Showing 1-20 of 42 fieldnotes. Most recent first | Next 20 
I visited the Stone on the 19th March 2012 CE.
It's now very dimly lit. The entire building empty, a To Let sign hangs from the building. Through the window to the stone I could see abandoned display and merchandising displays, perhaps left behind by the sports shop that last occupied this space. The stone deserves more. Opposite the space aged facade of the new loo Cannon St station, mood lit in comparison to the empty and forgotten space that the stone resides in on the other side of the road.
There are barriers and road works currently slightly dividing a symbol of the ancient past and the modern reality of modern commuters passing buy with take away coffee and laptops unaware of the almost hidden stone. If you stop though, even just for a second then you can still spend time at the stone, consider it's past, hope for a better custodian than an empty shop space to let.
If the remainder of the stone is still beneath ground level and you believe in the ley line theories by Iain Sinclair and others then this is still a magical place, albeit one that requires as healthy dose of imagination and romantic thought.
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This is a truly magical place and (disputably) the highest place in Dorset, I believe it is as everything else in sight from here is below.
The approach I took was from Broadwinsor on the B3164 and then onto the B6132 and then take the bridle way at the old farmhouse across the filed and up towards Lewesdon Hill.
Before the steep climb begun I crossed what I'm told is an old drovers road or route, this place feels incredibly atmospheric from here right until you reach the top, with trees ranging from relatively young beech trees to ancient looking Oaks.
Oncve at the top there is a clear and quite flat plateau, surrounded almost completely with trees but still offering amazing views to Pilsdon Pen, Golden Cap and Lambert's Castle. Maybe with a pair of binoculars and on a clear day you could even see across to Glastonbury Tor, as my guide and fellow walker on this day has.
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On visiting yesterday I found the ever growing housing estate of Pounbury growing closer, in fact in places the view is dominated by the faux historic architecture.
Even so Poundbury Hillfort still retains its soul, housing estates, construction works, railway lines all play a part in its modern day perspectives but do not disconnect this place from Maiden Castle or the landscape as a whole. Although very easily accessible from the road this still feels like a hidden place, perhaps because it's somewhat on the edge of time. Well worth a visit if you find yourself near to Dorchester.
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Nothing much to add to directions on getting to this site, follow the post by formicaant below but make sure to take the right hand path after parking up as there are two to choose from. If you take the left hand path you will make it there eventually but only after walking through some of the army base.
Both paths seem to be predominantly used though by dog walkers and not solders, on a Sunday at least. Follow the narrow right hand path, which is quite overgrown and enclosed until it opens out at the sign warning you are now entering MOD land. The path does continue on though and you don't have to actually go through any security here, I guess it's just luck whether you run into any patrol or not. The gunfire that could clearly be heard from the base was slightly off putting after just reading the sign but the odd friendly dog walker passing by calmed any nerves.
The long barrow is well enclosed behind barbed wire but looks very well preserved for it. It's not possible to get very close but you can get a good perspective of it without taking the risk of jumping fences onto MOD land. This is a smaller structure by far than the Pimperne long barrow it's closest neighbour.
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This is a huge long barrow just off the A354 between Blandford Forum and Salisbury. The best place to park is in the lay by when heading North towards Salisbury. The lay by is almost opposite the turning into Blandford camp on the other side of the road.
From the lay by you can already see the long barrow and it's just a very short walk past the bowl barrow. There is no longer any sign of the other barrows and the "British settlement" as drawn by R. Hippisley Cox in his green roads of England book.
The magnificence of Pimperne long barrow is all the more special as it's the best preserved part of what was obviously once such a rich landscape of monuments.
Race Down long barrow is located just to the North East of here on the edge of the army camp across the road.
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The best place to park for this site is the layby by the Farm on Portisham Hill, next to the farm at SY601879. The path leading from the style at the layby across the field will lead you directly to the Hellstone. After the first field you need to walk on the other side of the hedge, and then change back again for the third field to be on the correct side for the style and to avoid the electric fence.
This is all going to change soon though as I met the farmer who told me they are soon to change the path leading to the Hellstone.
This lay by is also the perfect place to leave the car to walk to Hampton Down opposite, and just back along The Valley of the Stones and if you have time why not continue on past the valley of the Stones off Coombe Road and then take the right hand turn onto Bishop's Road. The track to The Grey Mare and her Colts and Kingston Russell is just off another right turn (the next one you come to on Bishops Road) onto a farm track.
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English Heritage have now helpfully nailed a very small disk with their logo on to a fence post as you take the bridleway towards the Grey Mare & Her Colts and Kingston Russell stone circle. This I presume in case you don't notice the very large sign warning that the other trackway from the road leads to private property.
Today the ground is frozen solid and the long grooves left by the farm vehicles and cattle are frozen solid.
It begins to lightly snow as we reach the long barrow.
This is a place well worth seeing, the structure of the site may no longer be intact, slightly ruinous even but still very much here within the landscape, and a truly amazing place it is!
