Directions:
Just off the A505, west of Royston. Large (free) car park.
Karen stayed in the car to keep an eye on the children (who were busy watching DVDs – Dafydd a documentary on the Vikings / Sophie Peppa Pig!) whilst I headed up the obvious ‘chalk path’ towards the barrows which are easily seen from the car park.
Despite being overcast, it was quite warm with only a little breeze. Surprisingly for a bank holiday there were no golf players around so I didn’t have to worry about stray golf balls hitting me!
The three larger barrows are approximately 2.5m high x 20 across, the smaller ones approximately 1.5m high x 10m across. The 'missing barrow' Kammer refers to is possibly either a very small barrow next to the long barrow? On the other hand it may not be! Although one barrow showed clear damage caused by previous ‘excavation’ the others all appeared to be in good order.
There are good views to be had from the top of the barrows north and west.
The O/S map shows a couple of other barrows to the east and a further barrow across the road on the other side of the car park. Unfortunately I decided I didn’t have enough time to visit these as I felt I had been gone too long as it was. Which proved to be the right judgment call given Karen’s response when I did eventually arrive back at the car! It is surprising how quickly time can pass when you immerse yourself in a site.
This is an excellent place to visit and well worth the minimal effort. Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time!
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).
Log in |
Register
0 discussions
Show map (inline Google Map)
Add an image 
Posted by Kammer
Top of page