Latest Fieldnotes

From the large car park north west of Hound Tor, start off heading for the massive spread of rocks, but, keeping them on your left, head away from them, the cairn circle stones will appear soon.

The cist in the centre of the circle is three quarters still there, one long side slab has gone astray. What is left is a sofa shaped place to sit, so I sit watching the clouds, the people climbing on the Tor, and the odd walker who passes the stones and me by.
The stones of the circle are between a foot or two high, in places they are contiguous, reminding me of far off Moel Ty Uchaf. There is a well worn gap on the west side of the circle, it looks like an entrance, if it even had an entrance ?
The placement of the circle is terrific, Dartmoor’s high rocky Tors surround completely, it feels like the most quintessentially Dartmoor place I’ve yet seen on my handful of trips to this far off land.

Hound Tor is close by to the north east, it is by far the biggest of the rocky tors I’ve been to, that’s not many, but big it still is. The high rocks entice me over to climb them, but I resist and make do with a slow walk among them. Dartmoor has really grown on me today, ensuring another visit, but hopefully not such a long wait this time.

Oh, one more thing, the whole western side of the cairn circle has gone, leaving the ring open on one side, it’s........noticeable, but not a problem as the rest makes up for it.
Spendiddlydid.

If you were to rub your scalp with one hand whist with the other rubbing the stones of Bowerman’s nose, and ask any question, in your next dream the answer will be revealed, because the Bowerman knows.
That’s not true, I made that up.
The rock stack is to me not very anthropomorphic, I struggle to see a nose, but the hat is quite clear. So if there is no nose, perhaps the rock had oracular powers. Disprove it.
Parking is scant but available for a few, a pleasant ten minute walk takes us up to the Granite god.
He is tall, perhaps he has a precise height, maybe not, he sits on the edge of a small platform at the bottom of an unnamed rocky Tor above Hayne down.
From up on top of the rocks you can see all the way to Hound Tor and the approximate location of the cairn with cist circle.
This is a very good place to get away from it all, but on a nice day like today, and presumably other days too, there will be other people, not many, but some.

It’s now 2015 and there is still no access to Vixen Tor. It can of course be seen from the public access side of the wall, the cist too. But that was never going to be enough for me, the wall is easily got over, and with the land owners house far on the other side of the Tor we encountered no problems.
We scrambled around on the rocks for a bit, as young people do, then we plodded over to the cist and the nearby standing stone. This bit didn’t really interest the kids so they made their way back to the car whilst I studied the cist. I’m not too convinced about the standing stone, surely it would be marked on the map. But the cist is a nice little thing, full of and partially covered with earth it looks like it’s never been excavated. The capstone is in two pieces.
A very successful sneak.
No problem.

By now the threatening skies of earlier have turned to a persistent drizzle, and contact with any vegetation leads to an immediate soaking. I decide to leave the road and Avenue and instead head east to look for the scant remains of Falkner’s Circle.

A path leads round the margin of the field, eventually reaching a gateway where a single standing stone marks the position of the poor old circle. Nettles surround it, neglected and lost, a sad survivor with no-one to talk to. I’d like to come back on a less gloomy day, perhaps in the winter when the nettles have gone. It doesn’t feel like a place to linger today though.

From The Sanctuary, a permissive path allows access to the remnants of West Kennett Avenue on the south side of the A4. This part of the monument seems to receive little attention, probably because of its separation from the better preserved section running northwestwards to Avebury.

However, it’s well worth a visit to make sense of the relationship of The Sanctuary and the henge complex. The first stone encountered is an enormous fallen slab, jutting out from the hedgeline. Beyond that is another fallen stone, apparently broken with a smaller piece placed on its top. The final stone in this group still stands, buried in the hedge and trapped behind barbed wire. It has been broken, leaving a short stump in place. Screened from the busy A4 by the thick hedge, this is a hidden spot, remarkably quiet for somewhere so close to the Avebury tourist hub. It doesn’t have the atmosphere or obvious draw of the well-known northern section of the Avenue, but it’s another part of the jigsaw that makes up this fascinating landscape.

Risking life and limb I cross the A4 onto the B4003, a narrow but busy road that runs parallel with the Avenue on its way to the henge. It’s worth stopping off at the single upright stone, separated from its companions by the road and hedges, looked down upon by the linear cemetery of massive round barrows along the Overton Hill ridge to the east.

