Latest Fieldnotes

Does Size Really Matter? Not always!

Don’t get me wrong, D27 Borger is huge, it’s impressive, it’s the largest Hunebed of The Netherlands (22.6m x 4.1m), the capstones are massive, the portal entrance is enormous and so on. Superlatives without end. But what it lacks is atmosphere (but it is quite unfair to blame D27 Borger for that).

Because it is located in the immediate vicinity of the Hunebedcentrum in Borger, there is always quite a lot of hustle and bustle around the Hunebed, like children climbing on the stones, people taking selfies with the monument in the background, etc. So it is really hard to experience the site alone and to take photos without any people running into them.

So if this monster would be situated in a tranquil clearing in the woods, this Hunebed would be perfect. I would recommend a visit nevertheless, but maybe very early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when all visitor of the Hunebedcentrum have left. Although D27 Borger lies on the grounds of the Hunebedcentrum, it can be visited at any time.

Small side note:
Is it really just a coincidence (and never noticed before?) that with D27 Borger the largest Hunebed is pretty much in the middle of all other Hunebeds between Zuidlaren and Emmen? And that even its number (D27) is right in the middle of 53 Hunebeds, which means there are 26 Hunebeds north and 26 south of D27 Borger ;-) !

Visited July 2018

Cantraydoune is a very easy site to find, we were en route to Dun Evan, as it is next to the minor road that eventually heads east from near the Clavas. It also gives the chance to drive under and appreciate the magnificent Nairn Viaduct.

Sadly the cairn, tho it looks like an attempt has been made to leave it alone (a very bad attempt), has taken a bit of a pounding. It still sits at 8m wide and is just about 1m high but to the north and west much damage has happened. Two kerbs remain earthfast whilst 3 others seemed to have been rolled away to the west. Tree stumps sit on top which explains the damage, recent forestry work.

Still it does have nice views of the River Nairn valley, if heading west go to the Clavas to cheer yourself up, if a glutton for punishment go to Dun Evan.

Visited 18/7/2018.

The hard to see/find Feabuie looks over the Rough Burn to the south. This burn, at the moment, is well and truly rough, it was bone dry. In fact a lot of the burns we saw on this particular day were dry, such has been the summer.

We went south west through the village of Balloch and took the first minor road heading east pulling in 3 gates before the farm at East Feabuie. From here we headed straight north, over a fence, down to the dried up burn and then up the other side.

The cairn is set in a clearing but it is difficult to spot as it is covered in grass and ferns. Luckily one of the kerbs can be on the west side. Canmore say 6, I say 8 kerbs in a cairn that is over 7 meters wide and only 0.2m high.

Once again a cairn in the woods and complete silence, being near Culloden very apt.

Best approached from the west to see the kerb.

Visited 18/11/2018.

From the west of Nairn take the B9092 then the second minor road heading nprth west. As soon as the road has trees near both sides find a place to park, there is an old forestry track to the north side. Park there and walk a short distance west until a path, in bits overgrown, heads south. This swings back east ad heads straight to confusing and hard to spot site.

OS have it marked as an enclosure/cairn (and in the past described the site as a small fort) and Canmore has it down as a henge/cairn. Probably it has been used as all three. Here is the Canmore description :

A well preserved cairn, levelled into a slight SW facing slope in reafforested, Lagnagreishach Wood.

‘It comprises an oval platform measuring c 7.0m SW/NE by c 6.0m transversely, surrounded by a ditch c 2.5m wide and c 0.4m deep with an outer earthen bank c 2.5m wide and c 0.3m high. Across the ditch in the SW is a causeway c 2.0m wide, which is mutilated by a tree stump, with a corresponding break in the bank. The central platform is slightly raised, c 0.2m, above the surrounding ground level by a turf-covered crown of closely packed rubble stones which covers the whole platform.‘

All of which is present and correct. Beware bramble branches!

Visited 18/7/2018.

Most of the Hunebeds are isolated, but sixteen are grouped in eight pairs and six other form two groups of three. Here in Bronneger are five Hunebeds within 200m: a pair (D21 Bronneger and D22 Bronneger) and a trio (D23 Bronneger, D24 Bronneger and D25 Bronneger). And as if that were not enough, two more burial mounds are only about 150m west of D25 Bronneger. So this location must have been a very important spot sometime in history.

