Latest Fieldnotes

Guess it’s a pretty well established irony how casual experiences – those unintended, spur of the moment decisions subject to minimal (if any) planning... and no preconceptions – can sometimes end up becoming emotional/artistic highlights of this condition we blithely refer to as life? Of course this may just represent the tangible benefits of a realistic outlook driven by past endeavour, the visitor perhaps subscribing to what the Pet Shop Boys once defined, tongues firmly in cheek, as the philosophy of ‘Miserabilism’. Well, if the cap and dark sunglasses fit. Anyway... a visit to the Great Orme Bronze Age mine this morning is just about the most perfect example of this happy scenario I can recall for, oh, ages.

Although Hurricane Gonzalo’s winds have thankfully abated somewhat, the North Walian uplands’ seemingly perennial companion – persistent hill fog – ensures I do not linger within Nant Ffrancon, the jagged, other-worldly profile of Tryfan too primeval for comfort, thrusting, partially subsumed in all that swirling vapour, into a seemingly parallel dimension beyond human cognition. So, what to do? Ah, I recall the Great Orme possesses a portal tomb. That’ll do. Thankfully times have changed since the traveller had to take his/her life in hand to traverse the northern foothills of Y Carneddau as they sweep down to Conwy Bay, tunnels bored in the living rock nowadays affording easy, if somewhat serpentine passage for the A55 heading for Conwy and Llandudno. Furthermore, I’m pleased to say that my suppositions are false, the old school seaside resort retaining more than a touch of its assumed former elegance. A very steep (signposted) road shadows a tram line to ascend The Great Orme. I decide to park up in the obvious Mine car park and seek out the Llety’r Filiast dolmen, the map not that clear as to the tomb’s whereabouts, well at least to these eyes.

Nonchalantly wandering into the ‘gift shop’ to ask directions the middle-aged bloke at the counter – whom it transpires from the introductory video is one of the original archaeologists working here (how cool is that?) – asks whether I want to take the tour? Suddenly put on the spot I mumble ‘Er, OK, I guess so... while I’m here’ which draws a wry smile from his rather attractive female companion.. as if to say ‘you won’t be so blase afterwards, trust me’. Or something like that. Anyway, initial impressions of the site are not good, not unless the devastating residue of ‘industrial heritage’ is your thing, steps directing the visitor to the bottom of a quarry – a big stony pit, in other words – whereby several dark gashes within the limestone suggest gateways to somewhere else not really of this planet.... Yeah, do I really want to venture inside? Not sure, to be honest, so I force the issue and render obsolete further objections in my usual not-so-subtle manner. Crossing the Rubicon and burning the bridge behind me, so to speak.

The initial shaft is surprisingly narrow, the rough hewn ceiling low enough to make me feel rather stupid for questioning the validity of having to wear a ‘hard hat’. Subtle – for the most part – lighting by bare electric bulbs renders a torch unnecessary and, although the engineered, ‘tourist friendly’ floor and wooden staircases may adversely impact the subterranean purist a little, the overall effect is, in my opinion superb, chock full of vibe. In fact my only gripe is the cartoon posters which periodically adorn the passage walls, presumably for the benefit of school parties. Deciding to take my time I pause in the entrance to one of innumerable diverging sub-shafts to let my noisy co-visitors pass. Muppets. As their complaining utterances recede into the distance the sheer scale of these excavations, effected with nothing but hardened stones and bone picks, slowly becomes apparent. Well, sort of... since the thought of hewing solid rock with such primitive tools does not compute in any coherent manner. Paradoxes arise at every turn, leaving the brain in turmoil. Surely such a feat is impossible, but then again it can’t be because here am I within the rock as surely as the A55 can be found within Penmaenmawr. So how did they do it? Ouch. A hard hat hasn’t been devised that can mitigate that kind of cerebral overload. The effort is simply awe inspiring, beyond comprehension, surely rendering the titanic excavation of Avebury’s ditch a mere warm up exercise in comparison?

