AMAZING GIVEAWAY TIME! To celebrate the publication of the Stone Lands paperback on 4th June, this incredible illustration of Avebury by @philipharrisillustration is up for grabs - it will be A3 size and signed too! (If you have the book, you’ll know this is the opener for Chapter 1, each chapter being started by a stunning artwork by Philip.) To enter, you need to preorder the paperback and upload your proof of purchase along with your details here: littlebrown.co.uk/little-brown-news/2026/04/27/30882870 See my bio for a clickable link.
In further news, the paperback in addition to being half the price of the hardback also has a new chapter (a Postscript) with (excitingly) a brand-new illustration by @philipharrisillustration ! More on that soon.
A big thank you to @alltheaims and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for providing this great prize!
Other stuff before I forget: entrants must be over the age of 18 and resident in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The giveaway closes at midnight 3 June 2026. Please read T&Cs on giveaway page.
#stonelands #avebury #bookcompetition #paperbacklaunch #standingstones
The WINTER SOLSTICE is almost upon us and with it arrives the final WEIRD WALK BOOK CULT recommendation of the year. And it is MONUMENTAL.
STONE LANDS – A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain’s Ancient Places by Fiona Robertson is a deeply personal, but also extremely relatable, memoir, densely packed with the author’s first-hand experiences as a committed ‘stone hunter’, tracking down and trekking to the inscrutable pre-historic sentinels that exert a strange gravitational pull on many of us.
As well as an inspiring tour of the megalithic landscapes of these isles, STONE LANDS is a human journey into grief, hope and love. It’s a fantastic book for weird walkers and megalith-obsessives alike, richly illustrated with stunning black and white line drawings.
In Fiona’s own words: “There is no higher fun (in my view anyway) than pulling on a pair of boots and heading out into the countryside in search of standing stones. There’s something about these huge upright stones in the landscape that has fascinated me as far back as I can remember – they’re just so ancient, awe-inspiring and weird.
Winter solstice, this time of looking forward to the returning of the light, feels like a good moment to announce STONE LANDS. The last three or so years have been a terribly dark time for me, but writing this book has given me something wonderful and life/affirming to focus on, and the connections I’ve made with other stones enthusiasts while doing the research have been real rays of light.
A heartfelt thank-you to Joanna Swainson and to Emma Smith, Tamsin English and the whole brilliant team at Little, Brown. Massive thanks to Philip Harris for the insanely beautiful illustrations. And thank you so much, fellow stones enthusiasts – it has been so inspiring to hear your stories. Wishing you all a magical winter solstice and a very happy Christmas.”
STONE LANDS hardback edition is available to pre-order now, and will ship on, or just before, the summer solstice 2025.
See link in bio to read an interview with Fiona and pre-order the book 🔗
#stonelands #weirdwalk #bookcult #stonecircles #standingstones #wintersolstice #megalithic #neolithic #ramble
When you find an envelope of old photos and you immediately understand how it must have felt, taking picture after picture as the sun goes down because you want to remember this moment for ever …
Castlerigg, 1999. Photos by Stephen ❤️
Clach Mhic Leòid (Macleod's Stone) on the Isle of Harris. Its other name is Ord Bhairnich or Limpet Hammer. One day, the story goes, the Cailleach was out gathering limpets for her tea when she spotted a particularly large and promising one. She swung at it with her giant hammer but it wouldn't come off ... so she swung again ... and again ... and eventually (really pissed off now), she roared in rage and hurled the hammer at the wretched limpet. The hammer smashed into three pieces that scattered through the air. This is the largest of them, stuck in the earth close to Nisabost.
Meanwhile, the limpet still clings tightly to its rock, defying the Cailleach.
#standingstone #macleodsstone #isleofharris #cailleach #hebrideanfolklore
Brittany is covered with awesome prehistoric sites – some of the stones much taller than any we have here, 5,000-year-old burial chambers that survive with their roof and walls intact, glorious trippy rock art ... it really is a marvellous megalith region. Especially Finisterre, as rugged and magical a Land's End as our own.