The easternmost D21 Bronneger, as well as the westernmost D25 Bronneger Hunebeds are the best preserved ones, whereas D22 Bronneger is the smallest Hunebed in The Netherlands, as only two capstones is all that remains.

But both groups are located in a scenic and idyllic setting, which absolutely justify a visit.

Visited July 2018

Delnies is a couple miles west of Nairn on the A96. Whilst making the road to Carnoch House the cist was discovered along with pebbles of a cairn. Fortunately the cist, 4 slabs, was not sent to stone crusher and was re-erected a short distance away in a wood a short distance from its original spot. The male skeleton was presented to Aberdeen Uni by the aptly named D. H. Cairns.

I parked near the entrance to Carnoch House and was given permission by the owner to do so. The man and wife team then gave me the history of the cist. From the driveway/track follow the first woodland path heading south west. Follow the track until a large curve, the cist can be seen impersonating Jaws in a small clearing.

A good start to the day.

Visited 18/7/2018.

Laggan Hill is an old friend and its always wonderful to look south over Nethy Bridge and the Boat of Garten to the Cairngorms. I don’t know why I haven’t visited this cairn before but it provided a fitting end to a lovely day traipsing about to the north of Grantown on Spey.

I parked were the A938 meets the A95 and walked up to the gates of Easter Laggan. Keep following the track towards the masts on the top of the hill. This is a lovely walk, the last time I’d visited (from this side) I’d walked a huge amount of miles but today it had been far more easier.

Keep going until the trees end on the east side then head east over the fence and into the heather.

The cairn also has glorious views along the Spey Valley. It sits at 7m wide and reaches almost 1m in height. Sitting near a large outcrop there are at least seventeen graded kerbs. The smallest stones on the high point with large stones on the lowest point. It also appears that the turf covered cairn hasn’t been houked.

Good news to end a superb day.

Visited 11/7/2018.

Neavuie is a very easy site to find being close to a minor road. We headed south from Carn Bad A’churaich, on the B9007, to the A938 at Duthil. From there we headed east until the first minor road heading north. I was allowed to park at Neavuie Cottage.

A short walk, north east, leads to the site which is the biggest burnt mound I’ve seen so far. The mound is 10m in diameter being almost 1.7m at its highest tapering to 0.4m at its lowest. Apart from some damage probably caused by a long removed tree the burnt mound stands as it always has.

The small stream, dried up as it was during our visit, still has the three boulders which might have been a very poor attempt at a dam. Anyway a nice place on a rapidly improving day.

Visited 11/7/2018.

This pair consists of two very impressive Hunebeds, just about 15.5 meters apart from each other. The site is located west of the village Drouwen on Steenhopenweg in a small park just before the viaduct, which was built under the N34. Parking is easy as there is a small car park.

D19 Drouwen has a larger silhoutte and thus looks a bit more impressive, but D20 Drouwen has almost all of its kerbstones. The entrances are clearly visibile on both.

Great site to visit, along with Havelteberg and Rolde my favorite Hunebed pair.

Visited July 2018

Carn Bad A’Churaich is a very small cairn situated next to the B9007. From our spot at Aitnoch we went back, east to the A939 and headed north west until the first minor road heading west. This heads thru Little Aitnoch (farm) and meets the B9007 at the Dunearn crossroads. Straight across leads to the fort, which now was clearly visible thanks to the weather improving. We headed south stopping at the second track heading east.

This and other tracks seem to be used by the windfarm companies. The cairn has a windfarm sub station a few metres to the north.

Several decent sized kerbs remain in place surrounding the 6m wide cairn which at its highest would be barely 0.2m high. What Canmore have missed is two large slabs in the middle of the jabby stuff possibly the remains of a cist. There are also great all round views, especially of Dunearn Fort to the north west.

The cairn is situated between the track and B9007. Climb up the small slope to the south east and look for the jabby plant.

Visited 11/7/2018.

