Nine Maidens stone row

Nine Maidens stone row stands in a field beside the A39 road between St Columb Major and Wadebridge in Cornwall. It is a late Neolithic arrangement of nine upright stones stretching about 108 metres. The tallest stone reaches 2.1 metres while the smallest is only a stump of 0.8 metres. The line points north-east toward a distant standing stone called the Fiddler on open moorland. The northernmost stone has fallen and broken over the centuries. Local legend says nine maidens were turned to stone for dancing on a Sunday. Their musician became the Fiddler, a separate megalith about 800 metres away. Similar petrification tales appear at nearby sites such as The Hurlers and The Pipers on Bodmin Moor. The antiquary Richard Carew recorded the row in 1605, describing nine long stones set in a rank. The stones also inspired a 1934 Celtic opera called Iernin by George Lloyd. Visitors find a quiet field beside the busy road, the uneven stones standing in grass and gorse. The line is irregular, with gaps between each upright. A short walk leads to the Fiddler on the open moor, where the horizon stretches away. The setting offers a sense of ancient ritual and Cornish folklore.