The shaft descends further into this perplexing, disorientating underworld, the side walls and ceiling contracting and widening at various points as if in mimicry of a natural cave... such as that visited last month within the Carreg Cennen, some way to the south. OK, the vibe isn’t as extreme as within that sublime place; but then not only is the scale here beyond comparison... it is all the result of the efforts of humans. Wow. And then the climax of the tour, the piece de resistance proving to be a massive chamber, the gaping interior accorded some definition courtesy of minimalist red and green lighting. It is a wondrous, truly amazing sight to behold, apparently the largest such prehistoric excavation anywhere. I’ve tried to capture something on ‘film’, a vague snapshot. Needless to say it really does need to be seen in person. I tear myself away from the opening noting that a skeleton was apparently found beneath the entrance shaft, the sign postulating a possible ritual sacrificial dedication. Or something like that. The excited voices of numerous children announce the presence of a school party... so time to move on and leave this place of my own accord, not swept before an irresistible cacophony of noise like a piece of flotsam upon the incoming tide.

Exiting into daylight I detect a certain unease vying with the wonder swirling around in my head .... what if the Bronze Age peoples who accomplished this astonishing feat (apparently the tour passages represent but a small percentage of those discovered to date) did not do so willingly? Is there evidence to support my initial assumption that this was analogous to 20th century coal mining in the South Walian valleys? Not nice, but provided a living? Or were they mercilessly exploited by newly emerging Bronze Age Big Men, some of whom may have been laid to rest within the great round cairns crowning the undulating skyline of Y Carneddau to the south. A disturbing blueprint for the sub-human actions of Todt and his ilk during Nazism’s 20th Century nightmare. It is a sobering thought, disquietude at odds with the cheery cartoon figures depicted upon the posters. A fresh batch of school children’s voices fill the air to jolt me back to the present and, following a brief look into the open cast mine from the overhead walkway I head for the Llety’r Filiast.

Passing through the shop on the way out I stop for a brief chat with the staff. The attractive woman catches my eye once more and smiles, this warmer, more an acknowledgement of shared experience. Yeah, we both know she was right. What a place! I leave with far more questions than answers. Always a good thing, to be fair.

For Directions see Hafodty standing stone next door.

It is just a short five minute walk down the track from standing stone to stone circle, the track passes right through the circle, having as much effect upon it as a light wind brushing through a wintry tree. Three stones are up standing, and three fallen, one of the fallen was becoming consumed by a brutal gorse bush, but excessive stamping has freed it somewhat. Though I’m not sure which three stones are the fallen, the big split stone is I think too bulky and out of place to be a circle stone, but the fallen stone nearest the biggest standing stone is too close to it to be in place.
Walking round the circle at a distance I could see that the stones are on an artificial platform, walking round the place looking at it from as many angles as possible is the thing to do, placing it in it’s landscape, and all that. Most enjoyable.
The views are most enjoyable too, I particularly like the scene down past Conwy castle to Bryn Euryn hill fort.

Wow! a stone circle with no field notes, shit, what am I going to say....... I played with fairies here then went on a trip in a flying saucer after we had tea with the Queen of inner earth. Come to Hafodty stone circle and see if you experience anything ......untoward.

From Henryd, the small lanes heading east and uphill are only just navigable, they are tight and often steep covered with leaves and the odd slow moving tractor, they can be tricky for those not used to such places.
Basically, it’s straight east from Henryd, ignore right turn take the right fork, straight on ignore next right, then take next right again, go up here, all the way baby.
The standing stone is in the field beyond the one on your right, north. If you’ve got better eyes than me you might be able to spot it from the end of the lane.
You could now jump the fence and the next wall and you’d be there, in the same field as the stone, but it’s not easy getting over the wall. Better following the path, which is easy to find and to follow. But it still isn’t that easy to reach, over a gate and then one wall, whilst all the time keeping an eye out for the good sir farmer. Who was out and about screaming at his sheep as they blithely went the wrong way.

Upon entering the stones field I hunkered down in a corner and waited for farmer to get off his land, or at least further away from me, duly, he did as I wished and I strolled over to this lovely stone. There are many shapes a standing stone can take, this is the tall, slender, smooth, and circular-ish in plan type(bar one straight side). It has stripes on it too, from rubbing ruminants.
This is a brilliant stone, perfect in shape, a tall phallic missile. At the big stones foot is a smaller stone, much smaller, it is a dead ringer now for Menhir de Champ-Dolent in Brittany ( themodernantiquarian.com/site/9945/menhir_de_champdolent.html ) it’s just missing a few feet.
Something just has to be said about the view from the stone, It’s just on the edge of Snowdonia national park, so as you’d expect it’s not a bad view, as they go. West goes up hill so not much there, North is Conwy, river, town and castle. East is down in to the often misty Conwy river valley, and south is the profile of Cerrig Y Ddinas defensible hill top enclosure, and Tal y Fan.

