Fake Stone Circle at Muirkirk

Time to drive back to Leicestershire today, more's the pity. Muirkirk is a village halfway between Ayr and the M74 on the A70. It used to be a  mining town. The landscape has obviously been altered by human activity. A statue of a  miner stands prominently in the town. Unlike Ayr, it was not a wealthy settlement.

Just to the east, we noticed these blocks of sandstone in a field, for all the world resembling a stone circle. But it's not. No explanation for the blocks, nor for the derelict stone towers nearby. We saw a plaque in memory of the Covenanting Martyrs. I haven't investigated this movement in any detail but a cursory look reveals that the Covenanters of the seventeenth century rejected any interference by the king in the affairs of the Presbyterian Church.

They were executed for this belief.

Finally home after eight hours. I drove from Gretna to Wetherby Services on the A1(M). We much prefer taking the A66 across the north Pennines to the long drag up the M6. 

Basil was delighted to be home. He rushed around from favourite spot to favourite spot and took his accustomed position on the bed in the spare room. His breathing spasms seem to have disappeared. Perhaps it was nerves?