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Maybe it's just the time of year but Kingston Russell seems much more visible on the approach from The Grey Mare & Her Colts than last time I was here, perhaps when the tree leaves , and hedges grow back and the grass is longer it would be as I remember it.
There was no sign of the sign here anymore either, a circle without the sign, even better!
Along with Hampton Down what I noticed most on this trip was the other ancient monuments all in view from each of these sites, their interconnectedness in the landscape. You might argue that this is because a lot of the monuments are on hills but the view between them only really opens up within the circles themselves.
From standing in the center of Kingston Russell I have a view all the way across to Abbotsbury, Golden Cap, Seatown and Lyme Regis.
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This must be one of the very best locations for a Stone Circle. The view across to Chesil Beach is very clear, as are Chapel Hill Abbotsbury and The Hellstone seen here and on the walk all the way down to the Portesham Hill Road, as well as Black Down Barrow Cemetery
As said previously the condition of the circle itself is quite sad, although in recent years it does seem that the site is being maintained better than perhaps it has been in the past.
Given that though this is a splendid place to have to yourself for a while, a stone circle with an incredible view on the crest of a Dorset Hill.
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How often Winterbourne Poor Lot must be seen from speeding cars and not up close. It's as true for me as anyone. It's only the second time I've stopped off here to have a closer look. It's not an easy place to stop at. There is no obvious easy access from any direction. The road is fast and the fences don't exactly invite you in. For all that this is a site managed by English Heritage, on their site it still says access via Wellbottom Lodge and this is probably the only place to park. Even then the road is so fast that stopping there and getting back out again in one piece feels like quite a mission!
Once up there on the hill though and it's a different world, albeit one that shares the main road. Maybe the fact that people usually pass by instead of stopping here adds something to the place, it's certainly nice to have the place to oneself for a little while.
The view across to Long Bredy is very good and looking back in the other direction knowing that Broad Stone and The Nine Stones lie just around the corner
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Long Bredy is one of the most accessible sites in this area, it even has it's own bus stop! From the bust stop it's through the gate and up the concrete trackway to the top, and you're there. This site is a pleasure to visit since the site on a public right of way, the bank barrow itself magnificent and the views also. It's just high enough up and away from the road for it to be possible to just lose yourself here for a while. Today I only had the company of a few cows, the custodians of the site perhaps.
The Winterbourne Poor Lot round barrows are in full view from the bank barrow and this is one of the better perspectives to see Poor Lot from.
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The good news for juamei is that the other stones are still there. The stone right next to the road is not too covered as of today, It looks like people go there to keep it clear. The main covering today was of some roadside litter that I took away.
It wasn't possible to make out the shape of the circle that Moth saw here a few years ago, maybe at a different time of year it will still be possible to see the outline of what once was.
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Rawlsbury is magnificent and affords spectacular views is all directions from it's highest point.
This place isn't just about the views though, the earthworks still retain their power and would have made any unwelcome visitors have to work extremely hard if they wanted to gain access, not least because of the climb up, which is approaching vertical in places.
Today it's windy, very windy, especially here on the exposed height of Rawlsbury. My view is of the farmland below, the Stour, hundreds of sheep, field after field after field, squared off with fences and walls and small tracks and roads. Once inside the enclosure it feels much calmer, away from the howling wind, much more sheltered from the elements.
From here the other hills are neighbours, permanent fixtures on the horizon, everything else is far below, moving in a different time zone, a different world entirely.
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The walk to King Down barrows from the Blandford Road, the B3082, makes the arrival here all the more special. Badbury Rings can be a very busy site to visit, it's well used in all senses from dog walking to ritual activity and (it would seem) everything in between.
If you take the bridle way past the rings you will find yourself walking on an old Roman road as well as an ancient green road as you walk around this beautiful and comparatively remote countryside. Along the way you will be offered different perspectives of Badbury Rings, pass 700 year old Oak trees and leave all sounds of traffic far behind you.
The Barrows themselves are just of the bridleway on the crest of a hill within a freshly planted field. They are well visible at different points in the landscape. When up close with them they are found to be in good condition considering there is no trace at all of the other barrows that once shared this space.
I would recommend putting a day aside to walk these green lanes and to follow the Roman road, get lost in it all, eventually you'll find your way back to Badbury rings as we did but feeling much more connected to the place and with a greater understanding of the positioning of it in the landscape away from the national Trust car park and country roads.
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A very misty morning certainly helps to add atmosphere to any site. Having said that I found Buzbury Rings to contain an incredible amount of atmosphere even after the mist had lifted, revealing views for miles in most directions, apart from looking North West where the line of trees obscure any view towards where Blandford Forum sits today.
