Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 4.5.14

Directions:
South of Bridgend off the B4524.
There is a large car park at the entrance to Dunraven Estate £3.00 all day.
There is also a small shop selling ice creams, tea bucket and spades etc.

It has been a few years since I was last year. I had quite forgotten what a nice beach this is – especially on a day like today. There were plenty of people about enjoying the sunshine.

I had taken Dafydd out for the day and we had earlier visited the renovated Galilee Church in Lantwit Major which now houses a fine selection of early Celtic Crosses / stones and graves – well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Although Dafydd was itching to get onto the beach I ‘persuaded’ him that a walk up the headland was required first in order to have a look at the remains of the Cliff Fort.
The double ditch/ramparts were a lot larger than I remembered and are still fairly impressive. The ditches were over head height when standing in them.

Obviously, there were good coastal views to be had.

From here we headed east along the coastal path towards the Cwm Bach Enclosure.

Visited 29.4.14

Directions:
In Gringley on the Hill – on the A631

All I could find was the underground reservoir!

E.H. has nothing to say.

Visited 30.4.14

Directions:
From Holmfirth take the A635 east. Then take the A629 south.
The site is marked as ‘earthwork’ on the O/S map – a short distance west of High Flatts.

Called in for a look after visiting Sid’s Café in Holmfirth (you just have to!)

There is nothing to see.

Go and see Nora’s and Compo’s house instead!

Visited 1.5.14

Directions:
From Bolsover take the A632 east.
When you reach Cuckney take the A616 north.
The Barrow is easily seen from this road on the left (east) just north of the drive to Blue Barn Farm

The fields surrounding the barrow had all been ploughed but thankfully the Barrow itself is surrounded by an old wooden fence to protect it.

The barrow is covered in rough grass and scrub.

Worth a quick look when driving along this road.

E.H.state:
A Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on level ground to the north of the River Poulter. The barrow survives as a 30m diameter circular mound standing up to 1m high’.

Visited 1.5.14

Directions:
From Bolsover take the A632 east.
When you reach Langwith Junction take the loop-road south.
Park outside the Holy Cross Church and walk along the footpath to the side of the church. The cave is amongst trees in the field on the opposite side of the valley.
The footpath does not lead to the cave – you have to cross over a barbed wired locked metal field gate.

Karen and Sophie stayed in the car while myself and Dafydd headed up the muddy path. After crossing a stile we were met by a herd of cows. Sophie doesn’t like cows (bit too big for her) but fortunately Dafydd is made of sterner stuff. The cows were reluctant to move and we had to walk right through the middle of them in order to cross the small wooden ‘bridge’ over the stream. The cows proved to be friendly.

Once we reached the gate I lifted Dafydd over the barbed wire and climbed over myself. Visitors not welcome I assume?

We quickly walked over to the trees (out of sight) and immediately saw the cave.
It was much larger than I expected, approximately 3m high x 7m across. Walking inside was easy – at least it would have been had it not been for the rubble dumped inside – why do people do this?

This is a pretty spot and a visit to the cave is well worth the effort – as long as you are ok with climbing over gates with barbed wire on top!

On the way back up the path (and once more through the cows) we met a chap coming the other way.

‘Been to see the cave?’ he enquired
‘Yes’ I replied.

Clearly other people do visit this site – despite the barbed wire / padlocked gate.

I parked the car to the north of the fort, right next to a footpath that seemed to go in the right direction, I could see the hill with the fort on top from the car so off I went.
I’ve got to say this end of the footpath was just about the weirdest ive ever been on. It weaved between two houses, fences either side of me, the path was maybe two feet wide, I had to duck under a leaning fence. Then a river blocked the way, the path along its side was less than two feet wide. But now i’m on a track that goes up the side of the hill. Up I go.
Past a house or two, the track is now a muddy footpath and forks in two, the fort is up the left path, so of course I go up the right hand one. It took me up to the Eyarth rocks nature preserve, a very nice place with wondrous views east to the Clwydian range of hills, brimming with iron age forts. Also, limestone paving can be found here, rare for this part of Britain, but no hill fort, I’ve convinced myself that some vague linear bumps are all that’s left of this fort. So I photograph them, without enthusiasm, and start the walk back. As im passing under the cliffs to my right, I realise my blunder, and decide to take the other left hand fork to see if it’s up there.

