A couple of years ago I told the story of the enormous dragon / worm / serpent that once lived in Hawes Tarn, Silverdale

Recently I came across this lovely little snippet in a little book by one T. Pape: ‘Warton and George Washington’s Ancestors’. It has nothing to do with the original folkloric tale, but it’s very sweet nonetheless and shows that the Buck Stone was still a landmark worthy of note! From 1913 –

Near the top of the hill is a huge stone in the hedge to the right of the road. This is the Buck Stone, and in olden days, when the passengers used to toil up the hill behind the coach, a practical joke was often played on guileless travellers. They used to be told to put their heads near the stone to listen to the tide coming in over the Bay miles away, and if they did so their heads were knocked against the stone. Now the narrow old coach road is private, but Mr. Bainbridge at Greenlands Farm would allow anyone to inspect the stone if desired.