Little is known for certain about the so-called Druids' Oak and the adjacent Fish Stones of Caton.
The writer Alan Bennett has this to say of them:
"Were I a schoolmaster... instructing pupils about the Dissolution of the Monasteries, I would begin with the ancient oak tree still standing at the crossroads at Caton on the Kirkby Lonsdale - Lancaster road. It was at this tree that the monks of Cockersand Abbey... would sell their fish, the fish said to have hung from its branches. One day, in 1536 or so, the fish-monks didn't turn up, so for the people of Caton in the Lune Valley the Dissolution of the Monasteries simply meant no more fresh fish. [Caton is] also on the Lune, just as Cockersand is on the estuary, so perhaps it was that the monks brought up the fish by boat, sailing up on the incoming tide. Easier anyway than humping it around Lancaster over the heights of Quernmore."
- Alan Bennett, "Untold Stories"
More probable, though, than this oft-repeated but unlikely tale, is that the fish were caught locally in the river, or else raised in the fish pools of Grassyard (now Gresgarth) Hall -- originally built in the 11th century as a monastic outpost of Furness Abbey.
Whatever the history of Caton's Fish Stones, today you are unlikely to find any fish adorning the tree, the steps or, indeed, swimming in the adjacent mill race! With a bit of luck -- and considerable amount of stealth at busy times -- you may just be fortunate enough to find a geocache. If you do, please take care to replace it exactly where and as found!
Important! As you will see, the tree here has recently suffered unduly from an incident involving a careless lorry driver. There is hope that the tree itself is not entirely dead and may yet send out new growth, but in case it is, a new oak sapling has been planted inside the old tree. The cache is not located inside the metal fence or on the tree, so please do not climb inside the metal fence or onto the tree because in doing so you may damage the sapling. Please treat this site with care and consideration.
(For more information about the mill race here, see our Walk around Caton: Artle Beck cache.)
Congratulations to Sam&Hayley for nailing the FTF!