A totally fabulous site, with lots of other nearby little beauties.

Visited: September 5, 2012

As the sign beside this monument proudly proclaims, this is a hunebed that was originally discovered in absolutely mint condition, perfectly intact and still completely covered by its barrow. Hunebed D41 Emmen Noord/Emmermeer was discovered in 1809, when it was fully excavated and remarkably well documented, including drawings made during the excavation. What was particularly clear was the manner in which the gaps between the sidestones were filled in using a mixture of cobblestones and sand. Unfortunately, the surrounding barrow was completely removed.

D41 is a fairly small hunebed comprising four capstones mounted upon eight side- and two keystones, situated at the side of the busy route connecting Emmen and Odoorn, and opposite a residential complex.

Hunebed D41 (red marker) is within easy walking distance—a leisurely 45 minutes or so—from Emmen Train/Bus station (blue marker), and there are various routes you can take. The path on the map below heads south for about 50 metres to the level crossing on Boslaan where you head right till encountering Hoofdstraat. Here turn briefly right, then left at the roundabout on to Weerdingerstraat, which leads to a major intersection controlled by traffic lights. At this point, turn right and walk for approximately one kilometre northwards along Odoornerweg (initially called Noordeinde), continuing till you pass the first road leading off to your left (Sluisvierweg).

The hunebed stands just 100 metres farther on, in a grassy area on the left hand side of Odoornerweg. Note that there is no space to park a vehicle anywhere in the immediate vicinity of D41.

Here is a working link to D41 in Hans Meijer’s Dolmens in the Netherlands.

Dawn arrives at Fferm y’Rynys – a little under a mile below and to the south of the great chambered long barrow standing mute testimony to millennia of humankind’s ultimately forlorn attempts to tame this wild, uncompromising landscape – to witness my tent.. somehow.. still clinging to this North Walian hillside, like a particularly stubborn limpet upon the foreshore beneath Penmaenmawr, having defied the unwelcome attentions of Hurricane Gonzalo’s swirling extremities during the night. Well, at least the meteorologists named this latest manifestation of Nature’s destructive power after a male, albeit (presumably) one from Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’. How poetic. Anyway, having just about managed to avoid dashing out what brains I do possess upon Tal-y-Fan’s summit crags the previous day, I wisely resist the siren call of the high peaks, as exemplified by the soaring profile of Moel Siabod to the west. Must be getting old. So Capel Garmon it is.

Ironically, despite having patronised Gareth and Carol Williams wondrous campsite more-or-less every year since 1989, this is but my third visit to the superb neolithic monument which overlooks the fertile Conwy Valley at its juncture with that of the Machno. As noted by previous members parking/access is not ideal if approaching from the village of Capel Garmon. Hence I decide to finally take Carol’s advice and walk from my tent. Hey, why hadn’t I thought of that before? Standing at the campsite entrance the access road continues uphill beyond a gate, the negotiation of a couple more such barriers bringing me to a public footpath veering left where a large corrugated iron barn looms above. From here marker posts direct the would-be visitor across a couple of fields until the great funerary monument is seen slumbering below, beyond a kissing date. Yeah, this is a much better way to arrive, blown in on the wind.

Immediately it is obvious that Gonzalo hasn’t finished yet, not by a long chalk. Violent gusts of wind propel towering cathedrals of cumulonimbus across the sky, unleashing shafts of golden sunlight interacting with lashing rain squalls to send rainbows arcing into the apparent stratosphere, tripping the light fantastic to the symphony in my head. The scene, the vibe is so ‘Turner-esque’ that, upon glancing toward the natural gorsedd to the north, I almost expect to see Timothy Spall sitting there, paintbrush in hand. Nature’s invigoratingly full-on theatrics would be more than enough today, to be fair. However Capel Garmon happens to be an absolutely first rate monument....

