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Scubi's World Tour of Cumbria - The first few days

This and the next (to be written) blog are about my trip to Cumbria for a week and how I got on seeing some of the best prehistoric sites (sights?) the UK has to offer....... or in some cases, not.

Day 1 - The Trip North

I set of from sunny Wiltshire in the very early hours of Friday morning in order to get a good run up to 'The North' without hitting loads of traffic around Birmingham.

My first stop was to be Arbor Low where I duly arrived in the lay-by by the farm at 6:30am.
All was at peace only the odd sounds of farm animals breaking the silence. The sky was that early morning blue with the sun just coming up over the surrounding hills.

I strolled up to the farm and noticed the sign requesting £1 to be deposited in the green tin (which I had expected). Unfortunately I only had a £2 coin and eager to get up to the henge and not return to the car for change, I dropped the coin in.

The sign clearly shows your available routes and you have a choice of going to Arbor Low or to the large Gibb Hill barrow nearby. Being a 'stoney', I of course went straight to the most interesting feature which is a relatively easy and short walk.

Arriving at the entrance of the henge I was greeted with a large number of sheep and at first it was confusing identifying which were stone and which were animals….Farm animals would form a good part of my trip this week.
As I moved forward so the sheep moved out of my path and I got a clearer view of penitent stones. I remembered what I had read on TMA and looked at the stones trying to visualise them upright and proud. The henge layout would suggest an observation rather than a defensive structure and it would seem the stones would be viewed better high up on the bank. To me then, the stones should be upright and not laid down. I sat for a while looking both at the structure with the sun very low in the sky and also at the animals where their presence seemed quite in keeping with everything.
Time was pushing on and so I got the Canon out and fired of shot after shot trying to capture as much of the light conditions as I could. I did a quick video also as I like to keep a moving record of the sites I now visit.

I didn't go to the barrow though it wouldn't have taken long, but I wanted to push north and still had another site to visit in these parts.
I set the Satnav to the next site which would be Stanton Moor not far from Arbor Low. After a few short miles the woman's voice informed me I had arrived as close as I could by road. I pulled over into a sort of lay-by and studied my map. I wasn't sure where I was in relation to the Nine Ladies as I only had a road map for this area. The next village was Stanton-in-Peak but I couldn't tell from the map which minor road I was on.

There were two public footpath signs pointing either side of the road so I decided to take the easy route down to the left first. The path forked off in different directions and then seemed to end in near shear drops. I decided this was not the way and tried the other path. This took me past what looked like an old mill house and into a wood and further on into a clearing. There was a stone circle here alright but it was a circle of stones piled vertically to form a ring of columns about a foot or so high and probably about a week old!!. I ventured further on using my satnav to try and guide me. But it kept taking me to the edge of an old quarry wall and there was no way up from where I was. After further searching I returned to the car in frustration and grabbed the road atlas. I then decided to go for a bit of a drive around to see if there were any signs. I drove up and down the road and saw nothing…..except a road sign to Birchover. Looking at the map I could see that this road circumnavigates the Stanton Moor and decided that this would be the way to go. After a short distance I cam across and small lay-by with an information sign saying 'Stanton Moor Edge'. This was a relief and I got my stuff together, stuck on my head phones and went for a walkabout. After the short walk up the track I came to a style and information board close to a rocky out crop. I was pleased as the board showed a map of the area including the Nine Ladies but don't think gave the correct orientation in relation to where I was standing. As I hadn't been here before I took a guess at which path to follow but at least the moor wasn't that big. I remember the stone circle was supposed to be in a clearing so as I wondered along I popped into various clumps of trees to see if I could see anything but with no luck. I spotted a stone tower which looked like some sort of folly, interesting but not what I was here for. As I carried on around the foot path I caught a glimpse of a stone…or was it a sheep. As I approached I could see more stones….and sheep. I had found it at last.
I sat down by the circle and rested; the sun was warm and left me quite tired. All that could be heard were the sounds of the birds….and the sheep.

Having rested I wondered around the stones. It is quite a small compact but perfectly formed circle in a charming location. There are some small stones further out from the main circle one of which has what looks like modern 'rock-art'. I say modern as the marks seemed too well defined and too perfect.

I began to take my normal barrage of photos and while doing so was broached by various people walking their dogs and asked if I was working on some book or programme. I had to tell them I wasn't unfortunately but did mention TMA.

As they walked away with their companions it struck me that my old friend was no longer with me and I felt quite sad and a little lonely. Rex would have loved this place.

