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I wasn't really expecting much of this site - I'd previously seen a sketch of the chamber and was expecting more of a ruin. The chamber is in almost complete collapse, but the stones remain roughly in place so it is pretty easy to get an idea of the original construction. The setting impressed me most - oddly reminiscent of a few Welsh sites, Din Dryfol in particular, in its seclusion. Facing the site is a low, tree lined, limestone shelf with a natural break forming a kind of entrance. Here is a great example of a site obviously placed to compliment a naturally formed sacred, ritual landscape.
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It's been three months since I last visited a site, for one reason and another - so I thought rather than go somewhere new with friends, I'd take myself to an old favourite, alone. I approached the site, hidden among the ferns, with some trepidation.
The last time I came here was in January and the ground was covered in frost, today's scene was completely different - the grass still a lush green and the thick ferns just starting to turn an Autmnal colour. I stayed here at the circle for some time - taking in the view and studying the stones in detail, before setting off up the hill to the top of Birkrigg Common. I'd recommend the effort to anyone - the remains of a few burial cairns lie scattered over the moor on the way, and on reaching the top the view really opens up. The Lakeland fells, Morecambe bay and Black Combe dominate this panorama.
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When I last visited this, my 'local' circle, back in January, I decided to leave my next visit until a good sunny summers day, and reassess. I did just that this weekend and I'm glad I did. Last time I agreed with everything that had been said - dismal, dreary, lifeless - not lacking in atmosphere, but then again not exactly an exceptional site. With this visit, I've changed my mind completely. The location is perfect and best seen on a clear day.
The landscape is the key to understanding this place. The site is placed on a plateau of high ground. Three quarters of this high ground is surrounded by nearby hills - starting from the south-west (roughly) the view is made up of Smithills, Counting Hill, Winter Hill, Turton Moor (the top of Darwen Tower can just be seen rising above), Cranberry Moss, Entwistle, Edgworth Moor and finally Holcombe Moor and the victorian folly of Peel Tower. This makes up a huge horseshoe in the landscape, with the circle sat roughly in the centre. To the south the land is a flat plain for many miles - the modern towns of Bury and Bolton can be seen in the foreground with the tower blocks and grey office buildings of Manchester beyond. On the hazy horizon lies a fringe of high ground making up the Peak district. To the distant south-west, peeking out behind the bulk of Winter Hill and Smithills lie the mountains of North Wales.
This place is far from 'bleak' as described by Burl. It would be fair to say that in terms of a megalithic site there isn't really anything to see, but that would be missing the point - it's the position that's important, and today I discovered that my local site is truly wonderful. I'll definitely be making this journey more often.
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In terms of location they don't get much better than this. The walk down past the church is great and the views from the site are fantastic. Definitely a good place to hang out. On the way back from the monument it is worth checking the church grounds out - the sundial, as mentioned by Cope in TMA, and a couple of large boulders are of particular interest as is the church itself.
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Despite the ruined state of this monument, it is well worth seeing. The setting is great sharing it's view out to sea and the local mountains with the Clynnog Dolmen. When we visited the friendly farmer was watching his cows and proved to be an invaluable source of local information - tipping me off on one or two sites I'd overlooked.
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Cefn Isaf sits in a field, which at the time of my visit was completely overgrown. The sun shone down and we chilled here for a while - Mrs IM commented that the site looks just like a Megalithic bus-stop. The capstone is huge as is the slab at the back of the chamber.
We started here, intending to take the path up to Ystumcegid. When we reached the concrete bridge between the two sites found that it was closed. It definitely wasn't worth the risk, so we turned back - vowing to return to see Ystumcegid another day.
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A great place to chill. I'd had an absolute bastard of a journey down to Derbyshire. First I was fined for speeding (for the first time ever) and then involved in an accident with two other cars (not my fault!). I visited the bull ring after the accident, and was brought down even further by the disgusting way the monument is treated. By the time I arrived at barbrook I just wasn't in the mood but my bad mood soon lifted as i took in the various sites on the moor. The circle seems to be a victim of it's own accessibility - the cup marks in one of the stones were filled with coins which have left black marks.
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Little Meg, at the time of this visit, lay in very tall grass making the stones barely visible until I was right beside them. It had been raining all afternoon so the stones gleamed like polished gems in the lush green grass.