It was only a short walk from the path forking before I found the first sign of any earthworks.
The disappointment I felt at Pen y Gaer now swung proportionally in the other direction, these were large earthworks.
I scrambled up the bank and found it to be at least eight feet tall, and found myself near the northern terminus of the high bank. Right at the end of the bank it falls dramatically away over some cliffs. Cliffs play a large part of this fort, the western end of the fort has no defences, just vertical cliffs. The interior of the fort is split in two, by cliffs, a higher and lower fort, Brucie would love it here.
So I head east on the high and wide northern bank, interesting features abound here, two entrances, one large the other much smaller. The bank is so wide that structures have been made in them , whether they are original I much doubt.
There is no ditch, or if there was it is now all filled in. So I keep walking.
The vegetation is thick in places and I have to fight through brush to follow the high bank, now in placers it must be ten feet high. Views now and again open out, I can see my car down on the road, Pen y Gaer looking useless and unloved up on its windy hilltop, and out east to the hills and forts, and right below me limestone paving, just like in Yorkshire, but not as extensive. I note that the high bank i’m traversing, sometimes being more like a high mountain ridge, is made up of smashed limestone blocks, wonder where that came from.
By now i’m at the southern end of the fort, here it takes on a more usual form, there’s three banks here, the high one and two lower banks. Moving on, I come to the northern terminus of the bank, again, here it goes right up to the edge of the cliffs. But right at the end the bank separates from the whole, and finshes off with a cairn like structure, it even has a small capstone in it. But it is surely just the end of the defensive bank.
Walking back, I’m now in the fort with the bare rocky cliffs to my left and more cliffs to my right, that seperate the higher and lower part of the fort. This has been a really good one, sure in places the undergrowth obscures what were here to see, but, what is left is a minor wonder to behold, I circuited the whole fort with hushed tones and held breath. Smashing place.
Unfortunately the whole day was marred horribly by my sciatic leg, now so bad that an MRI scan has prompted a trip to see a neurosurgeon next week. Aaaargh! when driving.

Visited: May 3, 2014

Loudon Wood Stone Circle is high on my list of favourites, probably because it is so secluded in woodland. But for many would-be visitors, it is a seclusion too far as they become hopelessly lost in the network of paths through the trees. But if you know your way, it lies just two kilometres from the White Cow Wood car-park, and can be walked easily in about 30 minutes.

The problem lies in the disgraceful lack of accurate signage: the only indication of a stone circle is at the car-park, where a direction sign sends the visitor off along the path heading east. After this, there are no more direction signs at all, and many visitors give up the search in bewilderment.

The red line on this Google Map shows how to get there.

From the White Cow Wood car-park, follow the road south for just short of a kilometre until you arrive beside a cottage at the edge of the woodland. Now turn left and follow the broad forestry road into Loudon Wood for 400 metres, when you will find a good track heading to the left. Follow this for 260 metres until you come to a path branching off to the right. This is easily spotted if you keep checking the green, vegetated verge on the right of the track: a prominent brown patch crosses it where walkers have eroded the vegetation. Follow this path through the trees for 300 metres in an almost dead straight line, again keeping an eye open for an eroded verge on the right. There, you should be able to see the path angling through the trees, and in 50 metres you are in the clearing that is home to the stone circle.

On the morning of my visit there was scarce a cloud in the sky, and the circle looked magnificent. I have uploaded two composite panoramic images, each showing all seven remaining stones of Loudon Wood Stone Circle.

There are many hill forts in North Wales, they can be broken down into three types, there are those that i’ve been to, and those that I’ve not , and there are those that I don’t yet know about. This Pen Y Gaer and it’s near neighbour Craig Adwy Wynt fall into the latter category. It’s always nice to make new friends.
It’s barely a ten minute drive south from the nearby town of Ruthin, take second right in Pwll-glas, then left again and the fort, such as is left of it, is above you and to the right. Park in the wide entrance to the farm, you wont be long, i’m sure.

Walk past the farm, the fort is now directly above and to the right, when the track turns 90 degrees left, it’s time for a light trespass. Pass like a ghost over the fence and into the field, I had to do this as a herd of cowlets was guarding what looked like the easiest way in. It is here that the
“presently fossilised in field boundaries” comes into play, the field i’m in is six feet or so lower than the field next to it, any defenses the fort had are kinda gone, leaving only an oval high ground. At a place out of sight of the cowlets and ease of egress I crossed over the fence and into the fort. There really isn’t much left at all, I followed the high/low ground to a gap in the oval, it’s presently used by the farmer, but this is in all probability whats left of the entrance, it is found at the south east corner of the fort and seeing as it faces, more or less, the other fort across the slight valley the probabilities are reasonably high.