I drove the car further north, it was not even mid day yet and I still had time to visit another place.
I arrived at White Coppice Lane and parked near the cricket ground with Anglezarke Moor in front of me. It was now very warm and I took a few mouthfuls of water before heading up the track. Again I did not have a map and just the TMA notes. An information board again provided details of what lay ahead but again the orientation was wrong. The track heading straight to the moor seemed the best one to go along as it followed the stream that came down, and so off I went.

All was good until the track stopped at the edge of the creek with quite a drop to boot.
I decided to back track and climb up the side of the hill where I could see people walking above.
Well that took it out of me and as I sat there puffing like I had just complete a marathon I could see a track heading sort of Eastward and I decided to follow this route next. I was pleasant enough with only the odd bit of uphillness!!

Having no map meant that I would need to use the TMA notes and my Satnav or at least I would have if I wasn't still in my car. Lots of different words came to mind most of them unrepeatable. I decided to plod on as there was loads to see on Anglezarke more wasn't there including standing stones, chambered cairns and ring cairns. Well I wondered and wandered and saw little evidence of anything interesting. Where the heck is it all? I met up with some other walkers and asked the normal questions about the location of Pikestones and Black Coppice only to be responded with confusion and shaking of heads. Well it was a nice walk anyway but grudgingly I would have to get back to the car if I was going to make Kendal before 4pm. And so I returned back down the hill empty handed with just a few snap shots of the moor. As I passed the information bored by the cricket club I quickly checked and then it dawned on me…..I was only walking on Wheelton Moor not Anglezarke. I had got confused and had walked up the wrong side of the creek; I duly kicked myself all the way back to the car and drove to Kendal in a bit of a huff.

Day 2 - First Northern Megameet Day

Today was the first day of the Northern Megameet and we had agreed to meet at Long Meg at between 11 and noon. This would give me time to visit a couple of sites prior to the meet.
It was a bit cloudy in Kendal and as I drove up the M6 the sky's emptied as I passed by the fells….Now I am thinking to myself that this wasn't a good sign. However, not be very local to the area, little did I know and as I got to Penrith the rain cleared and the sun started to poke through.
I decided I would visit Little Meg first and this time I had a map!!
The Satnav took me straight to a gate by the side of a very minor road where due to a wide and flat grass verge was easy to park at. I hoped out of the car and grabbed the map. A quick check confirmed that the stone circle was in the field with the gate I had parked next to. And low, a quick 'butchers' through the entrance showed this to be true. Little me could be seen sat in the tall grass be the edge of the field so I grabbed my stuff and set forth.

Well what do we make of this!! A very small erratic 'circle' of stones with a larger (but not very) one next to them. My initial thought was that the smaller stones could be field clearance.
I read through me TMA notes and it struck me that I had missed a small thing.

I looked over the smaller stones and there it was staring at me buried in the long grass….my first proper Rock Art. What a joy to see and a moment I was looking forward to. I spent a while looking and feeling the two patterns. To me this made all the difference and I realised this was not just a pile of stones this was special. The circle and spiral patterns were mesmerising as your eyes followed them around and losing them as the interlaced. Having eventually pulled my self away I looked more closely at the remaining stones and almost tripped over the large flat stone almost buried under the recent growth.

Yes there is much more to this little circle than meets the eye and very much worth the visit.
Hoping back in the car I still had another site to visit before the meet.

I approached the 'you have reached your destination' point and found a little area to pull in by a gate. Having checked the map and grabbing my stuff I went to check out Glassonby. I leaned over the gate and scanned the field to the right. About 100 yards away I saw two figures wandering around the obvious ring cairn. I did think about going elsewhere but decided to investigate anyway as I wouldn't have long.

Well I suppose it was bound to happen; as I approach Glassonby I recognised the two figures ambling around the circle of stone and herd of cows. "You two get every where" I shouted and "We try" came back the reply. The figures wandering in the field were Jane and Moth; fellow stoneys also heading for the Meet that day! We had a bit of a chat about what we were doing and the day a head and then they headed off.

I grabbed my camera from the rucksack and placed the bag on the ground. I started to fire off a couple of shots and then turn towards the direction J&M went off. A look of horror must have passed over me as two cows had there noses in my rucksack and all my other equipment. I rushed forward and let out a girly shriek to which the startled cows backed off. I grabbed my bag which had now been slimed but luckily no damage was evident. With this the cows became inquisitive and did 'we're going to follow you around everywhere' thing. Taking pictures was not easy with large lumps of dairy products (I assume they were the effeminate variety as I can't remember looking) in every shot but I did manage to get a few 'ok' ones.
Job done and back to the car without being followed by cows.

