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Fieldnotes
| World Tour of Nympsfield: Today we went to Nympsfield as it is not that far really and Rex can act up in the car sometimes, but also because there are a few barrows worth visiting around that area. We arrived a Uley Longbarrow or Hetty Pegler's Tump as it is also known about 10:30am. Unfortunately the sun was only making an apearence now and again but the barrow looked good in the ever changing light. We parked in the layby by the sub station and crossed over the road toward the barrow. There is a signpost to the barrow but it can be seen from the roadside quite easily; the way is marked as a public footpath. As we walked toward the barrow a buzzard or some type of hawk swooped quite low over head – wish I had the camera ready. We reached the gate to the enclosed area around the barrow and could immediately see that somebody had daubed could paint or chalk over the capstone. Now I don't mind those people who feel it necessary to leave some biodegradable 'offering' at these places but I do get annoyed at people drawing one them. As I approached the walled entrance to the barrow I could see that many of the stones also had drawings and writing on them. The entrance is quite low down and I can not be described as lithe so it was down on all fours and I shuffled under the huge stone. Inside the barrow the height at least doubles and I was able to move around fairly freely. As I approached the end of the barrow in the gloom I could make out some sort of wooden structure. I switched on my torch and was face to face with some sort of cage structure that completely occupied the end chamber. At first I thought some sort of bat colony had taken up home in the tump, but there was no sign of anything inside and there was no notice outside. Taking a closer look it appeared it was just a supporting structure but what a monstrosity to have in such a beautiful barrow. I am sure if there was danger that some better solution could have been incorporated. I took some photos of the structure and the various chambers and left a little disappointed. We returned to the car and drove up to Nympsfiled LB but by now Rex was fed up with the car a caused a great deal of fuss during the short journey there. The barrow is situated in a picnic area and so there were many dogs about. Rex being a little grumpy in his old age had to be kept on a lead to stop him getting snappy! At first we walked to the Soldiers Grave which is a round barrow (past the longbarrow) and just in the wooded area along the edge of the escarpment so that Rex would get a bit of a walk. The barrow has been dug into quite extensively and now judging by the 'litter' around the place, appears to be the place to go to for late night shenanigans if you know what I mean. We returned to the longbarrow at the car park. This was a open and restored barrow but seemed a little barren as it looked quite nice but was a little clean for my liking. I took some photo's for the collection and took Rex to the car. The sky was still quite leaden but the view over the valley was magnificent being crossed with a patchwork of dappled sunlight and mist. What a view the barrows would have had all that time ago. |
Posted by scubi6324th March 2007ce Edited 27th August 2007ce
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