The banks here are very shallow to be defensive, especially when compared to the nearby Badbury Rings, although if you imagine away the road, the golf club across the road and the fences surrounding the site, this is a high point in the landscape. If you travel from Blandford this in the highest point so far after leaving the town, climbing all the way. Heading in the same direction toward Wimborne Minster you will dip right down immediately after Buzbury Rings before ascending again towards the grander spectacle of Badbury Rings. The road being modern itself of course, so maybe this is still based on a modern viewpoint. Interesting though.
Another interesting feature here is the combination of a large outer bank followed by a second smaller bank, a ditch and then the inner bank to the central enclosure. Useful for keeping animals within perhaps but it does feel create a unique sense of space in this landscape.
These days it is left to the Birds, Badgers, Rabbits, Hares and judging from the litter in the lay by other human visitors, exploring this site.
Although Buzbury Rings is definitely less immediately spectacular than Badbury Rings, what Badbury Rings has in grandeur and scale, Buzbury rings has in it's lack of sign posts, car parks, and a true sense of mystery alive and well.
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I re-visited the stone today, almost eight years since the last time I saw it in this location. The surroundings are now much more overgrown. It's in a fairly sad state really, lost at the bottom of a garden. There is now a bench in front of it, so maybe some people do get to enjoy sitting in front of it a letting their minds go!
From the one resident I spoke to today though, I don't think people are that aware of it's history. It's a rock feature in an overgrown border with some old crisp packets and cat shit for company.
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Almost seven years on from my last field notes here I visited again, this time with my Daughter for company.
The benefit of visiting on 26th December is that there is no one about at the quarry next door, so this time there was better for exploring the geographical context of the Bridestones and to further explore the connection to the landscape. Just of from the site standing at the quarry building there is the most spectacular view over Staffordshire and Cheshire, truly awe-inspiring in the distance the naked eye can see. I am convinced that this spot would have been of prime importance in relation to the Bridestones, and there reason for being here, I suspect they weren't placed here in isolation but would have been a small part in a wider use of this area, leading up higher and higher to the peak of the cloud.
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I visited this site for the first time last weekend, driving back from Cheshire I decided to make a detour as I've wanted to visit the Rollrights for years and this time the time was right.
I found this to be a truly amazing place, walking around the circle, spending time looking out across the landscape. I love the perspective over to The Whispering Knights and while at their looking back to The Rollright Stones, if it wasn't for the hedges the view across to The King Stone would have made the sites seem completely connected, which of course they are.
For me the proximity of the road didn't matter, maybe it's down to so many visits to The nine stones of Winterborne Abbas with the heavy passing traffic, but the traffic here at the Rollright Stones wasn't so distracting. The lay by does make it very early for folk to stop off for a visit though, including napping truck drivers, perhaps re-charging their weary batteries in more ways than they are aware. I usually enjoy a bit of a track to a site, a welcome opportunity to detach from the trappings of the everyday modern life into an ancient landscape, however on this occasion my excitement at being there took over and I took a good long walk around and about the whole area making up for the pilgrimage of finding the place by foot that I would have enjoyed..
I recommend making some time to visit this pace, spend a while there, allow yourself to slow down and let the place unfold.
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It was good to visit Duloe again this July, 2011.
Last time we found Duloe by accident, just driving along and then saw a sign for the circle. That hardly ever happens so it was a very nice surprise.
This time we were staying in Lanreath, just a short drive away.
Duloe, although small is a very special place. it almost feels like it is in someones back garden, as the track to it is in between domestic properties, but with farmland all around as well. On this occasion there were a lot of sheep present which came bleating and running towards us, they were clearly the current guardians of the circle. My two year old daughter ran towards them with great excitement, "funny sheep" apparently.
It's interesting to see the level of excitement that stone circles, and other ancient sites bring out in children. I often feel very different within circles, and especially in Fogous but with children I think there is a very natural and immediate response. I sense that they intrinsically know what we may have forgotten about these places.
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Visited on 21st July 2011.
We parked at the English Heritage car park just off the road. It's more of a lay by really but has two EH info boards with photos, information and artists impressions of how the Fogou may have fitted into a larger settlement.
My first visit inside was with my two year old Daughter, she loved the walk up across the field and on approaching the Fogou started shouting Macca Paccas house, Macca Paccas house! On entering she just wanted to run off into the creep passage and was really excited by the place. My nerve wasn't quite as strong as hers though so that was the end of her adventure for this time, and so back to the car and to Mum and little brother for her!
On my second visit I stayed much longer and really got to take in the vibe of the place. As written here earlier the dark is all consuming, my torch almost extinguished by pure and total darkness.
I explored all the passage ways alone and in almost complete silence, my breathing at first fast and loud as I climbed in through the small creep passages. Once I'd settled down a little though I could really start to take in the place. So torch off, sitting on the stumbling stone, time for a meditation on the place. On opening my eyes there was no difference than having them closed. Pitch black. Then I started to make sense of the layout and curve to the passages, not exactly but if I followed the lines of the curve I could see it worked. It was more like curved straight lines in the center that I could see that led me back to the main passage way. A strange phenomenon. A powerful place this Fogou.
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