The Dorset Daily Echo has a nice piece up about how a local Pagan group dealt with the death and removal of a 200-year-old tree that rested in the middle of the famous “Nine Ladies” stone circle at Winterbourne Abbas.

“A 200-year-old tree at the centre of worship by druids and witches has been chopped down to size after it became diseased. The 80ft beech at Winterbourne Abbas has been reduced to a 10-metre stump by English Heritage because of fears it would die and fall over. The tree has become a dominant feature at the site, famous for the ancient stone circle standing beneath its branches. Now the Dolmen Grove, a Weymouth-based druid group, will perform a ‘re- balancing’ ritual in mourning for the loss of the tree and to mark a new beginning for their holy site.”

Chris Walsh, Arch Druid of the Dolmen Grove, seems very respectful of the site and speaks eloquently about the group’s plans for the ritual honoring the ancient tree.

“I think that many trees have come and gone in the 3,000 to 4,000 years the stones have been here and we accept there has to be change and renewal in nature … We believe in the spirits of the land and we want to honour the tree by putting it in peace with the elements – a re-balancing of nature’s forces. We cannot be certain but we believe that ancient people met and worshiped at the stones very much as we do today. We’re very respectful of the land and anyone who visits the stones and we like to see them maintained.”

This is a nice bit of reporting that respectfully deals with the importance of stone circles (and the natural world) for British Pagans and Druids without the usual sarcasm or pull-quotes from local Christian clergy. This may partially be due to a sympathetic journalist, but I think having a media-savvy Pagan or two didn’t hurt.

Tags: Dorset, Druid, Paganism, The Nine Ladies, UK, Winterbourne Abbas