I visited The Sanctuary once before, on my first trip to Avebury. On a day of first contact with heart-stopping monuments, the concrete-marked circle seemed an anticlimax, a curio and little more. Today I’m more receptive, especially after the long, peaceful walk over the downs to get here.

The place is deserted when I arrive, allowing a better appreciation of the layout and in particular the size of the rings. The outer circle is a wide 40m across, as big as almost any stone circle I’ve been to. Although the little concrete blocks are no substitute for stately sarsens or hefty timbers, there’s still much to enjoy here, if you can block out the steady roar of the busy A4 just over the hedge. Looking south across the low Avebury 23 round barrow, the tree-covered form of East Kennett long barrow can be seen from the circles. Such a shame that the original grandeur is lost forever though.

Sadly the barrows on Allington Down have been rather less well-treated than their neighbours up on the ridge. Once a group of six, there’s nothing to see of all but one now. The plough has taken care of the rest. However, the one that does remain is very decent. It’s quite overgrown with nettles and long grass, topped with three shrubby May Trees in bloom, making it difficult to see whether there’s damage to its top.

I can see Silbury, peaking out from trees and indicating how far I still have to go to get to Avebury today. So I go.

Leaving Kitchen Barrow it’s an easy walk around the rim of the escarpment to the western flank of Tan Hill. The first encounter is with the linear earthwork running just below the top of the slope. Presumably part of the same thinking that constructed a much longer section of bank and ditch on the northwestern side of the hill, it’s pretty well-preserved, with the hillside falling steeply away below it.

A bit of further uphill huff and puff and I’m in the midst of the round barrow group that crowns the western spur of Tan Hill, a promontory separated by a narrower neck from the main bulk of the hill to the east.

Tan Hill is the second highest hill in Wiltshire, only fractionally lower than nearby Milk Hill and part of the same long east-west ridge. As you’d perhaps expect from such a prominent place, looking out across the downs in all directions, the ridge is covered in a timespan of prehistoric sites from the Neolithic long barrows of Kitchen Barrow at the western end and Adam’s Grave at the eastern end, through numerous round barrows and Iron Age earthworks, with Rybury hillfort on a southern spur. There’s a great view westwards, taking in King’s Play Hill and Morgan’s Hill, each topped with further barrows, as well as the unmistakable Cherhill Down and Olbury with its obelisk.

The barrow group includes three bowl barrows, in a NW-SE line, with a much larger disc barrow close to the two northern bowl barrows. All are clearly visible, if rather reduced by ploughing. The bowl barrows (particularly the one at the SE) bear clear excavation damage. They are all covered by sheep-cropped grass, so there’s no seasonal vegetation problem to contend with in a visit.

Although it’s the most damaged, the SE barrow is still pretty impressive and boasts very extensive views. The central barrow is bigger, well over a metre high despite the ravages of time and barrow diggers. The NW barrow is the runt of the litter, clinging to its sloping setting like a barnacle. All have well defined surrounding ditches. The adjoining disc barrow is great too, almost 20m across, including its outer bank. All in all well worth the effort of the walk.

From the strip fields there is a great view of Kitchen Barrow Hill to the east. The south-facing scarp is steep and the presence of an intervening dry valley heightens the impression that Kitchen Barrow was placed to be seen from the neighbouring slopes. The area around the barrow is open access land, so there are no complications in getting to the site.

Pastscape records show a round barrow to the north of the long barrow, at a point where the fence changes direction. However, although there are several bumps alongside the fenceline, none is particularly obvious or convincing as the round barrow depicted on the OS map.

The long barrow is certainly obvious though, 30m or so long and a couple of metres high at its southern tip, with well defined flanking ditches. It lies along the sloping crest of the ridge, with its northeastern end almost blending into the hillside. The views south are extensive, as the ground drops sharply to the farmland and the valley of the Kennet & Avon Canal below. To the west there’s a great view of the multi-phase west end of Tan Hill, where more strip fields lie below a linear prehistoric earthwork and a group of Bronze Age round barrows are silhouetted on the skyline.

A good place to stop for a while and let the world turn, especially on a Wiltshire big skies day of fast-moving cloud. Regrettably today’s visit is under a rather more leaden variety.