From Dava we headed south leaving the A940 to join the A939. Take the first minor road heading west, this leads to Lochindorb one of my favourite places, home to a beautiful loch and castle. Still beautiful but not so visible as the countryside was shrouded in a drizzly mist.

We parked about a mile along the minor road and headed north west. A steep down slope leads to the Dorback Burn. Some fine places for the dog to swim, more crucially several places were rocks are like stepping stones. At some point it looks like someone has tried to dam the small river.

Once on the other side keep going uphill and north west thru the heather and field clearence.

Heather covered kerbs surround the site which sits at 8m wide and 0.5m tall. Despite some houking it looks like the burial part of the cairn hasn’t been disturbed. Cairn material can also be spotted on top of the site.

The mist and drizzle gives a ghostly atmosphere and once again, like Feabuie, there is complete silence. Then suddenly the mists rises a little bit giving just enough time to see the loch and castle.

Beautiful place!

Visited 11/7/2018.

We took the track, from near Dava on the A940, which leads to Aittendow past the track to Station House. After this take the first track heading north. When it becomes reasonably clear look for a single tree beside a fence.

As the Ts said the fence goes thru the middle of the cairn. The cists make the cairn recognisable as a lot of the stones there a probably field clearence. One or two are kerbs in this easily found and superbly located site.

Visited 11/7/2018.

Although Feabuie is quite a short distance from Meikle Corshellach it is a difficult place to reach.

From Corshellach, we followed the fence line northish to a gate, jumped it and headed further north into the forest break. After a short distance we headed north east into a wilderness of fallen trees and knee deep bogs. However we battered on and reached the forest clearing which housed the site.

There is something about ancient sites amongst old trees, the atmosphere, stillness, loneliness or remoteness all combine to give a other worldly type of feeling. I like it.

The cairn is about 10m wide but has been clipped by forestry works giving it an oval shape. Moss covered stones also add to the old age feel, some of these being kerbs still in situ. There appears to a windbreak but the overall height is around 0.5m.

Complete silence, what a nice place to be.

Visited 11/7/2018.

From Forres head south on the A940 until Glenernie. Take the minor road heading east going under the impressive Divie viaduct until the tarred road ends. Keep going until the small power station (wind farm), the track is in excellent condition.

Follow the fence heading north on the west side of the station, Burn Wind Farm, which leads straight to the cairn. Fortunately the cairn has not been damaged by recent events and still sits in place.

Several kerbs can be seen in the turf, although there has been a small bit of houk damage. The cairn sits at over 8m wide and is 0.8m tall.

A very easy start to the day. Our next site wouldn’t be so easy.

Visited 11/7/2018.

This Hunebed lies in a clearing in the northeast corner of a woodland southwest of Drouwen. East of the Hunebeds are large fields where rolled turf is cultivated. Unfortuantely during my visit a loud power generator was running, which upset the whole atmosphere.

The Hunebed itself is really nice, but I must agree with Les Hamilton it is quite tricky to get good pictures, if you don’t have a stick or something else to raise the camera position (which I don’t have with me). There are five capstone, four entrance stone (no capstones here) and still 13 of original 27 kerbstones (there are markers for the missing kerbstone e.g. in the northwest section).

It is possible to drive to the Hunebed with your car, the last 300m you have to walk. Refer to the yellow line in the satellite image in Les Hamilton’s fieldnotes.

Visited July 2018

We entered the Trelowarren estate from the south off the B3293, driving mostly through woodland, after that it all gets a little hazy. I had intended to attempt a drive all the way to Halliggye farm house, but it never materialised, I did see a promising footpathish type thing going off left into a field, but with no sign saying Fogou I carried on. All the way to the big car parks, there’s two, I chose the right hand one, and ended up parking with in yards of the footpathish type thing. With not much at all to go on, Eric and I went that way, we did have a 1:50,000 map but it’s not finely detailed. The path was just a mowed grassy stretch at the edge of the field leading to a small wooded area, I hoped it would be there, it wasn’t. But there was something, a tall mound with a winding path round it. This I decided was the Mount marked on the map, hence we should go west. At this time we noticed a number on a sign post, this must be part of a kind of guided walk, we followed it, to a couple of houses. One of which was called Halliggye. The fogou is behind it.
Elation!
From now on, when we’re trying to find a stony site and we’re not sure we’re going in the right direction, but walking it anyway, we could be walking away from it for all we know, it will be called Fogou anxiety.