This is one of the Finisterre allée couvertes: Mougau-Bihan. It lurks on the edge of the little village, inviting passers-by to enter – if they dare. There's a risk of encountering fairies here and perhaps the Goddess too. Inside the ancient passage grave you will find carvings on the walls – axes and other tools and what may be stylised breasts.
Reminding myself now of how brilliant Brittany is – need to plan a return trip and soon!
#standingstones #finisterre #brittany #prehistory #mougaubihan
Events coming up with Fiona Robertson over the next month, as part of the Words Alive in Libraries tour.
📍 Calne Library 📅 14 May 2026
6-7pm Author talk
📍 Broadstone Library
📅 3 June 2026
11am-12.30pm Creative Writing Workshop
2-3pm Author talk
Find out more about all the authors and events involved in the tour and book your tickets (pay what you decide) here: .uk/projects/words-alive-in-libraries/
Words Alive In Libraries is a partnership between Literature Works and South West Regional Library Services and it's funded by an Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant.
Ooh look what’s arrived … it’s so good to hold the Stone Lands paperback in my hands! I do love a paperback, so nice and neat and readily transportable.
There’s an extra little chapter in the paperback (a Postscript) … can you guess which site has been featured?! In exciting news, Philip Harris has done a gorgeous new artwork to go with it 💚🪨💚
If you haven’t got a copy of Stone Lands yet and would like to preorder this pbk, don’t forget to enter the competition to win a framed print of Philip’s beautiful Avebury chapter opener … see my bio for link or go to littlebrown.co.uk/news
Love this paperback so much @booksbyrobinson - flaps and foil! 😍
#standingstones #stonecircles #stonelands #lochbuie #newbook
If you are interested in getting the Stone Lands paperback, there’s a brilliant preorder competition to win this incredible print of Avebury by the amazing @philipharrisillustration ! I love his artwork so much and am eternally grateful that he illustrated the book.
All you have to do to enter is preorder a paperback from any outlet, visit the competition page at littlebrown.co.uk/news and upload the details. The competition will be running until 11.50pm on 3rd June, the day before publication.
Various Ts&Cs, eg you need to be over 18 and a UK resident to enter (see the competition page for full info).
Meanwhile I’m eagerly awaiting my first copy of the paperback, think it should be arriving soon!
#stonecircles #standingstones #avebury #stonelands #competition
Avebury sheep have ready-made sunshades when it gets as sweltering as it did last summer. (And we could do with a touch of that right now.) So for my next event, I'm going to CALNE, just a few miles from the amazing Avebury prehistoric landscape. It's always a joy to be in Wiltshire!
I'll be talking about stone hunting, Britain's outstanding prehistoric sites and my book Stone Lands. Hope you can join me!
Calne Library, 6pm, Thursday 14th May
#stonelands #avebury #standingstones #bookevent #wiltshire
Foggy on Dartmoor today - perfect weather for megalith-hunting. Grey Wethers is an awesome site, its two circles making a figure-of-eight - an infinity symbol inscribed on the flanks of Sittaford Tor. The point where the two circles meet is surely the energetic nexus. All the vibes ✨🪨✨
#stonecircle #standingstones #greywethers #dartmoor #sittafordtor
This is without a doubt one of the best stone circles I’ve ever seen. A place that is going to stay with me.
(Thanks to @northeastfolklore for taking me there for the first time! 😍)
#duddofivestones #northumberland #stonecircles #standingstones
Turning to the land and stones when nothing makes sense.
Come to @dartmoortorsfest to the hear the poignant and beautiful experiences of two talented writers coming to terms with our human condition, our life and death, through the power of the places they love.
Fiona Robertson's @stone_lands acclaimed book Stone Lands follows her journey across the UK in search of the megaliths and monuments that have always allowed us to transcend our seemingly brief cellular existence. Sophie Pierce's @mssophiepierce powerful book the Green Hill describes how immersion in nature gives back to us with so many sparkling facets. Both books are about grief but also about how land can heal if we take the time to listen and learn from it.
So join both authors, as their beautifully illustrated new paperbacks are just launched, to share their conversation with the genius loci, the spirits of place, in Love, Loss & Landscape at the Dartmoor Tors Festival 2nd May @ashburtonarts
Images by @phillipharris@lithicality@hollydrawsinink
#landscape #megaliths #healing
