Beltany after-noon 06/01/07
I remembered from last visit that you only need follow the signs from Raphoe to get here quickly and easily. Well, yet again another Donegal signpost has been molested. As you leave Raphoe, the brown sign on the grassy knoll should point to the right hand road from the fork, not straight on.
After asking a very enthusiastic walker I found my way back and parked up at the bottom of the lane, slipping into something more uncomfortable as I got out of the car. My walking boots and waterproofs. Walking up the lane I realised you can see the circle as you approach, this didn't hit me last time because it was pitch black. Anyway, its a nice way to view the circle as a whole so check it out if your passing.
Arriving in the gate the light was absoltely perfect, strong low sun to the south and dark menacing clouds to the northwest. Fantastic! Arriving back at Beltany circle was exhilerating, I left in gloom the last time so didn't really get a good view of its magnificence in good light. This is one site with serious vibes. As the clouds came and passed the shadows and shapes cast by the light were almost surreal, I felt like running and shouting and perhaps I did, there wasn't another sinner for miles! This is what its all about.
I spent some time exploring what remains inside and I became more and more convinced that this was not just a simple pile of stones and earth inside, with the light raking over the protruding stones broken shapes and patterns appeared and dissapeared in the ruins. Whatever was once here truly must have been magnificent, why waste all those beautiful views?This post appears as part of the blog post " The Seven Spiritual Laws of Stone Hunting" |
05/01/07.
The bracken has died back once more or has been cleared, either way this was the best view of the site as I had ever seen. Not 'mown' or overgrown, just natural. I arrived well after dark and by the ample light of the near-full moon took around ten long exposures of the larger tomb before getting creeped out by the noises emanating from the barn behind and animals crawling though the undergrowth. This is a really great site.This post appears as part of the blog post " The Seven Spiritual Laws of Stone Hunting" |
What a wonderful monument! What superb scenery! Gortnavern is worth the trouble of tracking down, and there is some trouble.
The tomb itself has shifted in on itself but is really quite a fine example of the type, and the location couldn't be better. IF the gorse was cut back a bit.
It's not far at all from the village of Kerrykeel (called Carrowkeel on most maps) but the sign points in the wrong direction, this may have something to do with it being battered by shotgun pellets! After a while in the Irish countryside you learn to read the telltale signs that a sign has been turned the wrong direction and this one is of the more obvious type. I followed my GPS to the nearest road and this brought me to an accurate sign, I also spoke to the farmer on the lane and the little I could gather from his thickly accented directions was that you need boots. Well, bog standard now aren't they? Well, yes, the signpost points you to a stream that was almost a foot deep after the recent rain.
Turning back onto the main road, I found the lane leading to the abandoned cottages. This way involves only some small streams, a number of tied gates, capsized trees blocking the lane, ankle deep mud, barbed wire and thick gorse bushes. Dont attempt this with kids or if your only popping in out of curiosity, only the most hardened stone seeker in the sturdiest of boots will happily take this trip. It is worth it.This post appears as part of the blog post " The Seven Spiritual Laws of Stone Hunting" |
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There's good news and bad news for this very nice stone, it has definitely deteriorated over the last number of years but I dont think it as bad as it seems from the photos taken without the aid of water or side lighting. When I arrived the sun was directly on it and there were very few markings visible, once the sun went down they started to appear before my eyes. The good news is that the ground has risen considerably around the base, I'd say about 10-15" of carved surface is safely underground, the rest would be so much clearer if the moss was removed (the bad news). A few hours with a toothbrush would do wonders for this charming slab, if there was a way of doing it without damaging the surface I'd love to see the result.
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'not easy to find' says Fourwind's visit notes, 'Wellington boots are essential' adds Anthony Weir on the Portal. Why oh why didn't I take heed? This isnt easy to find or access but its very much worth the effort, with plenty of time on your hands you should find it ok but do make sure you've got good boots, not ten yards from the farm gate I was six inches in mud, including the organic kind.