The first stop off is Roughridge Hill long barrow. Well-defined on the OS map, the reality is rather less impressive. Unless you know it’s there, you’d pass by without a glance. All that remains is a low rise in the grassy field, hard up against the edge of the much bigger Wansdyke. The proximity of the dyke may suggest that the long barrow was a reasonably obvious landmark, perhaps a boundary feature, made use of by the earthwork builders when they were planning their route. Sadly it’s not so prominent now, not really worthy of much of a pause as I head across the hill.

Two lithe brown shapes dart into my path, then rise on hind legs to survey their route – it’s the first hares I’ve seen this year, always a great pleasure to encounter.

Situated in the woods just SW of the Sullane River, in the Townland of An tSeanchluain (Shanacloon) is this interesting collection of monuments. A cairn is flanked by three standing stones, all of which have ogham inscriptions, though only one is now visible now. A Bullaun stone sits on top of the cairn, which is also decorated with a modern cross and various offerings. The cairn is said to be the burial place of St Abán, the Brother of St Gobnait, who’s church sits a kilometre or so to the NW. A few metres downhill is the Holy Well dedicated to St Abán and still in use today.

Imagine our disappointment having read this description – In level pasture. Stone (H 3.8m; 1.67m x 0.55m) is subrectangular in plan and irregular in shape, long axis E-W – only to find it now sadly fallen. Ah well.

This stone sits on the roadside verge on the A915. It is recorded in the Statistical Account of 1795, in which it is stated that there were differing views even then as to whether it is a standing stone of antiquity, or merely a marker for the halfway point between Kirkcaldy and Kennoway. I suppose it could be both. It is just under 4 feet high. Its site is protected by black plastic sheeting and wood chips, indicating that it may have been moved a few feet when the road and grass verges were widened.

From Wormit we headed south on the B946, locally known as Kilmany Road, and took the first minor road heading west. On entering Camp or Links Wood a wall appears on the north side of the road. At the first break on the wall is the southern entrance to St. Fort farm. Surprisingly the large gate is locked with a large padlock. Obviously one of the awkward squad put this on!!! Still a walk back down the road finds several points were the wall can be climbed. (we clambered over near a small quarry)

Some of the Canmore people have visited at bad times of the year but early Spring provided us with near perfect conditions. The fort was built on top of a small hill set at north west to south east. The main entrance is in the east with a smaller entrance to the west, western ramparts are still in excellent condition and the west/east southern arc has two sets of trenches/ramparts both clearly visible. Sadly a small quarry has clipped the southern side of the outer rampart. On the northern side the ramparts run out or were never built because of the steep slopes.

The fort is over 150 meters in length and 60 meters wide. Internally the fort has a couple of circular depressions which might indicate hut circles. Luckily most of the fort is clear of trees. Water for the fort could be found in a small burn to the north. If Esky Loch isn’t man made then obviously water could have come from this as well. As my learned friend pointed out the herb garden would benefit greatly from this.

The name of several streets in Newport and Wormit are named after this fort as well as the nearby farm.

This is a lovely site and it was a great time of year to visit. Just a pity about the locked gate. Even a signpost said the gate was locked!!!

Visited 2/3/2015.

Head west from Strachan on the B976 and take the third minor road heading north. At Nether Tillygarmond I was given permission to park. From this point walk up the hill on the farm track to Upper Tillygarmond. At the crossroads climb the gate into the field and keep heading north until another fence/dry stane dyke. Once over the fence the terrain becomes more rough but nothing to serious. To the east is the cairn but I headed to the top of the hill first.

On top there is a walkers cairn but also lots of rock plates, sadly no rock art was found on this occasion but this place maybe worth another look.

The cairn sadly has been battered by various types of agriculture but somehow still remains. At some stage the cairn had been offered some type of protection as the equally battered fence proved. Still the cairn still remains over 34 meters in length. The north end of the site is around 6 meters in width and around a half meter high, the southern end is well over ten meters wide with it’s height increasing to over 1.5 meters. Cairn material along with, probably, field clearence sit all over the sites surface. Gorse and ferns along with various jabby things also sit on the southern end . On the eastern side hints of a kerb remain. Wonderful views extend to south and east (near neighbours Shampher and Bucharn are still in wonderful condition). Heading west are the 3 standing stones at Finzean and the superb long cairn. There is also a very badly ruined cairn.

Well worth a visit if only for the views alone. Luckily it was a beautiful spring day for this visit.

Visited 26/2/2015.

