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Sker HouseRound Barrow(s)
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Visited 21.1.13 Directions: From Porthcawl town centre follow the signs for Rest Bay. There is a large Pay and Display car park opposite the Lifeguard station. From the lifeguard station take the coastal footpath north (sea on left) until you come to another footpath which leads inland on your right. At this point you will need to cross a barbed wire fence and follow the field boundary wall until the Barrow comes into view on your right **Please note that the Barrow in not visible from either footpath. You will need to negotiate the fence and do a little bit of ‘trespassing’ to get a view** Well, you can’t say the weather forecasters got it wrong. ‘Snow on Friday from 5.00am’ they said and sure enough at 4.45am it started to snow. By 8.00am it was clear that there was no work for me today. Therefore sledging, snowball fights and snowman building was the order of the day with the children and Karen. Saturday was pretty much the same with the snow showing no sign of thawing and cars not moving. By Sunday we were going a bit ‘stir crazy’ and decided it was time to get our for a couple of hours. The question was, of course, where to go given the weather? There was no chance of driving along any country lanes due to the snow so I needed somewhere where access would be a lot easier? ‘I know’ says I ‘the beach!’ After the initial shock everyone came around to my way of thinking and the children quickly grabbed their coats and buckets and spades. Porthcawl here we come! Before hitting the beach of course I had a little bit of ‘old stoning’ to do. Karen stayed in the car with the children as I walked down the beach and along the coastal path. About 20 intrepid surfers braved the cold – hardy bunch those surfers. The path starts off as a concrete track but soon becomes a wooden walkway. A barrier had been placed across the walkway with a sign informing me that due to sea erosion this section of the path was closed to the public pending repairs. Obviously, I ignored the sign and walked around the barrier. That was easy enough although walking along the walkway itself proved more difficult. The wooden slats were covered in snow / ice and it was far too slippery to walk on. Instead I chose to walk along the edge of the path, keeping to the pebbles. Snow flurries started up as I reached the point where the second path appears on the right. I stood on the wall but could not spot the Barrow due to the undulating fields. The only way to get closer was to hop over the double barbed wired fence (more difficult because of the snow) and walk along the field wall. This I did and before too long I reached the Barrow. The remains of Sker House loomed in the background. I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to see it due to the snow but I needn’t have worried as the top was clear of snow and three sheep were taking advantage to eat away at the only available grass in the field. COFLEIN gives the following details: ‘This is a round barrow, 11m in diameter and 0.8m high. It is likely to be a prehistoric funerary monument’. Before long it was time to head back to the car and go and build some sand/snow castles! It is a 30 minute walk from the car park to the Barrow. *** After returning home and doing a bit more research it turns out that there are another 3 Barrows in the same field which I was unaware of (my O/S map only showed the one Barrow). I didn’t see anything obvious although the field was covered in snow and I wasn’t specifically looking for any more. One to keep an eye out for if visiting the site. |
Posted by CARL 21st January 2013ce |
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