On the way to Long Meg I noticed J&M were in the Little Meg field and I wondered if I would recognise anybody when I got to the Meet.
I drove down the lane and all of a sudden I was at Long Meg and Her Daughters stone circle. Although the road goes through the circle Moth had advised me to leave the car under the trees but I was so excited I missed them and parked next to another car in a small gravelled area. I looked around first to see if I could see any likely TMA candidates but wasn't sure there were any. There were too couples both old/elderly and neither of them seem to take too much notice. I stuck my rucksack over my shoulder and having seen my first bit of proper rock art at Little Meg I couldn't wait to see my second at Long Meg. She stood there outside the circle of stones looking as if she was leaning over to tell her daughters a thing or two. The day had started to turn very warm and as I approached the Meg I could immediately see the spirals that adorned her flank and like Little Meg I stood there following the grooves across her The sun was reaching a good angle such that the shadows were really making the patterns stand out and they would only improve as the it got more southerly. I think it was at this point that Jane and Moth arrived and at least I would know somebody. We spent some more time wandering around the circle taking photo's. Long Meg's daughters did not seem as tall as the stones of Avebury, these stones were squat, smooth and rounded…bit like me really.

I wandered around the stones trying to keep out of Moth's field of view and at the same time trying to find an interesting angle at which to get some good shots. I don't have the equipment to get the whole circle in at once (without standing about a hundred yards away so the stones look so small you can# tell them from sheep), so I normally do a 'pan' and stitch the images together later.

After a short time another car pulled up and out got Vicster and Vicky and then a short time later peb's arrived!

We decided we would sit up by the dry-stone wall near to Meg. By now the sun had got to work and the day had become very pleasant indeed.
Unfortunately I had little time to get some food together and had visited the local road garage to pick up some snacks. We sat and talked about various things and wondered if anybody else would turn up.

One interesting item we discussed was the enclosure that abuts the circle over the other side. At some point Vicky and I found ourselves trying to see the ditch from ground level but no mater at what angle or how much we squatted and squinted we could not see anything for sure. I did get to a point where we did start to see things but agreed that we were probably seeing what we wanted to see.
We returned to the group for more snacking and idle chit chat.
Nobody else had arrived but there was a young man wandering around looking like he wanted to ask a question. After a quick "hello" and a bit of a chat about the stones informed me that he was an artist.

As time went on were all sat down gorging ourselves on various types of wonderful food (well an egg sandwich and crisps for me!!) when a group of cyclists turned up with yellow tunics and wearing party hats on to of their cycling helmets. One of the all male group hopped up onto one of the stones and started playing some sort of piccolo. It all looked a little strange and may have been some sort of male bonding ceremony or unusual stag do…but who to say.
There was more chat and I was thinking how lovely it was just sitting there with like minded people who were in no hurry to do anything. There was a cool breeze blowing through the wall that cool my back as the sun continued to provide a very pleasant afternoon.
The conversation turned political, paranormal and then to what Cumbria had to offer the visitor of all things stoney and prehistoric. We went through my TMA pages and it was agreed I should visit all of them!!!

The time soon flew by and before long we talked about the next day and where we should go. As we had a mutual interest in RA it was decided that Copt Howe would be the best place to get together.

Before we went our separate ways there was one more place to visit so we all go back into our cars and sped off.

After a short while we reached a large expanse of moor land; Moor Divock. This was one of my "to do's" and I was quite pleased to be here.
From where we parked we headed north-west along a track and could immediately see the Cop stone just off to the right of the track on the skyline.

As we all moved towards it a small bird landed just ahead. It gained our interest for a short time and I think it was described as some type of Lark but I am not sure as I am not twitcher!
We continued towards the Cop which to me looked like a seal at certain angles and being about 1.5m tall. There were one or two smaller stones nearby and I think I read that these may have been part of a stone circle of which the Cop was the largest member.

We continued north & westward along the track and almost immediately a ring cairn appeared about 50m further along and again on the right and yet another at about another 50m. To be honest I wasn't sure which was which but I thing they may have been the Centre and South-East cairns. I got a couple of shots of each as we turned more westward. After another short walk the Cockpit stone circle came into view. It lies very low to the ground but has a surprisingly large diameter despite this; bigger than the Nine Ladies certainly.

We stopped for a break and another chat where politics again raised its shameful head and certain members of a certain party got a good roasting by the girls.

