A lunchtime chat with a friend had me tracking down an ancient monument called the Hawk Stone, near Dean, the hamlet where British Prime Minister David Cameron lives.

My Ordnance Survey map showed the Hawk Stone to be off an adjacent country lane, perhaps in a field or next to a public footpath, and that’s where it proved to be, standing alone, an upright chunk of limestone some 7-8 feet high.

Not much is known about this piece of ancient history, which must weigh a tonne or more, not least because there has to be a goodly amount below the ground for it to have remained upright down the years.

So why was the Hawk Stone erected? One theory reckons it formed part of a burial chamber, another that there was once an associated ring of standing stones – and do note in the pic above that someone has surrounded it with a mini-ring of rocks. My own dowsing rods indicated various alignments, perhaps even an east-west ley line, connecting to the Rollright Stones a few miles away.

My favourite origins theory is that the Hawk Stone was used to tie down captured witches, using chains hooked through a hole in the top. Mind you, one colourful idea reckons that the stone was towed to its position by such an old hag… so who knows!

As for the name, it could have been connected with the bird, or – perhaps as likely – a version of the old word ‘hoar’, meaning old. And talking of hoar, there is a Hoar Stone and burial mound not far away, which I’ll be writing about soon, so do return to the The English Eye for a look.

It’s mid-November and the leaves begrudgingly leave the branches here in the Cotswolds. Exposed trees are already bare for winter, but in sheltered spots, there are still plenty to fall, allowing for a beautiful mix of russet-gold ground carpet, roofed by a canopy of living green.

These pictures were taken on the road to Over Norton, a small village just 15 minutes brisk walk away, and as you can see from the main pic, the road dips and undulates in a visually appealing fashion.

I often cycle to Over Norton, though it’s always hard work pushing the pedals up that hill – just as well there’s only a quarter-mile or so of ‘up’ before reaching the sharp right-hander that opens onto the easy ride along Main Street. 

Overall, it’s been a fine season for colour, with autumnal shades as good as at any time past, though perhaps not in quite the same league as New England – although a friend who lives in Surrey, south-west of London, says differently!

From here on in, treescapes tend to look rather like Rowland Hilder paintings. Hilder was a somewhat underrated artist, popular in the 1950s and 1960s, though it has to be said that his populist style led to much use as decoration on placemats for dinner tables – OK in itself, but unlikely to propel him into the top ranks of revered artists.

Meantime, developing my own ’Cotswold Cloudscapes’ collection is in hand – sample below – and I’m planning a display of prints in 2013. My work here reflects the magnificent scenery and how it relates to the vast skies we see, particularly in the upper Cotswolds, where views extend for mile after mile.

For example, from the field behind my home here in Chipping Norton I can clearly see Muswell Hill, near my old stamping ground, Brill village, nearly 30 miles away as the crow flies. And even further away, the Chiltern Hills form a distant ridge on the far horizon – fully halfway to London!

The scene below was taken much closer, near the Rollright Stones, ancient remains of prehistoric peoples who once inhabited this land.