Substantial, too, a central ‘chamber’, flanked by another large example either side upon an approx east-west axis entered – at least originally – by a narrow passage to the south, this seemingly aligned upon the aforementioned gorsedd (as noted by Mr Cope in his day-glo tome). Seems a reasonable assumption to me. However for me the most impressive component of this great chambered long barrow is the massive capstone which still rests, albeit with a bit of help from a surprisingly unobtrusive concrete support, upon the western chamber. This is open to the west giving the impression of being the entrance. But apparently, in true Cotswold-Severn tradition, this was actually a falsie. More to the point though is why we have a Cotswold-Severn influenced monument up here upon a raging Snowdonian hillside at all? How very odd.

Pondering such imponderables I sit inside and let a couple of hours drift by in relative shelter. ‘Relative’ since even the overwhelming mass of a 14ft capstone isn’t sufficient to keep out the weather in these parts today. Particularly tail ends of hurricanes. In some ways Capel Garmon’s great tomb sticks out like a sore thumb here in the uplands of Northern Snowdonia, the preserve of the great Bronze Age round cairn. But I, for one, am not complaining.

I have been wanting to come here for over four years ever since Gladman came on a sunny June day, well I finally made it but suffice to say it was not summer nor was it a sunny day, frankly it pissed down all day long, but my waterproofing laughs in the face of piss, and indeed precipitation.

Head out of Newton Stewart on the A714 heading for Girvan, after about 8 miles and reaching Bargrennan look for right turn with Glentrool village sign post. Go up this small road for less than a mile, park at track entrance into forest on the left.
Like an idiot I left the map in the car, but seeing as it’s been said that to find the chambered cairn you only need follow the way marked posts with a white arrow and strip at the top. I decided to put this to the test.
So, going up the main forestry track, turn left at white tipped post, smaller footpath up hill, turn left at white tipped post across a clearing, the stones can be seen from here, as can the next white tipped post. Turning right off a path another path leads shortly to the cairn in it’s own little clearing. Uncle Bob was a happy chappy.
Even in the constant drizzle I could see the beauty here, the mosses and lichens are on steroids here, the ferns that are mostly absent from all but Gladmans pictures were dying for the year but leaving the cairn covered in a vibrant reddy brown covering. The close nit trees all round the cairn sometimes have paths leading into them, dark corridors into god knows what kind of other worldly place.
The cairn is a very good one, Greywether tells us that the other chambered cairns round here are named after this one, the signature expression of Bargrennan type tombs.
The cairn is maybe five foot tall, and it’s central chamber has a passage facing I think south south east. We enter the chamber, the pair of capstones are just high enough to sit up under them, it is a whole lot drier than outside. On the back stone in the chamber on its lower left corner is what looks like a large cup mark but it is I think natural, but it wouldn’t have gone unremarked upon by it’s builders. Graffiti is still being added, this year in fact, utter turds!
Eric’s just about had enough now and he’s making his way slowly back to the main path, not saying lets go now but he’s being fairly transparent. Just another minute I shout over, a walk around the cairn looking for kerb stones and such revealed one large stone with a large cup shaped depression upon it, reminding me of the smaller one in the chamber.

Time to go now, a few other places on my wish list have to be ticked off today, but not all of them.
Still raining.

I’d wanted to check this pair out for years now, but, predictably, other places get in the way. So, with nowt to do on a Sunday afternoon I decided to nip out, pop up and see what could be seen.
I parked east of the hill at the end of the road by the transmitter aerial, walked back down the road and took the footpath left up the hill. It only took about fifteen minutes, following the path that goes up to the top, there are lots of intersecting tracks, paths and lines, just go up, and this will take you straight to the tumulus marked on the map.

The tumulus sticks out rather and is immediately recognisable as a tumulus, there is also a small walkers cairn on it’s top. But the cairn from here is not so distinct, it will take more searching down. From the tumulus I go for a short walk north west to look over the edge of the hill side and over to Moel Y Gaer hill fort, it looks good with the Vale of Clwyd behind it giving way to the Sea beyond, I can see the Little Orme and Gop hill from here too.
Back at the tumulus I sit atop the walkers pile and survey the surroundings near and far, I still cant see the cairn so I go off searching, first I walk north past the line of the trig point, the only thing there is the line of Clwydian hills with a pair of forts Penycloddiau being the nearest. So I jump the fence and go over to the trig point, it’s on a slight bump perhaps that’s the cairn. It’s not, but I think I can see a vague bump over to my right, before I take in the slight bump there are some large stones over by the fence next to a large puddle, probably from a destroyed stone circle no doubt.
Bump time, this turns out to be it, maybe a foot high and mostly grassed over but definitely the cairn. Some small stones can be seen, but mostly one can only see the transmitter, the mast, the aerial, what ever it is, it is really tall.
And that’s all about there is to it, big mast, tiny cairn and a half decent tumulus with some good views all round.

