Historic stonelifting in England?!
Things are definitely winding down after a busy summer of stonelifting, but there's still plenty going on. Let's dive straight in!
Here's your list of topics, feel free to jump around to the ones that interest you most:
- The Lonton Egg & Teesdale Feat Stone
- Dinnie Stones attempt dates 2025
- Britain's Strongest Stonelifter 2024
- Men's Open
- Women's Open
- Rogue's Replica Inver Stones
The Lonton Egg & Teesdale Feat Stone
Most researchers have experienced making progress in one direction, only for a fresh discovery to pull them in another. In this month's article, guest author Calum Stott shares his story of jumping in the deep end of stonelifting research to find a stone in Teesdale last lifted in 2012, only to uncover a historic lifting stone in the same dale. And it's a story that reinforces the idea that timing can make all the difference. What's more, Calum only started his stonelifting journey less than a year ago! I'll let him tell you more:
I'm fairly new to the world of lifting stones and strength culture. My first encounter was listening to David Keohan talk so passionately about his rediscovery of Irish lifting stones on The Blindboy Podcast in late 2023, but after that, I was inspired.
I have always been passionate about local history, folklore, and all things Cumbrian. I know that much of modern day Cumbria has seen a turbulent past – Roman occupation, Viking invasion, repeated conflict between English and Scottish kings, and the list goes on. I think it's safe to say that Cumbrians never truly felt part of either kingdom. So having read everything I could find on stonelifting, and knowing Cumbria had strong Celtic influences to its culture over the centuries, I was convinced I’d find lifting stones here.
So I set off on my journey to hunt stones in my home county and the North of England. I was rewarded early on with a reference to three lifting stones on an old county map dating from the mid 1800s close to Ennerdale Water. And although I didn't find them when I searched for them with Jacob Hetherington and Garry Armstrong in February, the experience exploring, searching, and lifting other stones got me hooked.
After getting that whiff of discovery, I went back to researching and found that Roger Davis spent time researching English lifting stones over a decade ago. Around that time, Roger pulled a stone from a river to help revive the stonelifting culture in England – but no one had seen or lifted it since. And that's where my story of the Teesdale Feat Stone and the Lonton Egg begins.
If you enjoy Calum's story, follow him on Instagram.
Dinnie Stones attempt dates 2025
Earlier this month, Stevie Shanks posted the dates for 2025's Dinnie Stones attempts on thedinniestones.com.
Like past years, lifts will take place on the first Tuesday of each month from February to November, with an exception in August for The Gathering. So if you're interested in adding your name to the history books, follow the instructions on the Set Up Your Lift page and book your place (days usually fill up pretty quickly, so don't procrastinate to avoid disappointment).
When the team started taking public contributions to fund The Gathering, they asked lifters for voluntary donations to the campaign. However, from January 2025, lifters wanting to lift the Dinnie Stones will need to donate a minimum of £30 to secure their spot.
From January 2025 the organisers have agreed that a £30 charge will be introduced for attempts on the Dinnie Stones and for participation in The Gathering. The funds raised will go directly to the running of The Gathering and accounts will be published on this website [thedinniestones.com] each year.
Some will balk at introducing a fee to lift the Dinnie Stones, but I think it's a good idea – especially since the money will replace public donations for The Gathering. The calculations work out nicely too: 8 lifters across 10 dates at £30 each raises £2,400. And when you include the 10 to 15 athletes that typically compete at the Donald Dinnie and Jan Todd games, those contributions take the fund over the £2,581.42 spent on running The Gathering in 2024. I'm hopeful this works out well and reduces the pressure from collecting donations from the public.
For the keen-eyed, you'll have noticed that this also officially announces the date for The Gathering 2025 as Sunday 3rd August, so add that to your calendar if you're planning to attend!
Britain's Strongest Stonelifter 2024
On October 20th, Jamie Gorrian hosted the first Britain's Strongest Stonelifter competition as the penultimate event of the 2024 McGregor Stonelifting Games season.
12 men and 15 women representing Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland (as well as two guest lifters from France) arrived in Scotland amid Storm Ashley's strong winds and heavy rain to battle it out and take home the inaugural title of Britain's Strongest Stonelifter!
This year's events were:
- Stone to shoulder for reps
- McGregor walking stones
- Duck Walk
- Mathews stones
- Stone load series
Men's Open
On the men's side, John Gibb, Scotland's Strongest Stonelifter 2024, took home the title of Britain's Strongest Stonelifter with a comfortable 7-point lead over second place's John McLellan, while Ross Mackintosh rounded out the all-Scottish podium in third.
- 🏴 John Gibb, 55 points
- 🏴 John McLellan, 48 points
- 🏴 Ross Mackintosh, 45 points
In a comment on Jamie Gorrian's Instagram post, John Gibb said:
To take the Scottish and British title this year really is a huge honour and will be memories for the rest of my days!
Women's Open
In the Women's Open the top of the podium was close, with Polly Pickford-Swift taking home the Britain's Strongest Stonelifter title just two points ahead of 2024's Scotland's Strongest Stonelifter Wendy Stewart. And England's Amy Howes made sure another country was on the podium in third.
- 🏴 Polly Pickford-Swift, 62 points
- 🏴 Wendy Stewart, 60 points
- 🏴 Amy Howes, 48 points
Polly Pickford-Swift posted on Instagram saying:
I'm very proud to say that I'm now officially Britain's Strongest Female Stonelifter!!🤯🎉 Never in a month of Sundays did I think that I would podium, let alone win, against the Strongest Stonelifters in Britain's. The weather was relentless at the end, but I carried on. And I ended up with a PB in every event, so couldn't ask for more.
Congrats to everyone that competed in the first ever Britain's Strongest Stonelifter!
In just a couple of weeks, the McGregor Stonelifting Games 2024 season will close with a Men's Novice competition. And the 2025 McGregor Stonelifting Games season opens in April with women's first timers and novice competitions (sign up if you're interested in competing!)
Rogue's Replica Inver Stones
In the lead up to the Rogue Invitational in Aberdeen next weekend, Rogue have published a new video showing stone carver Bill Boone – who previously carved Rogue's impressive replica Húsafell Stone – creating three new stones inspired by Scotland's Inver Stone.
Bill carves '200LB' into the face of one of the stones, suggesting the three new stones are designed for the strongwoman competition which is taking place for the first time at the Rogue Invitational. These lighter stones will join Rogue's existing collection of Inver Stones that they've used in past men's competitions.
The Inver Challenge will be event three of the strongman and strongwoman competition on Friday, November 8th, and it's an appropriate event considering the original Inver Stone isn't that far from Aberdeen. I'm looking forward to seeing these stones in action!
Did you notice? The voice over in the video quotes the liftingstones.org Inver Stone page's intro:
The Inver Stone is arguably one of the most famous lifting stones in the world – rivalled only by the Húsafell stone and the Dinnie stones.
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Dinnie Stones enamel pin
Inspired by the world’s most famous lifting stones, this liftingstones.org original pin is perfect for showing off your love of stonelifting by pinning it to your gym bag, clothes, or anywhere else.