We walked a little further to the western edge of the moor overlooking Ullswater and a fine site it was. We then turn north and the east bringing us back to the path we started on. Moth and I tried to work out which cairn was which and also looked out for a bit of an alignment mentioned on the TMA website. Again to be honest we were not 100% sure but that didn't matter as the sun was still shining and the wind gently breezed past us. It had been a fine day and as we ended our walk by our cars we confirmed to meet at Copt Howe the following day.

Day 3 - The Second Northern Megameet Day

A lovely sunny start to the day as I made my way up passed Windermere and Ambleside. Today satnav decided I should take a 'shortcut' and directed me off the main road and around the back of Skelwith Bridge and up some pretty steep and narrow road. However I was pleasantly surprised when the road opened out revealing a very pleasant view of Loughrigg Fell and Tarn Foot. So nice I had to stop for a piccie or six.
The road eventually took me back out onto the main road just after Elterwater and before I knew it I was there….well at least that is what the satnav said. I quickly look for somewhere to park and spotted a driveway on the other side of the road which just so happened to have a sign pointing to Copt Howe Gardens. At least I must have been close. Using the map, it didn't tell me where they were but it did point to some boulders just over the other-side of the road. I couldn't park the car where it was so I drove back up the road and found a sort of lay-by just opposite a style on the other side of the road. As I hope over the style I was confronted by a number of very large boulders…not being a geologist I don't know what type of rock they were but they were BIG. And seemed a little out of place in this green valley in which they sit. The boulder form part of a boundary with a stone wall that runs between them. Access over the wall is via some purpose made wooden steps next to which was an information board stating that these were the Langdale Boulders and that they contained a large amount of rock art of which there was a description. Realising I was at the right location (this time) I began scouring the surfaces of the boulders for the RA. I was expecting to see something jump out at me and I would leap out in amazement, but I could see nothing except lots of white chalk stuff in various fissures. I ran around the boulders searching high and low. I re-read the sign but again could see nothing. Again bewildered and confused I sat there for a bit. The others hadn't arrived yet and determined not to look stupid (easily done in my case) I revisited the board again. The drawing on the board showed the RA against the natural grooves and fissures in the rock surface. I stepped back away from the sign and married up these markings with the rock face to my left. Then slowly and surely things started to stand out. I began to see the lines and swirls and shapes on the surface. The Sun had been so bright that the markings were 'washed' away by the dazzling surface This, combined with the fact the information board didn't tell you how big these markings were and even on what surface they were on meant that a totally untrained eye totally missed them. Frantically I began taking photo's but the light was too strong to really get good shots. It was obvious though that like Long Meg, as the sun moved around the shadow effect would improve matters. I looked on TMA print off I had done and this showed a holed stone that looked interesting. And so, while waiting for the others to turn up and for the sun to move around, I looked for this interesting stone.
The photo in my printouts made the stone look quite small and would have guessed at it being about 2ft in diameter. As I was looking around for the stone I heard a voice call over. It was Jane and Moth walking down towards me and after a brief chat got straight into looking at the RA. Like me they were having difficulty in getting a good photo as the sun still needed to get around a little to bring out the shadows. It was then that I decided I could use my remote flash instead. So after the initial set up and with Jane's help as a 'mobile flash stand' and trial and error we were able to get some good shots using the flash as a mini sun to cast a very oblique light across the RA.

Having had our fill of photos Jane decided she was going to "knock one out" and sat down a little distance away and began to paint. This also gave Moth and I a little time top kick back and enjoy the lovely warm weather. We were joined by a young chap and his family who looked as if they had come for a picnic and disappeared behind the lower boulder (the one with the RA on it) with a large mattress. As we sat there chatting there was a bit of huffing and grunting from the other side of the rock. As I wondered what was going on the bloke appeared on top of the boulder. He then jumped off onto the mattress and began to scales the rock again in a different place. Ahh that explains the chalk, it looks as if the local climbers use these boulders for climbing practice. This was confirmed by Moth in a later conversation and also the fact that the chalk was all over some of the cup marks.
It seemed some climbers had little respect for the ancient carving on these boulders, but isn't this the same everywhere. You always see people clambering and climbing over these sites not realising what damage it causes over periods of time.

I think it was at this point that the Vicky's arrived. They had been a little delayed by the various road-works that were taking place in the area.

Again we sat and chatted about allsorts for some time and Jane re-joined us showing off her fine work of art. She had captured the fantastic scene around us perfectly, including the rock art on the boulders!

Vicster and Vicky wandered off to explore the local area and again the opportunity was had to just sit and sunbath.