Sadly SC and myself found this stone ‘houked up’ and flung on a pile of farm waste. At least the stone is still there. The HS people were informed and hopefully something might be done.........hopefully!

An interesting looking stone covered in distictive spots and stripes which reminds me a little bit of the stone inside Bryn Celli Ddu.

It would be interesting to learn more about the name Cadair Elwa. I suspect Elwa (as in Llanelwy, Vale of Elwy) is a personal name and cadair means seat as in stronghold or homestead.

Visited 28.10.14

Directions:
A short distance west of the barrow at East Harling.

The barrow is in the middle of a pig farm (one of many in this part of the world) so I wasn’t getting any closer than a view from the road.

I think I saw the barrow as a small rough-grass covered mound. I am not 100% and it could have quite easily been a natural mound.

E.H. have nothing to report.

Visited 28.10.14

Directions:
Eastern side of Thetford – can’t miss it!

The Norman motte is huge (apparently the largest medieval earthworks in Britain). The banks and ditches surrounding the motte are also very impressive.
This is the part which includes the earlier Iron Age defences.

The site is in a public park so access is not an issue. An added bonus is the fact there is a play ground to keep the little ones happy while you go exploring!

** Thetford was where they filmed Dads Army. Check out the superb statue of Captain Mainwaring! There is also a museum dedicated to the show which, unfortunately, was closed when I visited.

Visited 28.10.14

Directions:
Just off the A1065, north of Brandon.

As Postie says, the barrow is a big ‘un and easy to see from the lane which runs immediately to the south.

As the barrow is in a field of crop (and the other side of a barbed wire fence) I also settled for a view from the road. Worth looking out for.

Visited 30.10.14

Directions:
Alongside the B1085, to the immediate west of Kennett – opposite a public footpath.

There is just about room to squeeze in at the start of the footpath.

Due to the unseasonal nice weather I was still wearing shorts although this soon proved a bit of a problem as I had to wade through knee high nettles. Yes, they did get me!

It was worth it though as the barrow is large and in good condition. It is approximately 3m high x 30m across. E.H. state it is undisturbed which I find strange given it is right next to a road. In fact the northern edge of the barrow has been clipped by the road. Still, I am sure they know best!

There are several trees growing out of the barrow – Scotch Pine and Oak. The barrow is surrounded by fields in crop.

Although parking is a little tricky it is well worth stopping off to see this barrow if you happen to be in the area. If so, also go and see the nearby Moulton Medieval Packhorse Bridge (E.H.) – well worth a visit.

Visited 31.10.14

Directions:
South of Icklingham (on the A1101) near a minor road.

I think I saw what is left of this barrow as a very ploughed down ‘bump’ – alternatively what I saw was natural and the barrow has been completely ploughed out?

Either way E.H. has nothing to report.

I was heading south for Church mountain and glanced down to my right as I entered Blessington. Seeing the temporary fencing I quickly diverted and decided to check it out. And oh dear, what a mess! Already a neglected and overgrown monument, with a kids’ playground butted up to its west side, now the ignominy of a skate park to its east.

Sounding desperately like a killjoy to myself here, let it be said that the more playgrounds and skate parks for our kids, the better. But come on – allow the ancient burial site a bit of room to breathe. The beginnings of the ground work on the east side cut right into the edge of the external bank.

The whole project seems to have gone ahead with a lack of thought – what’s going to happen to the barrow now, given that the council has already treated it with such disdain? I get the feeling that they’d prefer if it just went away. Shame.

2014 update: there’s now a house at the very end of the track, beyond the farm, and it looks as if there may be plans to build in the field containing the circle (it has a well defined track and a small levelled area.)

If you use the map coordinates given above, and as provided by Burl, you may end up confused. On iOS map 85, there are three red dots representing stones in the lower portion of square W 090 600. The most easterly is at W 097 604, the central location is at W 0955 6030, and the westerly at W 094 602. On TMA, there are three sites with reference W 097 604 in the same group: Ring Cairn, Circle, and Standing Stones, though the latitudes differ. Burl gives the OS map reference W 097 604 as the location of Cappaboy Beg SE (stone circle). I believe this may be incorrect.