Earlier in the day I had visited the museum in Penrith to see the Stone Circle exhibition (runs until September 2002). On display was a small carved stone taken from Little Meg.
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This lovely henge is in almost complete disgrace. The perimeter is treat like a rubbish dump, yet the interior seem well looked after. A cricket pavillion sits at one side of the henge - couldn't the people there spend a little time looking after this amazing site right on their doorstep?
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Wading through thigh high wet grass, soaked through to the skin, the approach to this site was exhilarating. As I reached the circle a couple of rabbits scattered from it's centre into the long grass. Looking back round, my route here was clearly visible in the tall grass. This all added a unique quality to my visit. The site was completely peaceful and teaming with wildlife.
Glassonby circle lies pretty close to Long Meg and Little Meg and is definitely worth a visit for it's remoteness in this Cumbrian backwater.
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This a fascinating place - glimpsing into the subterranean workings of our ancient ancestors. The usual milking of commercial potential at ancient sites like this isn't as much in evidence here as at some places. There is the usual gift shop and it costs £5 to get in, but you don't get the feeling you are being herded here. The tour is self guided - so you can take your time, even choose to walk round the tunnels more than once. There are working archaeologists here, who are willing to field any questions.
The large chamber about half way through the tunnels is a real eye opener - the amount of work put into it is astounding, unfortunately it was impossible to photograph.
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The large mound of this ruined Cromlech can be seen quite clearly from the Great Orme Mine. The field is private so there is no direct access from the mine, the only way to get here is to go into the village and find 'Cromlech Road', which leads to a stile and the Cromlech itself, which is clearly marked open to the public. The chamber is ruined, but enough stones are still standing to make this an impressive monument.
BEWARE On leaving the site we were chased by a huge angry dog, belonging to the people living in the house nearest to the cromlech. They made no effort to contain the beast, so it's safe to assume that they don't like visitors!
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This stone row isn't that easy to find - and isn't really spectacular in itself - the view is however worth it. We had the place to ourselves for 1/2 an hour and on a nice day it would make a welcome rest place after visiting the Great Orme Mine. The surrounding landscape is full of great stones and is well worth exploring.
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I had expected more here. The cairn is pretty small, and lies scattered. The eery sci-fi TV station aerials dominate the immediate area. The view from here is quite something though, stretching from the Lancashire coast over to Bury. Local landmarks within view include Darwen Tower on Darwen Hill(itself once a beacon hill), Rivington Pike, Round Loaf and the Anglezark & Belmont reservoirs.
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I have tried to visit this site three times now - this time was the closest, but still didn't manage to get right up to the stones. I attempted to ask at the farmhouse, but there was nobody around so I left again, temptingly close to the stones. I returned home on the M6 (Southbound) and got another tantalising glimpse of the circle. I tried to take a picture, but messed up with my camera. It isn't easy driving on the motorway and attempting photography - never mind, I will return!
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The walk to the Langdale Axe factory is pretty difficult in comparison with a lot of neolithic sites. The site is directly below a mountain top, the summit is literally five minutes from the factory. The site is pretty much a scree slope. With a bit of time to spare and a lot of patience it may be possible to find evidence but be warned - the scree slope is very badly eroded and is currently out of bounds to all walkers and climbers. Using the slope is tempting but for the good of this stunning landscape is best left alone. It is best to be content with viewing the site from a distance and taking in the wonderful Langdale scenery. The Old Dungeon Ghyll pub should definitely form part of a visit to Langdale.
Rhiannon - I've got to say my visit was on a very nice day! ;-)
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I'd been looking forward to visiting this site for quite a while. My walk took me from The Cockpit via the other Moor Divock sites. I must say I was a bit disappointed, I thought the stone would be bigger and that the surrounding stones would be easier to make out. It is worth looking here if you intend to visit the other Moor Divock sites. Size isn't everything - the siting of this stone is fantastic, it links the Shap circles to Ulllswater which in turn leads to Castlerigg. An amazing collection of sites, separated by millennia, but obviously sited on very important trade routes.
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Easily seen from the path between The Cockpit and The Cop Stone this cairn is in a much better condition than the others dotted around the moor.
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From White Raise heading to The Cop Stone this ring cairn lies to the left of the path and is quite easy to spot. The site itself is less impressive than it's two neighbours, but obviously worthwhile visiting.
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A neat little circle. The site is in pretty good condition and from here The Cop Stone is easily spotted through two more standing stones.
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