Visited this stone on 8 March 2015 for the first time since 2008. Then I had to clear a lot of nettles, thistles, dockens etc to take decent photos. The field has now been ploughed and sown with a new crop quite close to the stone, but its appearance is very similar to how it looks in the earliest photos on here, apart from the giant wind turbine situated a short distance to the north. The nearby Earlseat Farmhouse has been refurbished, extended and re-occupied.

It was never going to be a blue sky with fluffy white clouds sort of day, there wasn’t going to be 360 degrees of grand sweeping vistas, but, on the drive over there were patches of blue sky, so we crossed our fingers and made our way through the mountains. As luck would have it, and it usually does, upon automobile disembarkation in Beddgelert, the mountain, Moel Hebog, was almost completely hidden among the clouds. But, brave and hardy souls that we are, we carried on regardless. Over the river, over the railway tracks, and off up the hillside, it didn’t take long to get into the clouds, and once in them, we stayed in them.
As you get higher the path crosses rocky outcrops rusty in colour and full of rock balls, like cricket ball sized tektites. I thought of taking one home with me, but when climbing a big mountain the last thing you want is rocks in your pockets.

The path was easy enough to follow, but even so, when a well waterproofed walker passed us coming down I had to ask him if it was far to the top, 15 minutes he said, them turn left, or something like that. He was wrong, perhaps it took him 15 minutes to get down, but it took us longer than that. Or perhaps we’re just old and knackered.
After a certain amount of time it feels like the top is approaching, there is grass once more underfoot, long drifts of snow persist out of the suns sight. The rest of the world still remains out of sight, it’s out there somewhere, one presumes.
When the wind picks up, it really picks up, it’s hard to stand still and even through so many layers I can still feel the cold in the wind. It isn’t and hasn’t rained the whole time but the wind ravaging around in the clouds hurls the mist at you at many hundred miles per hour, threatening to penetrate even the so called waterproofed outer layer.

Throw your arms aloft and shout victoriously into the void, for we have arrived at the top. There are what looks like over half a dozen cairns on the wide short haired mountain top. Coflein says four or five are part of the bronze age cemetery, the rest are walkers cairns. The only definite cairn is the big one under the trig point, half of the cairn abuts against a massive drift of scree, that side of the cairn is far too windy for me, but thesweetcheat braves it for a minute or two. My side of the cairn, the north side seems to have some kerbing still in tact, it could be a fortuitous later arrangement, but I’m willing to look on the bright side, even on a day like today.
After huddling on the wind free side of the wall to consume much needed butties, I set about the mountain top with my camera. Usually, on a good day on the mountain I could easily take four hundred photos, but today I’m barely up to fifty, and half of them are a tad blurry. We’ve taken on the mountain and the weather and come out on top, but barely. After no more than half an hour we follow the wall back down towards Meol yr Ogof, on that good day, we’d have scaled that mountain too but the harsh wind and swirling mists have gotten the better of us. We could have stayed and appreciated the otherworldliness a bit more I guess, but I’ve seen otherworldly enough for today and there are places we could go to after getting back to the car, like Llangernyw Yew tree, the oldest living thing in Wales.
En route back down we came across a strangely magical place, we called it the valley of big rocks, it doesn’t do it much justice, but it is what it says it is. Giant house sized rocks with there own little ecosystems on top, one balances precariously on the edge of a cliff, it was just on the edge of the clouds and visibility was beginning to return. We decided it should be marked on the map, but as it wasn’t and seeing as the place seemed to have a magical quality we deemed the place as to not occupying a real place in our universe but was actually and decidedly other worldy.
And then we were down, the car park was free.

Visited 7th March 2015

Third time lucky! Twice before I’ve fruitlessly searched for this cup and ring marked stone, but given the preponderance of gritstone rocks strewn around Gardoms Edge it was like looking for a needle in a huge pile of needles. Today I’ve got Andrew Johnstone’s rather excellent ‘Prehistoric Peak’ book with me, which gives excellent directions and maps, and once we had arrived back at nearby standing stone we fanned out and walked back along the edge of the woodland, where just before coming level with the Nelson monument atop Birchen Edge across the moor a likely looking large flat stone became visible.

On the edge of the trees, long afternoon shadows pick out the intricate inscribed whorls and indentations of the cups and rings on the stone. I know the visible stone is a fibreglass copy, but it’s done so well, the naturalistic colouring and speckling of lichens giving it an uncanny realism, only broken if you tap the stone. Normally I’d be in two minds about such a replica, but the fact that the original stone is still here albeit buried out of sight, and the quality of the reproduction means that things seem to work, and the original location means you don’t lose the context of the placement as you would if the stone had just been unceremoniously dug out to be placed in a museum.