The farmyard is very easy to find, I knocked on the door of the old house and just about five minutes later was giving up and moving on when I heard a very croaky 'hello?!' from the back yard and a blonde girl in her pyjamas and slippers poked her head around the corner. 'Oh the stone with the markings on it? What time is it? God I've got a rotten hangover.. half two in the afternoon.. oh. The stone's over there' 'passage tomb? thats a very fancy name for it.. I think there's something further up the next field'. Oh yes, a great start! Twenty minutes and ten inches of sludge later I still hadnt found the chamber so there was no option but to phone up Fourwinds who kindly obliged with directions by proxy and some handy GPS co-ords.
The fields are all now barbed wired over and the stile has been removed so its a bit tricky, there's also what looks like a motte (marked 'rath' on the map) near the road with trees all around it which had me on a wild goose chase. I think the map actually has the chamber marked as a rath also as there does indeed seem to be a large standing stone where the map has a second one marked.
The chamber is bigger than I pictured and its hard to imagine a roof over it, its very wide in comparison to the height of the chamber, like a smaller Fourknocks with no sub chambers. /the markings are very faded indeed and it took quite a while to bring them out with flash but running your fingers over them gives you a good feel for whats still visible, the moss has claimed most though.
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I just saw this posting before I left Dublin for Clonmel this morning, nice coincidence! I have passed the sign for the stone many times without seeing it, it points to a side road to your right coming from Cashel towards Clonmel but the help ends there. I drove up and down the road and saw nothing, after the second time I just thought 'sod it' and went back up once more since the crossroads on the other end has a sign for Cashel too. I just managed to catch a glimpse of it in a field to the right, the first gate after the sharp Z bend.
The gate into the field is now locked and wrapped with barbed wire, what was once a stile was blocked up with thorny branches. Nice. From the road side its easy to see the stone and the truly awful brick surround, maybe they have a grey rhino in the field and need to protect the public but in either case this stone has had its style severely cramped, a foresty plantation looks like its just about to swallow it up now too! A real pity, this would have been a wonderful stone with stunning views.
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Things seem to be different at the moment for Kenmare stone circle, maybe its just the off-season for tourists but the space allotted for the circle seems delightfully neglected compared to the manicured grass in the pics posted previously. The grass is uncut and untidy, in its partly secluded enclosure on a cold, gloomy and wet bank holiday morning you could just about imagine you were not really a stones throw from the town centre. From a certain angle you could stand with your back to the shrubs and things seemed almost wild.
It's a nice circle, its a pity the views are blocked in every direction but in its slightly overgrown state it was a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expecting too much. I thought the shrubs were the low, flowery kind in neat arrangements, the taller tree like evergreens are the biggest annoyance at the site apart from the many crisp packets and coke bottles under the boulder burial.
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In the village of Bweeng (on the road between Donoghmore and Mallow) there is a large tourist information board stuck to a wall that you will miss coming from the south but is quite obvious on the way through the village from the north. Quite a number of the large amount of ancient sites in the area are described, this stone row was one of two 'fine examples' of the type, the other being An Seisear (or Beenalacht on the sign). 'Well' I thought, 'if its anything like An Seisear it needs a look!'.
Its not easy to find, you have to approach the OS co-ords from the south, through a farm house with two very large and very noisy Great Danes (no sneaking past this farm!) so do ask for 'the three stones' at the house (w465926). I was brought down through three fields by the 10 year old son who played 'catch' with a stone while I frantically took pics before the sun slid behind Bweengduff mountain. He also showed me a disused lime kiln, a very odd structure indeed.
The three stones are wildly mis-matched, the larger is over 10ft and the other two are pretty similar at around 5ft. The larger stone is set perpendicular in section to the two other stones in the line. I couldn't see the horizon too good in either direction to evaluate what they might mark. The ground here has been heavily eroded so it looks like there's about a foot of old ground level clinging to the base of the stones, packing stones are clearly visible and all the stones lean this way and that.
The farmer was very interested in the stones and even gave me directions to visit the Nursetown Beg Stones nearby which I had not heard of before.
