Latest Fieldnotes

Interesting new panel from today ,some typical rock art that includes what could be a “footprint ” but also a millstone which obviously could date from much later . Sorry can’t give proper grid ref yet , hence Bog etc.

Visited: August 31, 2014

Dun Eyre, which is not readily seen from the main road, stands almost a kilometre east of the A87 and at an altitude of some 130 metres near the village of Kensaleyre. It is reached by following a tarmacked road that slants off uphill to the right near the northern boundary of Kensaleyre for just over a kilometre, passing through the scattered community of Eyre. There is a space to park and turn at the end of this road.

From the road end you will see the crag girt Dun Eyre directly ahead, and a path continues towards it, albeit with a fence to cross on the way. Though bounded on most sides by steep clifs, the dun can be entered from the south, where twin rows of boulders lead to the entranceway.

Very little remains of the fort, though the stumps of walling can be seen around much of its circumference. Below the fort, prominent grassed-over, somewhat sinuous mounds—almost a metre high—head away from the dun for considerable distances. Are these the remains of former defensive ramparts, or simply overgrown remains of dykes built more recently from stone robbed from the fort?

I all but saved this one to the last, Kercado is the one that got away last time, the one that nagged at me most for not seeing it. So I cleared our schedule grabbed the camera and torch and promised the kids some crepes, mmmmm pancakes.
It didn’t go down well to find the age old creperie had been bought and turned into a curry house, Rogan Josh ? in the middle of the afternoon ?
The kids said no.
So we made our way over to the Tumulus, an underwhelming description if ever I heard one, and paid the disinterested youth. In receipt of said pay we received a quickly translated into English pamphlet about the “Tumulus”, so, armed to the teeth with information and exploratory tools we entered the woods.
A sign by the paying entrance fee area on the wall proclaimed the tumulus to be 4500 Before JC, Jimeny Cricket, now that’s an old place.
The bright and breezy walk through the trees took but a minute before we were brought face to face with Carnac’s beating heart. Perhaps, certainly maybe definitely the oldest of all the amazements currently found around Carnac, Spaceship mark says it’s 4800 years BC, Bloomin Crikey that’s an old place.
As we approached the entrance to the tomb a couple came out and went off round the back, giving us the chamber to ourselves for a while, we went inside. Carnac’s beating heart had a puddle in it, the analogy lost a bit there, then Eric hit his sister and he got sent outside to find a naughty step to sit on. Honestly, even in here ?
But neither stumbling splashes nor minor miscreants could mar this moment, I admired the huge floating capstone above us and I searched for carvings, but I couldn’t find them, perhaps the pamphlet could shed some light on them, oh right.. Eric’s got it.
Found during excavations were flint, diorite and jadeite axes, and middle and late neolithic pottery, restored in 1925. Jane says now that it’s as old as 5000bc, that’s 7000BP, Bum pack that’s an old place, and getting older all the while apparently.
I wish I could’ve stayed there for ages, but someone was hanging round the entrance, obviously our time was up, come in number 42.
So we followed the stone circle around the tumulus, people rarely go around the back, and here in the woods we found a good arc of small to medium stones. Burl says of the circle , it is an incomplete misshapen ring of 27 stones (we didn’t see that many), graded in height from a six footer at the ESE, the best preserved arc is at the south, there are no stones at the north, he strangely doesn’t mention the surmounting pillar, which must have gone up around the same time as the circle, I’m presuming. I wonder how far down it goes, does it touch the capstone ? what did it all look like before it was restored ? what did it all look like when the stone circle and menhir was put up ? Why does Doctor who always pick fit young girls to take to exotic locations ? they never fully appreciate it.

This is an absolute wonder of a place, somewhere to see in all seasons in all weathers, so with an afternoon in summer under our belts we pick Eric up from his naughty step and leave.
Our ferry tomorrow leaves at 11am, and it could take as long as eight hours to get there, so we leave in the middle of the night in the most torrential rain you’ve ever seen, got back into England to find scorchio sunshine, then we ran out of petrol with no money, aaargh, pain is the cleanser, pain is the cleanser!!!

We tried to follow Jack Roberts’ instructions, but didn’t feel at all comfortable trying to get to the circle as he directs. So, given the difficulty of parking, the livestock in the fields, and the reported problems of reaching the site, we drove around and found the owner, who lives at the top of the next road to the left off the N71. We were given permission to drive up to their milking parlour along a track going uphill between the two minor roads (if driving east on the N71, this is a sharp turn back on yourself.) We parked easily at the top, and the circle is in the field to the northwest, behind the milking shed at about 200 metres, through a wide gate having a pedestrian access at the right. Once on the other side, the boulder burial is visible up the slope to the left. We then just had to step over a few wires.