The patterns on the stones are intricate and intriguing, and some the best I’ve seen in Derbyshire, so I’m glad the decision to protect them this way was made. I don’t suppose we will ever know what inspired someone several thousand years ago to take the time to carve out these markings, but they still hold the power to make us wonder today, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings in which they are set.

It’s a pleasant place to sit by the stone, whilst Ellen sketches the designs, and the sun sinks lower, bringing the motifs into even sharper relief. I’m so pleased to have finally found the place, the efforts have been worth it, and after enjoying the rock art there is nothing else for it but to head back to the Robin Hood Inn for a celebratory pint of Hobgoblin before heading for home after a great day out.

Visited 7th March 2015

Last time I was here was in the gloaming of a summer evening after a frustrating couple of hours searching for the nearby rock art, and when the stone hove into view after my fruitless search it was an ample consolation prize. Today things are a bit more relaxed though. After a nice lunch at the nearby Robin Hood Inn (lovely veggie quiche) a walk up Gardoms edge past the Three Men cairns, brought us to the woodland where lurks the stone.

Easily hidden amongst the trees, we nevertheless managed to find the stone with a little searching. It’s an interesting menhir, charismatic and bent over like a stooped old hag as you approach through the birch trees, whilst deep curved erosion of its other face gives it a raddled aspect.

Long afternoon shadows only add to the atmosphere, but the closely surrounding trees make it difficult to discern the orientation from the penumbra of the stone, so whether it was selected to act a gnomon for a sundial, or merely because it had a distinctive shape is something for conjecture.

It’s a fine stone whatever it may have been used for, and certainly worth a visit amongst the fine walks and rich archaeological heritage of Gardoms Edge.

Visited 7th March 2015

With Spring seemingly having arrived the pull of getting out and about to visit some megaliths proved irresistible. Even better was the fact that Five Wells was somewhere I’d never been before. Not sure why it had taken me so long to visit, I’ve been coming to the peaks for the last twenty years, but perhaps Mr Cope’s terse directions of ‘requires an OS map’ in the big papery TMA had put me off in the past, possibly expecting the requirement of advanced navigation skills, or at the very least somewhere safe to leave the car. Today I’m armed with Andrew Johnstone’s terrific ‘Prehistoric Peak’ book, and its detailed directions and map make finding the place a piece of cake.

Traveling east on the A6 towards Ashton in the Water, a right turn into a lane (opposite the sign for Beech Croft Lane Caravan Park, if you get to the brown sign for Tideswell you’ve gone too far!) takes you to the Taddington recycling centre, which although operational is now fortunately nice and tidy, rather than the open sore of a landfill described in much earlier fieldnotes. Here it’s easy to park right by the start of the footpath which leads up to the hill to the chambered tomb.

It’s an impressive place, another of those hidden delights of the Peak District, and I berate myself for not visiting it before. High on its hill the substantial remains of the mound which once covered the tomb spreads out around the two chambers which remain, still giving a good impression of the circumference of the tomb in its pomp. The craggy grey stones of the uprights looking suitably time worn and ancient, nevertheless provide an excellent shelter, as I sit within the surprisingly comfortable eastern chamber to write some fieldnotes.

The construction of this place reminds me of a smaller scale Bridestones, perhaps due to the portal stones flanking the chamber, although the setting at Five Wells is much more open and airy.

As the wind feels its way around the outside of the chamber providing a soothing soundtrack, I remain snug inside with a thermos of coffee, and feel a real sense of peace and tranquility. A skylark hovering overhead serenades me, and there is something about this place, nicely situated away from it all, that seems to encourage a sense of introspection, and a feeling of being at one with the elements (or perhaps it just my old hippy sensibilities coming to the fore). It’s certainly helped by the fine blue skies today and an actual touch of warmth from the sun when out of the wind.

Views from up here are lovely, although the quarry to the north is still a bit of a blot on the landscape, but it’s nice to see that after reading the early fieldnotes about this place, how the surrounding environment and access has improved, and somewhere as special as this really deserves it.

There’s a real sense of the quickening of Spring today and of life returning to the land, and there’s no better place to experience it than at Five Wells.

