 Previous 50 | Showing 51-89 of 89 posts. Most recent first   
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Having noticed the low water levels in several reservoirs recently, it seemed a possibility that the drowned circle at Walshaw Dean might perhaps be visible, so I set out armed with the published GPS and the 1902 pic of the site. I headed straight for the spot indicated by the GPS which is just past the dam of the upper reservoir to find nothing but water. The description of the site however places it in the middle reservoir, not the upper, so I walked round the reservoir looking for signs of the circle, eventually right by the dam in the middle reservoir I spotted what looked to be the remains of a circle, closer inspection raised my hopes still further – Was this indeed the remains of Walshaw Dean Circle? I think so, further information from Ling Roths – 'The Yorkshire Coiners' puts the site 'on the left hand side of the valley going up, a few yards above the damn of the second reservoir' (Thanks Paulus) in other words exactly where these stones are at SD96472 33553. At the moment levels are still low, and the stones clearly visible, the site is an easy 1 mile walk up the tarmac road to the Lodge, when you reach the Lodge, look over the dam & the circle is right there.
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The feature here that is generally assumed to be the cairn is actually the base of a modern summerhouse, the real cairn is at SD50147428 and is a much more discreet affair, being an oval about 12.5m x 9.4m, it consists of a mound of earth and limestone rubble, and is kerbed with limestone blocks. At the centre is a depression, the result of an 1778 excavation which recovered a human skeleton, a large bead, and calcined human bones.
The cairn is easy to locate via the footpath to Leighton Hall from Peter Lane. Almost immediately after going through the gate from Peter Lane the path crosses a tractor track running up the hill, follow this to the left, the cairn is on the left-hand side of this track, just before leaving the trees and entering the area where the stone circle is situated (Directly below the ESE outlier).
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Is this a local stone or was it brought in from elsewhere during construction of the reservoir? Living locally I've made many trips to the surrounding moors and so far not seen evidence of any other rock art in the Rivington area.
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Sited about three quarters of a mile down the A839 to Lairg from the A9 junction, on the Mound Rock, Aberscross is easily accessed being sited on a flat platform a short walk up the slope, however it's definitely one to visit when the bracken is down, in early July it was completely swamped.
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