Just visited Rudston Monolith it’s enormous. Whilst driving around came across a information panel at nearby Bracey Bridge and the marks on the side of the stone are fossilised Dinosaur footprints!

Do a great Bacon sandwich at Bracey Bridge as well.

This is the third and last of the three main alignments (heading east) . Thirteen rows of 555 stones running for only 250 meters, the tallest of which is 13 feet tall, I say only when comparing it with the other two sets of stones.
The smaller wooded alignments of Petite Menec are a further 3 to 4 hundred meters east.
Fences kept me away from the stones and a tour guide party just emptied itself out onto the road side, they’re all over the place, I’m off to see the dolmen. The wonderful dolmen of Kercado.

This cromlech is actually rectangular, and forms the starting point of the Kerlescan stone rows. Fenced off from the multitudes access is only by small guided tours. I intended to come back later in the evening for a wee sneak but never gone the chance. So I only saw it from the road, fleetingly, between tourists and stables.
Fortunately Sir Aubrey (why not) describes it thoroughly, abbreviated thus...........
Tall granite pillars in a rectangle 78m x 74m, on the right side, from the road, the east side of the rectangle is a straight line of 18 stones, the south side nearest the road is a shallow convex arc of 11 stones, the left west side is equally convex and also of 11 stones. There are no stones at the north side, but close to it is a neolithic long mound called a tertre with a tall menhir at it’s western egde. The three sided structure is therefore more of a horseshoe.

I wish I’d had time to come back later, it sounds a very curious site.

The Kermario alignments are my favourite of these three road side alignments, they’ve got several things going for them, the dolmen in the corner of the field, the ruined windmill that’s been turned into a very effective look out point, eleven hundred meters of rows of megaliths, we shouldn’t call these stones because it doesn’t have the word mega in it. Then when you think your going stone blind, when your seeing stones every where and feeling punch drunk on the old stuff, you can take a break have a crepe and a beer and buy postcard or a porcelain dolmen. Then head back out into the utter nonsense that is the Carnac stone rows. Do make sure you take a look at the dolmen in the corner it shouldn’t be overlooked and the windmill ruin is definitely the best place to appreciate the megaliths.
At the end of the Kermario rows is the right turn that takes you to the Kercado tumulus. The mustest of sees.

I was following road signs to get to Carnac from the D768 near Mane Kerioned, I wasn’t sure where in Carnac it would take me, so I sat back and enjoyed the evening. It was about 9pm and we’d had a long day, the sun was sinking below the trees but not the horizon, but I just wanted to “do” the stone road, the D196, the road that passes all the stone rows.

So there I was taking my time, minding my own business driving down just another country lane, when the trees either side of the road gave way to open fields, open fields with more standing stones than you’ve ever seen in one place in your life, I guarantee it.
I immediately knew where I was, at the far west end of the Menec rows, 400 meters away from the Cromlech that starts the stone rower heading east.
I had to quickly pull over at the side of the road, we were in the rows, the road cuts straight through it all, abominable I know, but it’s done, and where else in the world can you park your car in a world heritage site, cant be many.
I pulled the car round the corner and parked in a more proper layby, jumped out and twoddled over the road to the fence that still keeps summer visitors out. Slack jawed incomprehension, speechless, and utterly mystified I took just two pictures and returned to the car.
“Have you seen all them stones” I asked the kids,
They admitted that they were hard to miss,
“and they carry on for another two miles right next to this road” I enthused, this got them,
“Really? why? ”
Aint that the question that keeps you going.

Directions:
East of Llyswen – near the A470 / A4079 junction. South of Builth Wells.

On the road near Boughrood there are two places to park. Either outside the pub (which has a warning notice advising that parking is for patrons only) or at the school. As I was driving from Boughrood I didn’t know about the pub parking so chose to park at the school. As the children were in school I don’t suppose this was a good idea as you have to be careful these days in case people get the wrong idea.

I crossed the road and headed for the newly installed wooden gate and the newly cleared footpath going up the hill. The path was very muddy despite the nice weather – a dry stream bed ran alongside the path – no doubt in full flow in wet weather!

At the top of the path a stile on the left leads you into a field. You then have to walk up the very, very steep field until you reach the trees and the next stile. By the time I reached the stile I was hot, sweaty and panting – not as young as I used to be!