Travelling northeast on the R584, 6km out of Kealkil, there’s a school on the right at W0970 5985 (on a side road). Continue on the main road for about 700 metres and you’ll see a pair of field gates on the left. We parked here as best we could without causing an obstruction. Take the gate on the right, and follow the track straight up the hill, which eventually leads onto open moorland. If you keep the fence on your right (following the rougher track uphill) you’ll find the ring cairn after a few hundred metres. The circle is then a few hundred metres further on up the hill, out of sight, just over the ridge (the 200m contour on the OS map.)

Visited 29.10.14

Well, I finally managed to get here!

We parked up on the grass field (which doubles for a car park) and made our way to the information centre/museum/shop. Sophie was too young to be allowed down the mine (minimum age 5) although I know she wouldn’t have any difficulty getting down. She had to satisfy herself with an ice cream and a DVD of Peppa Pig sat in the car with Karen as myself and Dafydd headed for the entrance to the mine.

I was surprised to find a sort of Potacabin above the entrance as when I have seen the site on TV they always enter via a shaft which requires a hand winched hatch to be opened. (I later discovered that that particular shaft is not open to the public and is on the far side of the field – unless you happen to be Neil Oliver of course!)

We donned our hard hats and climbed down the ladder. There were only two other people there so we didn’t need to wait. If you do have to wait there were replica hand axes/arrow heads/scrapers you could examine in the ‘Portacabin’. Once at the bottom of the ladder our eyes soon adjusted to the gloom and we took it in turns to duck down and peer through the railings and into the tunnels.

In the main shaft many of the prized blac flints could be easily seen against the backdrop of the white chalk. I was surprised to see ferns growing on the sides of the top of the shaft. I was glad I had my hard hat on as several times I bashed my head on the stones! We were able to spend as long as we wanted at the bottom of the shaft before returning to the surface.

We then headed across the pock-scarred field to explore the ‘lumps and bumps’. This is often referred to as being a ‘lunar landscape’ but to me it just seemed exactly what it was – a post-industrial landscape. Being from South Wales I am used to seeing the scars of industry making their mark on the landscape. This seemed no different.

As we walked back to the car two army helicopters landed soldiers in the field opposite and they then practiced their landing/taking off. Most of the land surrounding Grimes Graves is owned by the MOD.

I am glad I visited Grimes Graves – it is amazing that these ancient places are still with us – and I would certainly recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area. As an added bonus it’s another English Heritage site knocked off the list!

New find from yesterday . Light was failing so pics not too clear .

Visited 28.10.14

Direction:
South-West of South Creake along a minor road.

I wasn’t expecting much from this site but I was pleasantly surprised. A decent car park, litter bin, benches/table and information boards. Access from the car park to the fort is via a wooden kissing gate.

Despite being the end of October it felt more like summer. Clear blue sky, warm sunshine and feeling comfortable in shorts and t-shirt.

Although most of the site has been ploughed away (one section survives to a height of about 1.5m) the information boards give a good idea of how it would have looked in its prime.

An RAF jet roared overhead, twisting and turning as the pilot practiced their manouvers. I am sure the inhabitants of the hillfort would have appreciated having one of those when facing the mighty Roman Army!

This is a great example of how a site can be both protected and made accessible for the public to visit Well done to Norfolk Archaeology Trust for their good work. Let’s hope other parts of the country follow suite.

Visited 28.10.14

Directions:
Lynn Museum, Market Street, Kings Lynn
(entrance at the bus station)

Being a big Time Team fan I have wanted to see these timbers ever since the (in)famous ‘special’. It’s a long way from Cardiff to Kings Lynn but at last I got the chance. I had planned this holiday and booked the hotels months ago but last week my dad passed away at the ‘ripe old age’ of 93. I know this is a ‘good innings’ as they say but the sense of grief remains the same. The holiday was therefore nearly cancelled but as there was nothing I could do at home it seemed pointless moping about at home.

From October to March the museum is free to enter which is an added bonus. I was able to buy a leaflet on Seahenge for 50p but was surprised there wasn’t something more ‘substantial’ available to buy. Although they did have several Francis Pryor books on display.

