The Hitching Stone

The Hitching Stone is a prominent landmark on the otherwise bland and gently sloping Keighley Moor in the Pennines of Yorkshire. Weighing over 1000 tonnes and 29 feet long, it is said to be the largest single boulder in the county. It is believed to be an erratic block, deposited here by glacial ice movement thousands or even millions of years ago. Being so unique for its area, it has become a prominent local landmark where councils, horse races, and fairs were once held.

Particular features of the rock have their own stories to tell. A long tunnel through the rock is said to have been left by a witch. Allegedly irritated by the rock's presence outside her house, she is said to have shoved the rock with her broomstick, sending it flying from Ilken Moor all the way to where it stands today! (More likely, the hole is the remainder of a fossilized tree that has long since crumbled away.)

Another larger recess in the rock is known as the "Druid's Chair." In a more believable story, it is said to have been used by ancient druids in religious ceremonies. Indeed, the hole faces where the Sun would set during the equinoxes, suggesting that it may have had some manmade importance.