Visited 6.3.15

As the hill is now owned by the National Trust they have thoughtfully provided a small car park with adjacent information board giving details of local flora and fauna. A metal gate from the car park gives access to the hill and then it is simply a case of following the ‘path’ uphill. Once across the open ground the ‘path’ goes through trees before coming out the other side and the top of the hill. It only takes 15 minutes to walk from the car park to the top of the hill but it is quite steep. By the time I reached the top I was huffing and puffing like a good ‘un – you would have thought I had just climbed Everest! I am definitely not as young or fit as I used to be!

The first thing you notice when you get to the top is a rather ugly concrete seating shelter. This was built in memory of the son of the Reverend who donated the hill to the National Trust who was killed during the first world war. On top of said ugly shelter is another N.T. information board giving details of the hillfort. It mentions the small ‘hollows’ throughout the site which are the bases of the many round houses which occupied the site. I spotted a few but to be honest if it wasn’t for reading about them on the information board I wouldn’t have known they were there.

The weather was very Spring-like with a warm sun and blue sky. However the wing was still cold. To the north you can see the Malvern Hills stretching out in front of you. The Shire Ditch is easily seen snaking its way along the top of the hills. To the east, west and south you can see for miles. Only the far distant horizon was blurred by haze. Although there were several cars in the car park I had the place to myself. All was quiet – not even birdsong for company.

Where the ramparts had been cleared of trees and bushes the single bank from the inside was still approximately 1.5m high in places. Other sections of the defences are still overgrown and it was difficult to tell what condition they are in? I couldn’t stay as long as I would have liked as we had to get back to pick the children up from school and I also wanted to see the ancient yew tree in the churchyard at Much Marcle (well worth seeing – as are the medieval effigies in the church itself)

Provided you are reasonably mobile this is an easy enough hillfort to visit and the views certainly make the effort worthwhile. This was my first bit of ‘old stoning’ of the year and it felt good to be back out in the countryside again. Roll on next month when I have a week in Cornwall to look forward to……

take the R584 from Ballingeary towards Inchigeelagh. Go past the Boat Cottage Cafe. Soon you will come to a left hand turning – the L7410 signed Tir Na Spideoga B&B appartments. Turn up this road then take the first right over a bridge (again signed for the B&B). Just along this road you cross another small bridge and there is a gate immediately on the right by the stream. The stones are in that field, visible from the road. The gate has a warning not to touch farm animals or machinery !!

I’ve been meaning to get over to these stones for ages now. There has always been either massive cows or molten mud – but today the field is Bovine free and relatively dry. So taking the direct route – under the barbed wire and through the soggy field to the hedge and fence to find a way over. It looks like a number of people have used this route before – the hedge is easily traversed and I am in the field containing what the NMS call – a single standing stone and an anomolous group of stones. Nearest to me is a rectangular standing stone standing 1.58m x 0.85 x 0.45 and aligned NE-SW. A few metres to the North lie three stones/boulders. Are they a fallen row or are they boulder burials ? It’s difficult to say with any certainty. Anyway – this group makes up the “anomolous” stones. 30 metres NE of the standing stone, stands the second menhir. It too is rectangular and aligned NE-SW. The height is 1.9m and it is clearly connected to the stone grouping. It’s an intriguing site and well worth a visit if you are in the area

Starting at Westbury White Horse today walked to Wellhead Springs which are approximately two miles from the White Horse along a well used bridleway. We didn’t see them at first but when they came into view it was – yes, a magical moment. They are in a deep wooded combe which was a bit slippery to get down (but fun too). The water from the springs looked clear and clean though I didn’t sample it. A dog walker told us that up until a few days earlier the place had been covered in litter. A solitary man had been down there over several days and cleared it all away with a wheelbarrow. What an unsung hero whoever he is.
Walking back uphill to a footpath which merges into the Wessex Ridgeway we came upon a massive hole in the side of the hill. A chalk quarry belonging to the concrete works in Westbury. I always wonder how this vandalism is allowed to occur to one place. I guess its just accepted in the name of commerce. So glad this hasn’t been done elsewhere (to my knowledge anyway) on the wonderful chalk downs of Wiltshire.

corridor-alliance.co.uk/latestnews.html

21/02/2015 – Nice walk from Haymarket station on Saturday to Corstorphine Hill. We took the track off Corstorphine Road just east of the Zoo. Not every day you pass a field of Zebras on the way to look at some cup marked rocks. It’s a fine hill.