The people renovating the footpath have clearly not reached this far yet as there is no trace of a path through the overgrown trees. I battled my way through heading in a north-west direction. As luck would have it I came out at the right place – next to another stile. From here the enclosure could be easily seen on the other side of a barbed wire fence. The banks are overgrown with trees but easy enough to make out.
What would be great views are completely blocked by the trees.

I didn’t stay long as I was conscious of my car being parked at the school and I knew it was nearly lunch time. Time to go before any awkward questions are asked!

You need to be mobile and fairly fit to visit this site.
Best park somewhere more sensible as well.

COFLEIN state:
A roughly oval enclosure, 90m by 100m, defined by double banks and ditches, which merge into scarps on the east, downhill side.

Visited 5.9.14

Directions:
200m west of Hills Camp Hillfort.

When visiting Hills Camp you just have to visit Pen-yr-Allt at the same time. You can either access via the road or if (like me) you prefer the direct approach you do have to cross boggy ground and a barbed wire fence.

The remains of the low bank (less than 1m) is surmounted by trees although is easily seen. There are plenty of stones sticking out of the bank to show how it was constructed.

COFLEIN state:
A poorly preserved hillfort set upon a ridge top. It appears to be a shield shaped enclosure, 60m by 45m, the flat side facing south. The enclosure is defined by banks and ditches, except where it rests above precipitious natural slopes on the west.

Visited 5.9.14

Looking at my previous notes this was again to be my last site of the day. I wanted to first visit the old church in Llanfilo but the door was locked and the key holder was not at home when I knocked. This was a shame as the church has an apparently particularly fine rood screen and pre-Norman font.

I left the car outside the church and decided to walk to the site as I didn’t know what the parking was going to be like any closer. As it turned out I could have driven up the hill, through the trees, along the minor road which runs along the north of the hillfort. By now the sun had come out and it went from humid to hot. It would have certainly saved my tired legs a walk but there we are…………….

Although, technically speaking, there is no public right of way to the site in reality there are several points of access from the road. Best bet is to walk to the top of the hill and then up and over one of the metal field gates. It is then only a short walk across a flat field.

The is not a huge amount to see here as the rampart surrounding the hillfort is completely overgrown by trees and bushes. Although in places you could see it still stood to a height of approx. 2m when viewed from the outside. The inside of the hillfort is an oval open field of pasture. A trig point is located in the middle of the site. Good views are to be had over towards the Black Mountains? to the east.
There is not much else I can add really.

Not too much to recommend a visit unless you planned to combine it with a visit to the church perhaps?

Visited: August 31, 2014

At the northern end of a small peninsula lying between Loch Snizort Beag and Loch Eyre, just west of the community of Kensaleyre, stands the remains of a fort: Dun Cruinn. From a gate opposite the junction of the Annishader road off the A87, just south of Kensaleyre, the OS map indicates a sinuous path heading west to the farm at Skerinish. Clearly long out of use, it peters out after a few yards, leaving you with a sometimes boggy tramp of a half kilometre before gaining the ridge ahead. There is a narrow stream to cross but there are stepping stones. Once on the ridge, paths abound, and the walk north to Dun Cruinn, passing below Dun Fada on the way, is most pleasant. The distance to cover is just over 1½ kilometres.

Dun Cruinn is well defended by steep scarps on most sides, and approaching from the south you are met with a row of large earthfast blocks to the west, perhaps a defensive feature. Farther over, to the east, is what appears to be a paved/stepped entranceway through the cliffs, leading to the grassy summit.

At the north, the remnant of a section of internal walling remains prominent but, for the most part, everything is overgrown by lush turf and heather. Views across Loch Snizort from the dun, which is located at the highest point of the peninsula, are superb.

Canmore lists numerous features of interest associated with Dun Cruinn: earthen ramparts, hut circles etc, which can be accessed at this link.

This Google Map indicates the approximate route to Dun Cruinn (red marker).

This Allee Couverte is situated right by the side of the road on the D196 or Route de Kerlescan (or the stone road), so it really cant be missed, despite all the lovely long rows of stones.
But, it’s on the wrong side of the fence, the fence that keeps people from wandering at will among the stones. Still, it’s a very half hearted fence only waste high, easily jumped in a moment even by , say, a twelve year old boy.
Four large white rounded stones lie across the waste high orthostats and traces of the cairn still cling to the sides of these. It has the almost obligatory south east facing entrance, whether the winter solstice sun shines down the passage like nearby Kercado I couldn’t say. Perhaps it was enough just to point the right way.
Because of the fence cutting the stones off from the road the surrounding flora has really flourished, ferns, grasses, a bit of gorse and buttercups on grass inside the dolmen.
We were going to come back later in the evening when everyone not obsessed has returned to their normal holidaying activities, but something came up and we never made it.
Out of season would be most ideal, i believe it is open to the wanderer out of season, but exactly when that it is I’m still a touch unclear. Mid October would be nice.