Fogou anxiety has now been replaced by Fogou adoration.
There is a box with a windup torch, thank you, and together with the two little torches we’ve brought and the flash on my Camera and Eric’s phone I felt we’d be sufficiently enlightened, and not in the dark.
So it’s straight in, down the Victorian gated entrance and into the gloom, it’s taller than I thought, we can more or less stand up straight, right up until the point that we can’t, standing before two low entrance ways to different pats of the Fogou. We firstly take the right hand entrance, down on our knees we shuffle through the low trilithon portal, it doesn’t go very far though, this is the original entrance, now bricked up and blocked off. There was a very big cave spider in here on the modern wall, Eric doesn’t like spiders, he fair pushed me out of the way to get out.
Time now for the left hand entrance, it’s slightly less cramped getting through this one and once through we can just about stand up again, torches powering through the darkness reveal a long well built curving corridor, we follow it onwards. At it’s end is a raised stumbling block, “thanks for that Kelty”, and just beyond the stumble and in a small area at the end of the passage is the smallest lowest passage entrance I’ve ever crawled through. But crawl through we did, we got to the end and sat on our haunches, then we turned off the lights.
Trying to look through darkness is a funny thing, your brain kind of says well if your not going to look at things I’m going to make stuff up, then you start to see things, who needs LSD when you’ve got Fogous, imagine them both together, cringes, absolute madness.

Lights back on we make our way out, crawling, stumbling, watching for spiders and yet all the time looking round in awe and wonder.
We’re back outside now, Eric’s wicked sense of humour kicked in a bit and he likened our experience to that of Thailand’s recent caving story, not funny, but I knew what he meant, that was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Are all Fogous like this? no, but I wish they were.

Boleigh! buck your friggin ideas up.

After a long and tedious motorway drive down the first thing we did was, well, it was book into the holiday village, then we went the chip shop, but after that we went straight up Trencrom hill.
Parking was had, funnily enough, in a car park on the south side of the hill, room for half a dozen cars or so, but this evening there’s just a van and us, us consisting of two older children, two Jack Russells and myself.
The way up is clear, but steep, big boulders abound, it’s not far to the top, once at the top we see the van driver flying his fast remote controlled plane. The view behind you as you climb up is one of St Micheal’s mount, so inevitably I whipped out the camera to take a shot at it. But the camera was dead, as dead as the proverbial. Disaster. I can only hope the camera has been turned on all the way here and all I have to do is recharge and start again. Pah.
We walk around, a touch despondent, and then head off to Beersheeba standing stone, with camera phones.
8am the morning after, daughter stayed in bed, Eric, dogs and me are back at the top, the plane flyer is gone but a rainbow has stood in as his replacement, rainbows are better.
From the southern walkers entrance we went over to the eastern entrance, a rather grand entrance with standing stones for gateposts, nice.
Then back to the highest rocks in the fort, there are basins here, three right next to each other, perfect for sitting in whilst watching the world doing it’s thing, or things, one of which is stirring the soul, sounds crap I know, but it’s never just about the stones, or in this case the fort, buddy at work is so narrow minded that he thinks this is just a hobby, it’s more a way of life.
Anyway, fully stirred, we continue to wander among the rocks, we didn’t wander too extensively, thus not seeing either of the two wells here about somewhere. Our limited wandering did expose the western entrance which I’d failed to note the evening before, another grand entrance with standing stones incorporated. Very nice.
Then we left, it’s time for breakfast, that, I think, was my first Cornish hillfort, I must see more.
So I do.

Visited: June 26, 2018

Langdale broch lies about a kilometre from Syre, just north of of the Langdale Burn and 400 metres walk from the road. It stands on the top of a prominent, steep sided grass covered knoll about 40 metres tall, commanding a superb view of the surrounding countryside.

The broch, built from large boulders, is very dilapidated now and little structure of the outer wall facing remains. But the interior walling is still fairly well defined round most of the structure, standing a metre or more high and almost 5 metres wide, though detail of the facing is largely hidden under rubble.