From the south east entrance I walk along the south wall, it is all gone, there is nothing at all to give away the forts location, nothing fossilised in field boundaries, nothing, at the bottom of the hill is a pond, a small one, with several large boulders. There is another big stone at the south west corner, it is here that it begins to look like a fort. There is a noticeable bank running from the south west corner, ovals don’t have corners I know, but lets go with it, running up the west side of the fort, for about a hundred yards, maybe, I couldn’t get any closer because of the veal, they just had to congregate around the only part of the fort that survives, and as soon as they saw me appearing through the bushes they ran over and greeted me in the time honoured way, snorts, sniffs, shy glances and loosened bowels. Endearing.
I hobbled down the hill to the pool and examined the boulders mentioned earlier, they were definitely made of some kind of stone. I hopped over the fence and and walked back to the car.
I hoped the other fort on my itinerary would be more engaging, less cowy, but more engaging.

Tornant Upper and Tornant Lower is a strange and frustrating place. Both times I’ve been there I’ve left with more questions than answers, confounded by what’s here, what’s said to be here, what may have been here once, and by my own limited ability to interpret all this (dis)information.

When you arrive at the farm gate that has the supposed tomb that’s marked on the OS map, you’re confronted by a small, ridged hillock that rises to about 20 metres from the road. It’s been well interfered with down through the ages and has that digged out, messed up feel to it. Not nice but not intimidating enough to be off-putting.

Burl has a stone circle here somewhere; so has Price. There’s a carved stone with passage tomb art in the National Museum that’s alleged to come from here, ‘reputed’ as the Inventory puts it. Price, on 12 September, 1928, saw a stone here “…with what appear to be incised markings, not spirals, but more like a labyrinth.” He says that it was on a ‘rath’, “…high up on top of the hill – which looks like it has been cut away for gravel.” He then goes on to describe the mound being surrounded by stones and says that they were dynamited. He returned there in 1949 – “Since I visited it in September 1928 … the stone with the concentric markings has been moved to the museum.” I’ve seen this stone in the museum. There’s a shot of it here. I’m not arguing that it doesn’t come from this area, but I am saying that where it’s reputed to come from, “high up on top of the hill”, does not appear to me to be a passage grave. That’s the one down lower, east of the ridge and the one that’s marked stone circle on Price’s map.

The mound on top of the hill, the normal domain of passage graves, looks just like that, a mound. It’s beautifully situated, with a strange gully to its east and not much else of distinction, save its position. There are extensive views to the east into the west Wicklow mountains – Lobawn and Suganloaf, and down the Glen of Imaal towards Lugnaquilla and further south-east to Keadeen. The mound rises to about a metre and a half above the ridge and has an almost flat top, with a diameter of about 5 metres. Pretty nondescript.

Down from this small ridge, directly to the east, is an overgrown mound. Now this looks more like it to me – there are some large boulders in situ that could be kerbstones. North-east of this flattened mound are, I think, the dynamited stones that Price mentions (dynamiting stones from prehistoric monuments? Who’d have believed it?) This circular structure is larger and may have contained a passage and chamber once (there could still be remnants but the whole thing is overgrown). It’s about 20 to 25 metres in diameter and has a field boundary cut into its eastern arc.

Over this boundary is another mound, almost like a satellite tomb as at Knowth. There is said to be a standing stone hereabouts but there was too much livestock around to go hunting. The real gem hereabouts, imho, is the rath about 400 metres away just slightly north of west. I’ve been here twice and have viewed it from the ridge and the road but have never braved the sheep-filled fields between me and it. It’s said to be an altered natural hillock, and from the distance is very impressive. Maybe the next time, if that ever happens.

Visited: April 14, 2014

As the accompanying photographs show, Hunebed D32 Odoorn is still largely buried under the remains of its barrow. Measuring 7.5 x 3 metres, this hunebed consists of 10 sidestones and 5 capstones, but there is no evidence of there ever having been either an entrance passage or a circle of kerbstones. The sidestones lie deeply buried in the sand, giving D32 a low profile. Of the capstones, three still remain on their supports while two have long since collapsed into the crypt.

This hunebed was investigated by Albert van Giffen in 1958, when he discovered a pit from the Funnel Beaker Period, containing two beakers which were dated at between 3400-3200 BCE, possibly associated with an ancient ritual.

Hunebed D32 Odoorn lies just under a kilometre northwest of the centre of the village of Odoorn. From the village centre, head northwards along Hoofdstraat, which morphs into Borgerderweg as it exits the village at the point where houses on the left give way to a patch of woodland.

Half a kilometre on you encounter farm buildings on the left, followed by a patch of woodland. Just past the farm, a ‘Hunebed Sign’ directs you along a country track to the left that heads towards these trees for about 200 metres. The hunebed stands just on the left, beside the trees, at the end of this path.

