Things to do and places to see in Glastonbury:
Gog & Magog
Photo: Sally North
UPDATE:
In April 2017, Gog was set alight by a candle thoughtlessly left within the tree.
Read more here...
These two ancient oak trees –with the traditional and biblical names of giant beings – stand in one of the further reaches of the sacred Avalon landscape, where they are in a relationship of alignment with other aspects of the sacred landscape such
as the nearby Tor, Chalice Hill, the Abbey and Wearyall Hill.
Known as the ‘Oaks of Avalon’, the two trees are said to be a traditional point of entry onto the island, and were also part of a ceremonial Druidic avenue of oak trees running towards the Tor and beyond. ‘This avenue was cut down around 1906 to clear the ground of a farm, but someone from the timber firm remembers one of the oaks being 11 feet in diameter and more than 2000 season rings were counted.’ Extract from Maker of Myths – Published by Gothic Image. The Glastonbury Conservation Society has recently replanted a line of oak trees to commemorate this ancient tradition.
The oak trees gained their names from a legendary race of giants who, save for Gog and Magog were slaughtered by Brutus and his Trojan army.
Gog and Magog were marched to London where they were held chained to the city palace, now the site of the London Guildhall.
These original two giants have been immortalised at London’s Guildhall – scene of the Lord Mayors Annual Banquet – where they stand as two large wooden carvings.
Sadly, Gog is now dead but his remains are still there. Magog is also close to the end of her life. but to make a visit to these trees is to make a pilgrimage into the past. A map giving directions is available in Glastonbury Information Centre in St Dunstan's House, Magdelene Street, Glastonbury.
MW 2008
In April 2017, Gog was set alight by a candle thoughtlessly left within the tree.
Read more here...
These two ancient oak trees –with the traditional and biblical names of giant beings – stand in one of the further reaches of the sacred Avalon landscape, where they are in a relationship of alignment with other aspects of the sacred landscape such
as the nearby Tor, Chalice Hill, the Abbey and Wearyall Hill.
Known as the ‘Oaks of Avalon’, the two trees are said to be a traditional point of entry onto the island, and were also part of a ceremonial Druidic avenue of oak trees running towards the Tor and beyond. ‘This avenue was cut down around 1906 to clear the ground of a farm, but someone from the timber firm remembers one of the oaks being 11 feet in diameter and more than 2000 season rings were counted.’ Extract from Maker of Myths – Published by Gothic Image. The Glastonbury Conservation Society has recently replanted a line of oak trees to commemorate this ancient tradition.
The oak trees gained their names from a legendary race of giants who, save for Gog and Magog were slaughtered by Brutus and his Trojan army.
Gog and Magog were marched to London where they were held chained to the city palace, now the site of the London Guildhall.
These original two giants have been immortalised at London’s Guildhall – scene of the Lord Mayors Annual Banquet – where they stand as two large wooden carvings.
Sadly, Gog is now dead but his remains are still there. Magog is also close to the end of her life. but to make a visit to these trees is to make a pilgrimage into the past. A map giving directions is available in Glastonbury Information Centre in St Dunstan's House, Magdelene Street, Glastonbury.
MW 2008
More places to visit in Glastonbury
Bride's Mound | Chalice Well & Gardens | The Church of St John the Baptist | Glastonbury Abbey | The Glastonbury Experience Courtyard | Glastonbury Goddess Temple | Glastonbury Thorn | Gog & Magog | Lake Village Museum | Library of Avalon | St. Margaret's Chapel & the Magdalene Almshouses | Somerset Rural Life Museum | Ponter's Ball | The Glastonbury Tercentennial Labyrinth | Glastonbury Tor | Wearyall Hill | White Spring |