Access is straightforward from immediately north of the farm, where a 4-bar stile gives access through the fence to a steep grassy slope that follows the stone wall round the farm area to a gate, beyond which a path heads past the broch.

This is the “Janus-face” of all Hunebeds, as one half is visibile while the other half is buried under a mound. Still visible are three capstones, a very nice portal entrance and the ring of kerbstones. Unfortunately during my visit the grass on the mound was very high during my visit, so that the contours of the hill were not clearly visible.

Certainly there are bigger sites, but to get an impression how the Hunebeds might have looked like and how they were constructed, this is an ideal “model” site. Highly recommended to every modern antiquarian!

Visited July 2018

Visited: June 25, 2018

This remnant broch, also known as Upper Suisgill, seems only to have been discovered by the OS as recently as May 1961: it is not shown on any previous historical OS map.

Carn Nam Buth is extremely dilapidated, and while it has been categorised as a ‘possible’ broch on account of size, shape and position, it may simply have been a ditched homestead or dun. It occupies the summit of an impressive knoll that has been artificially steepened, and which would have provided an easily defended position overlooking cultivable land, immediately north of the A897 Kildonan road and 180 metres east of the bridge over the Suisgill Burn.

A visit entails an easy uphill walk over grass to a largely heathery dome showing little remaining structure apart from a hint of foundation course on the southeast flank.

When you plan to visit the Hunebed twins in Noord-Sleen do yourself a favour and visit D51, the southern one, first. Otherwise you will probably be disappointed, because it is much smaller (12.3m x 3.5m) and in a poorer condition compared with its bigger and better preserved counterpart D50 Noord sleen.

Compared to older photos, also here on TMA, where the Hunebed seems to be more in an “open” environment, it is now more in a small clearing, thanks to the vegetation. From the original seven capstones, only three have survived, the second from the eastern end tilted into the chamber. From the portal one of the sidestones is missing and only two stone both on the eastern side still exists, generating a sizeably gap.

Visited July 2018

I totally agree with Les Hamiltion: This is the unsung hero of all Hunebeds in The Netherlands.

Away from the usual beaten tracks, this huge (17m x 4.4m) beauty still has most kerbstones (I counted twenty-four), seven of eight capstones along with sixteen sidestones and two endstones. The only flaw you might find is that only one of the portal stones is still present. Otherwise it is nearly perfect.

So this is a must see site, chances are very high that you can experience this site complete on your own, as D50 Noord sleen is, due to reasons unknown to me, not one of the most famous Hunebeds in Drenthe.

Highly recommended!

Visited July 2018

Most of the preserved Hunebeds are located on either side of an axis between Zuidlaren (in the north) and Emmen (in the south). Only the sites D52 Diever, D53 Havelteberg and D54 Havelteberg are a bit off in the west.

D52 Diever is a mid Hunebed, from originally seven capstones only one is missing. Access is very easy, Groningerweg passes directly by the gravethere and there is a small car park.

Visited July 2018

The smaller one (12.7m x 3.3m) of the Hunebed pair in Havelte, just 150m away from the bigger brother D53 Havelteberg. There are still six capstones along with all fourteen supporting stones. On the eastern end the capstone is missing as well as the endstone on this side. There is single stone laying on the southern part, probably one of the portal stone.

At the time of my visit, a work of modern totem poles was set up in the immediate vicinity of the Hunebeds. To be honest, a bit too close for my taste.

Visited July 2018

Wow, this is certainly one of the most beautiful Hunebed you’ll find in The Netherlands. Although it is only second in size (D27 Borger is bigger), I prefer this one, as it resides in a beautiful landscape, which adds to the atmosphere.

It is 18.9m long and 4.4m wide, twenty-one sidestones and two endstones are supporting nine capstones. Also the entrance is still there, complete with four portal stones and their capstone. Ten of the kerbstones are still present.

I arrived in the evening during the week but there were still many people walking around, as the whole surrounding is without doubt a popular recreation area. At least I would not be surprised, if at the weekend the place would be must more crowded. Approach and access is easy I parked at the beginning of Hunebeddenweg, from there is is only 150m to walk.

Visited July 2018