Cornwall Guide

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Set out in almost a perfect circle the Merry Maidens is made up of 19 standing stones approximately twenty-four metres in diameter. Each of the stones measures between 1 and 1.4 metres high.

Like many of today's standing stones and stone circles the Merry Maidens have been altered and repositioned over time. Having been 'restored' in the mid 19th century some of the stones have been rearranged, an extra stone added and the spacing between them altered.

The Merry Maidens are also known in Cornish as Dans Maen or dancing stones, Dawn's Men and also called the Rosemodress stone circle. It is believed that they were used for ritual or religious purposes but it has also been suggested that they may have been used as a calendar. Nearby are the remains of a Bronze age cemetery and a barrow and a menhir.

Local legend has it that the stones are in fact the stony remains of 19 maidens that were turned into stone as a punishment for dancing on the Sabbath.

How to find the Merry Maidens
The Merry Maidens are easy to find and are located just off the B3315 Land's End to Newlyn road in west Cornwall.

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