while walking around the Island. I’m always on the look out of these with my partner and enjoy finding natural erratic’s which move (logan stones), or seem to have been propped up by a smaller rock. On this visit there were two of these worth mentioning from St Martin’s and then I also came across another logan earlier in the year on Bryher, while searching for the perfect place to watch the sunset.

The St Martin’s rock which moved when stood upon is found to the northern side of Chapel Downs, a short distance away from the Day Mark and just off the well trodden pathway leading around the eastern coastline. It was positioned near the coastline and a rocky outcrop, large enough to be significant in the landscape, but on a small enough pivot that it was easy enough for one person to rock back and forth.

The propped stone was a mile or so away on the Burnt Hill promontory fort, this one was spotted by my partner as I was looking at a possible entrance grave and a couple of hut circles. A large boulder had what seemed to be a natural split down the centre and one half of the rock had been propped up by a smaller boulder making a gap underneath. Whether this had happened naturally is unknown but a number of props which have had a human hand playing a part have been identified on the mainland.

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The final stone worth mentioning was noticed on a trip earlier this year while visiting Bryher. Looking for a perfect place to watch a sunset, this large boulder was on the western side of Samson Hill, overlooking the entrance grave and island of Sampson. The boulder was a large and most likely natural feature about 1/3 of the way down the hill and it seemed to be the perfect spot to watch a sunset from. Climbing onboard the rock itself didn’t noticeably move, but when a second person also scrambled onto sit on the top the stone began to rock back and forth. Not only does the boulder have a great view of an entrance grave underneath it, it also has a wonderful view of the sunset, and I liked to think that people have been visiting and rocking this stone for millennia.

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