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I stopped by here on my way back from a flying visit to Cork, it looked quite close to the road on the map and near to a track. I hadn't stopped before even though I pass every couple of weeks, the recent photos make it look like a bomb crater. I was feeling a little optimistic that things may have improved for this little circle but unfortunately the optimism didn't pay off. This circle really has had it rough, and the damage seems to be ongoing, the interior of the circle is a trampled pond with jumbled stones sticking out all over the place. The outside isn't any tidier but despite the damage and disfiguration it's still possible to make out that this was a very nice circle with an unusual pair of portal stones. Or, maybe I was only able to see its former glory because I had seen photos of it in a more complete state on Anthony Weir's site (as in link below)...
I didn't enter the field that the circle was in as it had quite a few bullocks in it and a whopping great bull who made a sneaking advance and then a full scale charge, I had one of those horrible sinking feelings that the electric fence wouldn't 'work' and for a moment I think the bull had the same thought judging by his fit of rage. I didn't delay making my way back to the track only to find that the bullocks in the opposite field were not too keen on me and my tripod either and to my horror, their fence had already been trampled to the ground... If your planning on visiting here, be very cautious!
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Well this is an odd one! There's been so much destruction its hard to imagine what originally stood here, but its not anything like a mis-interpretation of a ruined kerb from a cairn as I had thought in the back of my mind. The stones are massive, much larger than I expected, Burl says four are standing but on the ground its a bit more complicated. There are indeed four large stones, as tall, if not taller, than those around Newgrange but only one is quite as bulky. These stand in a sort of bent and stretched square but there are also large stones prostrate inside the area of the circle, to one side is a pile of field clearance or a ruined wall which has a large block sitting almost upright with what looks like packing stones underneath.
Beside another large upright there are two low stones, one about 6ft long and the other much smaller but they seem to arc around on a tangent from what would have been the circle. Very odd. They are much smaller than the upright beside them and look very mismatched but original nonetheless. There are lots of large and small slabs just visible around the place, inside and outside the circle and there is what looks like a large pit surrounded by heaps of large stones (field clearance?) off to the west of the circle, about 150 yards maybe. I didn't venture over here because of a large herd of tetchy cows and calves watching my every move. Didn't see any of the rock art Martin Brennan referred to but I think some was carted off to the National Museum in Dublin. Gave up looking in the gloomy light, not a great time to photograph or hunt rock carvings!
The owner of the land seemed ok with visitors but the directions were vague enough to border on the unhelpful so a bit hard to judge. Seemed cheery though so do call in as you have to go through his yard and down a very, very muddy track. Wear good boots and a smile and you should be alright!
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As usual the sunlight was a gorgeous golden shade against a dark stormy sky, picking out and magnifying the green shades in the trees. Also as usual, this was while I was on the road between Armagh town and Cookstown. By the time I got to Creggandevesky the haze on the horizon was filtering out the strong sunlight and the lovely stormy sky was dissapating.
This site is signed all the way off the main Cookstown-Omagh road but the very last sign is minisule and green, spotted at the last second while driving down the road. I only noticed on the way back that the site is clearly visible from the road until you park. There is a decent stile there which gives you the false impression that access is easy. I made my way down to the lakeside and decided that the locked gates meant the south shore was not an official right of way, what a fatal error!
I made my way around the north shore which was boggy but passable until you pass the knoll that blocks the tomb from view. Once I got this far around I realised the track ended in a barbed wire fence, on closer inspection it was a DOUBLE barbed wire fence. With the light fading fast there was nothing else to be done so I scaled the fence and soon found myself in boggier and boggier marsh. This meant circumnavigating part of the lake that was overgrown and crossing another fence with soggier and soggier toes. When I was about 100m away from the tomb I discovered the ground dissapeared down into a deep banked stream, a prod with a tripod leg ruled out a crossing attempt.
As luck would have it though I followed it back towards the lake, resigned to not making it to the site when I noticed the stream was covered over nearer to the lake so the only obstacle left was another barbed wire fence and foot deep-holes of cow dung.