After another while Vicster had come back and explained that Vicky things she may have found some more cup marks. Of course this meant we would need to go and have a good look ourselves….so off we trotted. Hen we arrived Vicky pointed out four circular hollows arranged in a trapezoid. They certainly seemed a little too regular to be natural but there did seem to be a good number of them on the surrounding rocks. "We need a geologist!" exclaimed Vicky…..and we certainly did.

After a while we started to meander back to the large boulders, at which point a certain person slipped clambering over the wooden stile and fell onto a stone close by. This is worth mentioning that although a little shaken they were ok but it could have been worse. So watch your step if you trying this yourself.

As Moth and Jane had to get off for the long drive back to Oxfordshire We decided to go for a pub lunch a short distance away which I can not remember the name of!

During my conversations with moth throughout the day, he had recommended I take a trip to the Brat's Hill, part of Burn Moor Complex near Boot.

Having had a great day and lovely meal, and brilliant weekend we had to go our separate ways. Moth and Jane had the long drive to Oxfordshire, Vicky a long drive northwards and Vicster a trundle on the train south. I must say this was a lovely get together, the weather had been kind especially today, the conversation excellent and the pace relaxing….there is talk of a middle megameet next year!

I thing it was about 2:30 and I got into the car and set the satnav to 54° 24' 33.03" N, 3° 16' 27.57" W and set off about half hours drive away.

White I remember is turning right of the main road and heading into the countryside. As I drove the scenery got moor and more beautiful with steep sided mountains and burbling rivers. At the same time the road got narrower and more winding and I was forced to stop the car and reverse to allow oncoming vehicles to pass. Eventually the landscape started to open out to a vast valley with the road winding through it and disappearing into the distance. I drove on not really having a clue where I was. The road veered to the left and to the right as well as up and down and I was forever stopping and starting the car to let others through. A group of 3 or 4 mini's came from the opposite direction, and another and another. In fact these drivers seemed to think they had some sort of priority and the drive was getting quite tiring even though I had the window down to let some air in. I wasn't making much headway due to the traffic and at one point a I reached a stale mate with another group of mini's as the expected me to reverse up a very steep hill and around a blind corner in order to let them pass. I just sat there and refused to move and as they were in a hurry they gave way and pulled right over to the grass verge to let me pass. After some time I could see the road went 'vertical' some way ahead as it climbed over the hill in front. I was getting a little nervous now as the brakes on the poor Focus started to loose bight with the constant braking. As I approached the steep climb I could a very sharp right hander and what looked like a short 1:3 coming up. I stuck the car in second and flung it around the corner and floored the accelerator and the car shot up the hill. But after about half way up the front wheels began to skip and then spin. The car stopped and I had no juice bet to carefully reverse back down. A motor cyclist who was following me had already realised I would have to do this had turned and gone back down. As I got to the bottom he leaned in the car and said to me "what most people do is reverse to back over there and then take a run at it". Obviously this was a common problem but it didn't stop me feeling any more foolish. The good news was that it worked and I was on my way again….well I would have been if I still didn't have to stop for those bloody mini's. Once I had got over the hill the round became more sane and after more driving I had arrived at Boot thoroughly exhausted and as the sun was in full bloom, extremely hot. I checked my map and if you hadn't guessed I found out I had just driven along the Wrynose Pass.

The satnav had taken me to a river bridge by a lovely old mill building and the map pointed me towards the hill to the north. It was gone 4pm and that 30 minute journey had taken me almost one and a half hours. I had arranged to be back at the cottage before 6:30 so I had to make a decision whether to go on. It didn't look that far so I got me water and went for it. Crossing the bridge and through the gate I checked my map and followed the path up the hill. The mountains to the east looked good in the sun. The walk was steep and my rucksack seemed heavy. I had to stop and drink after only about 100 yards. As I continued I realised this hill was going to be a killer in this heat and I found stopping again for a drink and a rest. The path turned rocky and had began to zig-zag and as I looked back I reckoned I had gone up about half way. My legs were feeling quite wobbly now and I think this is where I stopped and assessed my situation. It was 4:30, if I turned around now and went back through the pass I would get back on time ….just. If I carried on I might not get to the moor till gone 5 which would leave me much time to see anything and get back. I could always return to this area again on another (much) cooler day. I turned and reluctantly walk down the hill. As I set the satnav up in the car it told me to turn left at the bottom of the lane. I turned right and made my way back to the cottage along a more sedate route.

To be resumed.....soon!