HETTY PEGLAR'S TUMP

Hetty Peglars Tump, Nr Dursley, Gloucestershire

The local name for a long barrow is a tump, and Hetty Pegalr’s Tump, or Uley Long barrow as it is also known, is named after Hester Peggler, the landowners wife in the 17th century.

However this curious and mysterious place is far older than that and dates back to around 3000BC.

It consists of a passage with two chambers on either side and an end chamber.

To enter it you need to drop down onto your hands and knees and crawl into its dark interior, where a torch is an absolute necessity if you are to be able to explore the stonework inside.

The site itself can be quite busy and this in turn deflects somewhat from its aura of mysticism.

But catch it on your own and the effect upon your senses, both physical and spiritual, is pure magic.

As you crouch alone in its dark womb, the world outside seems to drift further and further away and it doesn’t take a great leap of the imagination to understand how some people have come to see this as an entrance to another realm, or even a doorway into fairyland, and you fell as if it would come as little surprise if, in the few minutes that you think that have spent within the tump, outside days have in fact gone by!