Visited 5.9.14

Directions:
From the A470 (south of Builth Wells) take the turning for Boughrood. Go over the bridge and take the first turning left. Drive past the church and take the immediate left turn. The barrow is in a field on your left – next to a hedgerow.

There is nowhere to park other than next to the field gate which gives access to the field. Even then you would be probably blocking this narrow road. I decided not to take the chance and settled for a quick look from the gate.

There is not much to say about the barrow. It is now a ploughed down mound.
Not one to go out of your way to visit.

COFLEIN state:
A mound, 17m in diameter and 1.1m high.

Visited 5.9.14

Directions:
From Paincastle take the minor road south across open moorland. You will come to a small N.T. sign on the left (east) of the road stating ‘The Begwns’. There is loads of room to park on the grass near the sign. Head up the slope to the highest point, keeping the dry stone wall on your right. When you reach the top you will see the barrow as a large fern covered mound on your left.

Although the sky was overcast it was very close and humid. It was certainly warm for the time of year and thankfully dry underfoot. It is only a short walk from the road to the barrow.

It was very peaceful with no wind and only the sound of bird song for company. There are good views to be had although today the surrounding hills were surrounded in mist.

The centre of the barrow had been clearly dug into and the crater left is about 1.5m deep – pretty much the height of the barrow itself. The barrow is overgrown with ferns, as is its immediate surroundings.

This is a good place to visit – particularly on a day like today.

COFLEIN state:
A centrally disturbed mound, 22m by 17m and 1.8m high. Believed to have been opened prior to WW2. There is a tradition of an urn being discovered here’.

Visited 5.9.14

Directions:
From the A470 (just south of Builth Wells) take the B4594 east.
The barrow is next to the road on the southern side – south east of Blaen Henllan cairn.

The barrow is now no more than a minor ‘bump’ in a field. Access is via a field gate near a passing place.

Not worth the effort.

COFLEIN state:
A Mound 17m in diameter and 0.5m high, set on a low spur in a valley bottom.

Visited 5.9.14

Directions:
From the A470 (south of Builth Wells) take the turning east for Llandeilo Graban. Continue east along the narrow, minor road and the cairn is on the northern side of the road just after the cattle grid.

I had taken the day off work to get away from all the NATO shenanigans and decided to head for mid Wales to visit Llewellyn’s Cave which had been on my ‘hit list’ for some time. This is the cave where it is said Llewellyn hid the night before he was ambushed and killed by English soldiers in 1282. Although tricky to find it was well worth the effort.

Of course, as I happen to be in the area I decided to do a bit of ‘old stoning’!

Blaen Henllan cairn is easily seen from the road as a rough-grass covered prominent mound in the middle of a field. The field was full of sheep when I visited and access would be over a barbed wire fence. I settled for a view from the road.

Worth a quick look if you happen to be passing – which is unlikely!

COFLEIN state:
Remains of a burial cairn situated on a prominent local knoll in an enclosed field of pasture. Circular in plan measuring 9m in diameter and 1m high.

Visited: September 4, 2014

Dun Cadha nan Ingrean lies on the west shore of Loch Slapin, just south of Kilmarie. For access, follow the road to Kilmarie Graveyard, and continue along the shore till the metalled surface runs out after about 1¼ kilometres. From here, an excellent track continues for another 250 metres till you encounter a wooden house on the left. Immediately after the house, head off very slightly east of south (i.e. left of the path) for 90 metres to the dun.

Like all the duns along this section of coastline, the way is beset by lush swathes of dense bracken, so if my experience is anything to go by you may have to hunt around for a while to find Cadha nan Ingrean.

The dun sits near a rocky point, above a steep descent towards the sea, as a tumbled mass of stones with very little discernable structure. There’s lots of stone here though: piles and piles of it, so this must once have been an extremely impressive fortification.

Notwithstanding its current dilapidated state, this site is well worth the visit for the superb vistas it affords across Loch Slapin.

September 4, 2014

I had set out full of hope that I could visit this remote but remarkably well-preserved broch at Glasnakille on Skye’s Strathaird peninsula. Little did I suspect the obstacles that would thwart me.