Though the fence is far too close this site is really wonderful, though the sketchy access has not deterred the vandals, names were carved in foot high letters on both sides of the tomb entrance and the information board had been smashed and destroyed. Nonetheless the lakeside location and beautiful views soon distract you, the tombs remarkable state of preservation and neat construction easily make this the best court tomb I've yet to visit, even better than Creevykeel (possibly because that looks like its located in someones back garden). The tombs construction is better described elsewhere.
I wished I had brought a ladder to get some good overhead views, the sun did briefly make an appearance but even climbing the stile didn't offer a good overall view of the structure.
On the way back I took the south path around the lake, though be advised that the cows and bullocks here take no s**t, the usual shouts of 'gerrrrout!', 'whisssshhhhhhht!' and 'ye feckin JERK!' had absolutely no effect on the fecker standing directly in my path with his nicely rounded horns. More trekking through deep holes of dung with one eye over my shoulder on the way back to the car...
Dung, mud and bovine bothers aside, this is a real treat and should be visited by everyone who goes to Beaghmore up the road. If there were no fence, marsh and animal issues this would be a truly extraordinary site.
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I was very surprised at how big this stone actually is, its about 10ft tall but is very wide and is almost banana shaped. It curves in heavily towards the base so it looks like it would fall over only for the sheer weight.
Behind the stone, about 7m away, is a steep, sharp drop down to the riverbank. Below the site is a figure of eight shaped pond, O'Kelly has one marked on an aerial photo as a possible source of material for Newgrange itself but I thought it was much further west.
The stone itself is surrounded by fencing. No problem I thought, I already walked four fields and climed four gates. Zap! Bloody tripod went flying after getting an unexpected shock from the electric fence... None of the other fences were electrified but dont be fooled, this one seems to be permanently on. I'm sure the rabbit I startled on arrival had a great laugh! Ended up taking photos from outside the fencing.
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A genuine, bone-fide four poster! To get here you have to go up someones driveway and park at their house, so no matter what your view on one legged people is, if you want to see the four stones you've no choice but to knock on the door.
So, knock I did and explained to aforementioned monopodic man that I was looking for the stones, 'hang on an I'll switch off the telly' was the response. I was prepared for a long, convoluted set of instructions. I wasn't at all prepared for a one legged man to come tearing out from the side of the house on a quad bike.
I gathered I was to follow him in my car, follow I did despite much protest, straight into one field and right up to the gate of the next. Once inside the second field he brought me over to a spot about 60 paces to the north west where he says he discovered a large amount of burnt black soil when ploughing the field some years back. The site itself has not been excavated but he told me of a megalithic kist found nearby in the village which contained a burnt skeleton and some pottery.
Aubrey Burl says in his guidebook that a 'playing card' outlier sits 14m or so from the main site with a quartz block beside it but there was no trace of either. Then again Burl thought this site was in Waterford. There are a few large protruding stones quite close and a small square stone less than a foot high which looks for all intents and purposes like a miniature axial stone on the 'west' side.
I was very impressd with the site, the view and the intriguing confusion about the place. The farmer is one of the nicest I've met, up there with the farmers at Reanascreena and Carrigagulla so don't hesitate to call in for a look if your anywhere nearby.
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Oh-dear oh-dear oh-dear... Almost complete ruin isn't the last indignity for this tomb, just to add a pinch of insult it now has a tree growing out of its rear end and a thick growth of brambles and nettles on its, cough, 'good side'. It was almost as if it knew I was only here to avoid the traffic through New Ross. A dirty pox on that nuisance of a town! Its so bad even the main road out of the town brings you back into the town at the other end, gah!! Anyway, this snivelling wreck of a monument is probably only worth visiting if you are dropped into the field after an alien abduction. I'm sure it was quite nice in a former life but alas, no more.
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This really is a beauty, it's also an absolute bugger to get to. It sits two or three fields from the road depending on which way you come. This field is massive and yet seems to have no access gates anywhere! They must airlift the cows in. I ended up scrambling over the unusually high and broad field wall much further down the valley and walking back up. On the way back the bullocks had moved fields and cut off my escape route, had to climb a few more hedges to get back to the car.
