The Devil's Chimney (a Halloween tale)

As its Halloween I thought I'd share a tale of local folklore with you. This rocky pile is known locally as the Devil's Chimney and it sits on the side of Leckhampton Hill, over looking Cheltenham.

The story goes that these stones form the Devil's chimney, on top of the Devil's dwelling deep beneath the ground. Supposedly the Devil, angered by the many churches in the area, would sit on top of Leckhampton Hill and hurl stones at Sunday worshippers. However the stones were thrown back at him, driving him beneath the ground and trapping him there so he could not further harass the villagers. Now he uses the mass of stones as his chimney to let free the smokes of hell.

That's the tale, now some other facts. In the past visitors to the Devil's Chimney would climb up and leave a coin on top of the rock as payment to the Devil in exchange for his staying in his underground home and not leaving to create mischief and spread evil in the local area. People would often climb to the top, thirteen is the largest number of people known to have been there in one go! In August 1926 the Devil's Chimney was left with several large cracks following an earthquake. In 1985 the Chimney was fenced off to stop erosion and also for safety (it is quite a drop below!)

Other theories surrounding the mysterious rocks include it being a "rude creation of some fanciful shepherd", a practical joke dreamt up by bored quarry workers in the 18th Century looking for a way to immortalise their work, and "differential erosion over many years which has left a column of harder rock free-standing as the softer rock has been worn away around it." (Boring!)

Hope you've enjoyed this Halloween tale. Have a spooky day!

Clinging To The Cliff

Another photo from Leckhampton Hill to keep you all entertained while I'm away. The hill is made up of mainly limestone and has lots of steep paths and craggy faces like this. People have been know to try to climb up this face, without ropes, or come down it to get a stranded dog from the ledge. It won't surprise you to know they end up having to be rescued! I like how this photo captures the bleak conditions up there at this time of year.

I'm away for a few days. I'm hoping Blogger magic will make this post appear like...well...magic!I'll catch up with you all at the end of the week.

Through The Garden Gate

Opposite Thai Emerald, the restaurant I showed the other week (the one with the elephants on the roof), is this residential building, Chelsea Court. The red brick building dates from 1869 and was built as St Mary's Hall, the Female Training College; part of St Paul's College. It then became known as the Shaftesbury Hall and was a venue for arts events, exhibitions and theatre. I went there once to visit an exhibition on Science and Rocks. I was still at school then and the exhibition must have been something to do with part of the curriculum. It's not something I would be interested in seeing now! The building is now surrounded by new apartments and forms part of Chelsea Square. The redevelopment of the Hall took place in the early 1990's and the apartments within are some of the most expensive in the heart of town. I wouldn't mind a pad there, as long as it didn't involve science or rocks!

Rock

This photograph was taken at Crickley Hill Country Park at the end of last year. I used the macro setting to get a really good close-up shot of this large boulder that was in the carpark. I really like the pattern in the stone, hope you like it too. Nothing more to say, I just fancied posting something a bit different.