There are stiles over the roadside fence to both north and south of the promontory bearing the broch (though the northern one is decidedly rickety). Both lead to paths that, at this time of the year (early September) rapidly become obscured by dense, head-high bracken. Together with the trees and brambles, this not only seriously impedes movement, but also prevents you from seeing where you are going and totally compromises your sense of direction. At one point I found myself suddenly standing close to the edge of a cliff!

This site is going to have to wait for a springtime visit, when the bracken has died down and both underfoot conditions and visibility are easier.

The red marker in the Google Map below shows the location of Dun Grugaig, on a narrow, sheer sided promontory. As a guide, the gate in front of the house nearest the foot of the map carries the legend ‘No 3‘.

I did manage to photograph the broch, however, from a grassy headland 250 metres to the north. It shows Dun Grugaig at the foot of tree-clad slopes, and surrounded by thick bracken.

You can read much more detail concerning this broch at Canmore.

Visited: September 3, 2014

This little-visited site in Glen Heysdal is listed as a ‘probable broch‘ by Canmore.

To access it, follow the side road to ‘Upper Feorlig’ which leads north off the A863 and park up where the tarmac ends (after about a kilometre). Walk on for a further 150 metres till you encounter a gate with a notice warning ‘Beware – Bull and Cattle loose on Hill‘. Don’t cross the gate, but follow the fence to the left uphill for a further 150 metres and hop over the stile to the broch.

The Glen Heysdal Broch stands on a rocky knoll which seems to have been levelled by the placement of large boulders on its north side. The broch displays only its foundation course, but its outline is still quite apparent. So severely has this broch been robbed that the ‘usual’ collapsed heaps of fallen masonry are quite absent. Instead, there is a ‘sprinkling’ of individual stones throughout its elevated periphery. The slightly sunken interior of the broch contains, unusually, relatively few stones.

Visited: September 3, 2014

Standing just 100 metres south of the cairn at Vatten North, in the adjacent field, lies the considerably larger chambered cairn of Vatten South. This cairn is seriously ruined, with a height of 3½ metres and a basal girth of almost 40 metres. Most of the cairn has degenerated through stone robbing into little more than a stoneheap, with a conspicuous, deep trench across it where material has been removed.

Visited: September 3, 2014

I must have passed by this huge cairn many times while motoring across Skye, yet never realised it was there, despite it lying just 50 metres from the roadside. I bacame aware of it as I returned from visiting the broch in Glen Heysdal. There it was: straight ahead of me.

The Vatten North chambered cairn is every bit as impressive as Carn Liath at Kensaleyre—indeed, almost an identical twin—standing over 6 metres tall and with a basal girth of 25 metres or so. In form, it is an almost perfect cone, covered by heather and numerous smallish, white, rounded stones. It’s condition, unlike that of its neighbour Vatten South, just 100 metres distant, is almost pristine.

Just south of Plouharnel on the D781 to Carnac, another dolmen throwing itself in front of me, so what can one do but swerve dangerously into the adjacent farm entrance, and dump the car for a very short while.
Leaving the kids in the car for a few minutes I carefully legged it across the busy road for a quick sniff about. Sometimes having an ancient site right next to a house can be a bit disheartening, but this one is right by a house and so close to the road that it looks like it’s playing frogger, a simple spirit might mistake it for a bus stop.
Were it anywhere else it would be fabulous, a nice big capstone held up with uprights pointy and squat, with cairn material or dry stone walling at the back of the chamber. Next time I come to Brittany I’m not going to bother with a hotel I’m going to sleep rough in a dolmen, a different one every day. Not sure what the kids are going to do though..

When I were a lad at school, my two favourite books in the library was a Fabulous beasts book and an Ancient mysteries book, in the latter was the Carnac stone rows and a dolmen, this one, at Crucuno. So this was perhaps the first dolmen I was ever aware of, and now 32 years later, here I am, and I can scarcely believe it. They say that you should never meet your heroes, but I say tosh and cobblers, get in your car and get your arse into gear, go, go now.

It’s as simple as driving on the wrong side of the road to find, and many and much parking places to be had just yards away. It was taller than most other dolmens we’ve seen, no bowing and crouching here. The way the capstone fits onto the uprights, and the way they are set into the ground makes it feel to me to be a perfect example of whatever type of dolmen it is, a show room model.
The house next door, very next door, is still dilapidated, signs tell us of it’s dangers, either tear it down or fix it up, please.
I’ve heard it said that the village idiot used to live here, what ? with that great big puddle ? poor chap. But the village idiot is a bit not nice, I prefer another way I’ve heard of describing him, a simple spirit. Could’ve been talking about me.