The circle itself is wonderful, the stones have a heavily rubbed smooth surface and most are shot with quite a lot of quartz. The recumbent is very altar-like as Fourwinds has said and all the stones have a very heavy 'presence'. Its a real pity the ground around them is so badly trampled by itchy cows. The view is surprisingly good and walking further down the hill allows a view of the stones against the skyline.
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This looks like, a very nice but incomplete circle. I couldn't get closer than the gate unfortunately because of a swarm of bullocks. I had 'not great' written on my map beside this one so was not intending on going to see until I spotted it through the field gate. Curse those bullocks! It does look pretty good from the gate even though the trees in FW's pictures seem much closer in real life.
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This ruined stone row lies just to the south of the forest track towards Carrigagulla NE stone circle and is just barely visible among the trees as you pass about 100 yards from the main road. The tallest stone would probably have stood between 10 and 12 feet high but its hard to tell as the forest floor is covered in a deep layer of moss, roots and leaves. This stone must have fallen quite recently as it now rests on the stump of a cut down tree. There is at least one stone broken, its small, thin stump stands very near to the remaining standing stone which is wearing a wonderful jacket of thick moss. A medium sized slab about 4-5ft (visible) in length lies beside the large fallen stone, it is almost free of moss but you can't help wondering what this row (or whatever it was) may have looked originally. Probably quite impressive I'd say.
It's likely the very closely planted trees root systems caused the tallest stone to fall.
Sits about 20 yards from the track and is very easy to get to.
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This is a nice, if battered, stone circle. It is not a great stone circle however and hardly likely to cause awe in the casual visitor. Why then, when surrounded by some dramatic and downright jaw-dropping circles so nearby, are those with whetted appetites asked to fork out €2 to spend some time trying to figure out which end is up at Shronebirrane? No getting past it though and despite my indignant and incredulous look I had to hand over the cash to gain entry and a photocopied sheet with one of those B&W pics that is really just a square of blobs, if you stare long enough you might see the face of Jesus Christ or Juda Priest.
If you are really flush though you can walk the mountain path for another €4.
The circle itself is reduced to an arc of disjointed limbs, cowering nervously at the bottom of the cavernous hills surrounding it. The valley setting is spectacular but any sense of wonder is completly shattered by the bungalow plonked right beside the circle.
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Much easier to find than I expected, it is well signposted from the centre of Castletownbere. Clearly a monument of local importance, it has very easy access and plenty of field space to allow you to stand back and consider how impressive it once must have been in its complete state. It would seem that destroying either one or both of the portals of these stone circles was sufficient to see off the pagan spectre and plenty of the stone circles in this part of the country have a buck-toothed appearance as a result.
Somehow this only adds to this site, the remaining stones couldn't possibly appear more defiant and proud, this is one of those circles which seems to have a personality ot itself, apart from the human effort put into making and breaking it. A great site.
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This is a very impressive stone, it stands on a knoll with views over the coast but inland it is surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains.
Clearly visible from the road as you drive down the hill into the harbour, it was surely a beacon for ancient mariners, given the sheer number of ancient remains in the area it possibly marks one of the busiest places for trade and rest along the coast.
Its worth knowing before visiting that you will be greeted on arrival by the people who own the land and for a €2 coin you will be given the nod and a badly printed sheet of info taken directly from the stonepages website.
This is a worrying trend in the locality, some landowners leave a donation box for you to exchange courtesies with a small contribution and there are few places that aren't worth parting with a euro or two to visit if your getting signageand a decent trackway. Charging people up front though does leave you feeling ripped off when there is no service or added value being offered to the traveller.
It stands 5.3m tall and though it is clearly quite ancient it looks surprisingly modern, its shape and colour brings to mind the stones of Callanish and its weather beaten location with fine views of the harbour takes some beating.
The ogham insciption is fairly worn and very high up on the stone, it was also in the shade on my visit so did not come out in any photographs.
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