Myself and Dafydd eagerly went through the door marked Seahenge exhibition (unfortunately no audio phones available) and we made our way past the model of one of the Seahenge builders and the reconstructed outside of the timber circle. Although made of fiber glass it does look like real wood to be fair.

We the turned around the corner to see the real thing (well, half of the circle anyway) encased behind glass. The information boards are very good although I was expecting the timbers to be rather larger.

Enclosed in a separate glass case is the mighty upside down tree trunk, complete with hole in order to drag it across the land. The tree trunk is very big, much larger than I was expecting.

There are also several display cabinets showing prehistoric finds from the locality. There are also very good. The rest of the museum covers the Roman period right through to recent times.

The start attraction of the museum of course is Seahenge. It really is very special and well worth the effort involved in getting to see it. Lynn Museum isn’t very big and I can see that they have done their best to display the timbers. However, it is a pity that the circle couldn’t be displayed in its entirety with the tree trunk in the middle. Perhaps one day this may be possible? I assume the other timbers are safely stored away somewhere?

Do try to visit the museum if you happen to be in the area. It is well worth it.

***
It seems likely that the upturned tree trunk served as a place for a body to be exposed to the elements in order to be ‘prepared’ for burial. Last week my father passed away and yesterday I had a ‘phone call from my sister to say that he is now at the funeral home being ‘prepared’ for his funeral next week. It may me think of the emotions the people who built Seahenge must have also been going through.

These notes are dedicated to my dad who I thank for taking me on holiday around this wonderful country of ours whilst I was growing up and hence installing my ‘curiosity’ to visit places of my own.

This is not listed in the SMR. As I ascended south towards the summit of Broughills Hill from the barrow in Johnstown, along the boundary line between Johnstown and Kiernans Hill and in turn Broughills Hill, I spied a large, rocky outcrop. Though I was making for the summit in driving wind and rain, I couldn’t resist investigating. The outcrop is made of huge earthfast granite boulders, but below it to the east is a seemingly man-made platform containing this intriguing monument.

I can’t make out what it is, so I’ve listed it here as a hut site/habitation site, though i suspect that it may be a burial/chambered cairn, ruined and lost to history, until now. There are lots of lumps and bumps in the small, 8 metre diameter area, some of which may be a chamber, or may be the hearth of an old hut site. In the north-west quadrant there is erosion leaving packed, cairn-like stone visible. The whole mound is about half a metre tall, rising to a metre in places.

A mystery, leading me to reckon that this ridge, leading down from Broughills Hill, has not been properly surveyed.

It’s taken 12years for the heather to claim back the Triple Cairn. But it’s just about completed the job.
The kerbstones, the most impressive thing, to me, surrounding the cairns are completely covered and the only visible part is a small stoney area on its highest part, and this is only visible when you’re right on top of the cairn.

Shame really, but the moor hasn’t been managed after the Right To Roam came in, and the grouse shooting stopped at roughly the same time.

There are two listed standing stones in this small townland, west of the summit of the hill with the same name. I believe I found both, along with two other possibles. The terrain here is difficult – swampy, pitted, harsh and treacherous – boots a necessity if you wish to retain intact ankles.

All of the stones are being swallowed up by the peat. Of the four, the tallest, conical menhir is the only one that could be said to be definitely such. Another large, bulbous, craggy example, almost a metre and a half tall, is badly leaning to the south-west, but seems to have packing stones at its peat engulfed base.

The other two are similar, slab-like examples, one listed and said to be “Possibly a marker stone between the other Broughills Hill standing stone (WI009-030----), the Johnstown barrow (WI009-029----) and the Kiernans Hill standing stone (WI009-034----).”

Visited 27.10.14

Directions:
In the village of Aldringham, on the eastern side of the B1122.

The O/S map shows a public footpath running south-east from the B1122 past the barrows.
In reality it doesn’t exist. There is no access through the hedge or past the farm workings.

From the side of the road I could make out one of the barrows as a rough, scrub covered mound.

E.H. state:
Two bowl barrows situated near the edge of a south-west facing slope overlooking the Hundred River. The larger of the two is visible as an earthen mound c.21m in diameter and stands to a height of 1.2m. The second barrow, which lies 7.5m to the south-east of the first, is c.14m in diameter and stands to a maximum height of 0.6m. A slight hollow in the centre marks the site of an old excavation.