The Secret Country: An Interpretation of the Folklore of Ancient Sites in the British Isles

The Secret Country examines folklore attached to ancient and prehistoric places across the British Isles, treating monuments and landscapes as centres of traditional belief. Janet and Colin Bord gather accounts connected with antiquities, prehistoric peoples, myths, legends and occult interpretations.

The book considers how local traditions have explained the purpose and character of sites whose original meanings are uncertain. Its subject matter includes standing stones, stone circles and other prehistoric structures, alongside the stories associated with them. Arranged thematically rather than as a gazetteer, it combines written folklore with illustrations, a bibliography and an index, offering a record of how Britain’s ancient landscape has been interpreted through successive generations.