The barrows at Therfield Heath are rather unexpected in this part of the country. They are beautifully positioned overlooking the ancient Icknield Way and you can see for miles across the flat Cambridgeshire countryside. There are five Bronze Age barrows in a group right on the 'turn' of the slope, and some way further back a Neolithic longbarrow, which was apparently reused in anglo saxon times. There are other round barrows on the heath too (even one with a bench perched on the top...). Part of the heath is a golf course so you do have to watch yourself crossing the greens, but the site is supposed to be a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It's chalk and there are lots of interesting flowers, including (i haven't seen it but if you get up there at Easter you might) the rare Pasqueflower.
Parking is easy - there's a small 'nature reserve' car park at the west end, or drive through the golf club car park at the eastern end, and then make your way up the slope.
Go into Royston to see the 'Roy Stone' a 2 tonne glacial erratic placed at time immemorial? at the crossroads of the Icknield Way and the Roman Ermine Street. Also there's Royston Cave, a v mysterious underground chamber with strange pagan/christian carvings of uncertain date but for some reason associated with the Knights Templar. That's at the crossroads too - popular with ley line fans also.
The barrows at Therfield Heath are somewhere to clear your mind and think about the passing of time; I think they're cool and pretty unmissable if you're about in this relatively barrowless land.
In ' Tongues in Trees,' a work on plantlore published by George Allen in 1891, I read at p. 48 :— "The pasque-flower, Anemone pulsalilla, a native in the fields near Royston, is there supposed to have grown from the blood of Danes slain in battle.
Pasque flowers (with luck) still grow on Therfield Heath just outside Royston. And of course the long barrow must be where the Danes are buried? Quote in Notes and Queries January 7th 1911.
E B Nunn's account of digging the barrow in the 19th Century
'April 26th 1855, Opened the Long Hill on Royston Heath. Made a cut about 7 feet wide to the base of the hill throughout its length. Found in the east end at about 1 foot from the top a small heap of calcined human bones, and a small piece or two of iron very much corroded, a few pieces of flints. At the depth of 4 feet a human skeleton lying with its legs crossed, the internment was Head NE by SW, at the base of the hill a bank of flint lying NW-SE the portion above described relates to portion no.1 on ground plan. In portion no. 2 a cyst was found cut in the chalk at the base of the hill about 2 feet depth being 18 to 20 inches, containing ashes, at 6 yards farther west another cyst was found of the same description and dimensions. At about 2ft farther west a skeleton was found, the bones being placed in a kind of heap or circle. This was also on the base of the hill. Nothing more was found.'
Visited 26th April 2003: This cluster of barrows is visible from the Thurfield Heath car park. There are three relatively large barrows, and three smaller ones (of which I only identified two) that are much less well defined. The three largest in the cluster are very close to each other, and stand in a neat row. From the top of any one of these you get great views of the long barrow to the south and Cambridgeshire to the north (freakily flat to someone who lives in Wales).
Visited 26th April 2003: I was a bit concerned that we wouldn't find the long barrow because I knew it was of the low earthen type, but even without a Landranger it was easy enough to find. It's up on the hill to the east of the car park. Although you can't see the long barrow itself from the car park, you can make out the nearby round barrows.
Watch out for the golf players though. Whereas most of the round barrows are on the side of the fairway, the long barrow is part of the golf course (apologies to any golf players if my terminology is muddled). We watched a bloke taking a shot from the top of the barrow. It was rather amusing to me, but I suppose it's pretty routine for the local players. In this case I think he thought we were admiring his game.
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