Visited: April 14, 2014

This is an impressive hunebed, and one of the easiest to visit as it stands on a well-used tourist route through the Exloo Forest. It stands in a grassy clearing to the north of Boslaan, with a car-park immediately opposite, across the road. Such proximity does the hunebed few favours, however: the many visitors have eroded the immediate surroundings of the hunebed, which can become muddy after rain, while in 2005 vandals spray-painted the stones in rainbow colours. Fortunately, the paint was quickly removed by high-pressure cleaning, but at a cost, as the natural covering of lichens was destroyed, permanently altering the appearance of the stones.

Hunebed D30 Exloo measures 7.3 x 3.4 metres and originally possessed eight sidestones and four capstones. Unlike the majority of hunebedden, which are orientated east-west, this monument has a north-south axis. When originally investigated by Albert van Giffen in 1918, only two capstones remained, but a third was later recovered and replaced over the grave. The hunebed was found to have five layers of stone flooring, providing headroom of 1.7 metres up to the capstones, so that there would have been room for people of that time to stand erect within the structure. Between these floors were discovered potsherds from some 80 pots (dating between 3400-3050 BCE), stone hatchets, arrowheads and a heap of cremated human bones. And buried just outside the hunebed, researchers found three decorated bowls.

To access Hunebed D30 from Exloo, head west along the main street, Hoofdstraat then turn up Boslaan (the last road on the right before leaving Exloo). Continue for just over a kilometre and take the road that forks left into the forest. You will find the car-park 250 metres farther on, on your left, and D30 is just across the road.

Visited: April 14, 2014

This hunebed lies in a patch of woodland about 1¾ kilometres south of Exloo, and can be difficult to locate. If you have a map of the area (a Google Map screen dump is ideal), these instructions will get you there in about 30 minutes.

From the centre of Exloo, head south along Zuiderhoofdstraat for 700 metres till its intersection with Zuideresweg on the east and Oude Veldkampsweg on the west. Continue straight ahead along Zuideinde for 50 metres then head left into Valtherzandweg. After an early bend, follow this long, straight road for 700 metres till you reach the crossroads with Boesjeskampweg (2nd on the left). Continue straight ahead, now along Exlooerzandweg, a quaint cobbled country road with woodland on your left and fields to the right of you. After 230 metres, a cobbled track heads left through the trees (Dalakkersweg), and after 300 metres (just a few metres before the path loops sharply to the left) you will see the hunebed lying in a woodland clearing on the right hand side.

Hunebed D31 Exloo suffered badly from grave robbers during the 19th century, and although reported as being complete in 1822, today, of an original 8 sidestones and 4 capstones, only 6 sidestones and a single capstone remain. Even so, this passage grave is so well worth the effort: it’s glade in the woodland is enchanting, and the stones simply exude character.

Visited 24.4.14

When visiting the stone circle this is an obvious ‘must-see’. Fortunately, as per the stone circle, I had the place to myself.

This was the clearest day I had visited the King Stone and the views over Long Compton were lovely.

I was looking forward to seeing the ‘wooden witch’ statue but unfortunately it has now been reduced to a pile of wood; still tied together by various bits of wire.

Despite having previously visited this site I didn’t realise (until reading the information boards) that a Bronze Age Barrow was discovered very near the stone.
I am not sure if the information boards are new or I hadn’t previously read them properly!

Visited 24.4.14

It was Karen’s birthday.
‘Where would you like to go’ I asked?
‘The Cotswolds’ she replied.
This came as no surprise as Karen loves the Cotswolds – who doesn’t?

After spending the morning in the delightful Stow-On-The-Wold we ended up in Long Compton for a birthday lunchtime meal.

Obviously, given the close proximity of the Rollrights, a visit to the stone circle was a ‘no brainer’ as the awful American saying goes. Particularly as I had recently been reading about this site in Burl’s book – Great Stone circles.

There were several cars parked in the lay-by (no surprise) but what did surprise me was that when I reached the circle I had the place to myself! I could see in the distance that the other visitors were all at the Whispering Knights – result!

The weather was lovely and I walked around the circle in my usual anti-clockwise direction. Why I do this I do not know, but it always ‘feels’ the right way to walk?
It really was great to have the place to myself on such a nice day.

Whilst walking around the circle I noticed that many of the holes in the stones had coins placed inside them. The information board stated that some of the lichen on the stones was between 500 and 800 years old – that is something to ponder.

The only other thing to add is that there is now a locked, metal honesty box as you go through the gate to the circle. £1 for adults, 50p for children – free after dusk!

Visited 24.4.14

Directions:
From Stow-On-The-Wold take the A424 south. Take the turning left for Idbury.
The camp can be found in the field on your left at the junction.

Unlike Ginger tt I couldn’t get very enthused about this site. There is little to see other than slight undulations in the ground. The site covers a fairly large area and occupies a local high point.

Each unto their own I guess but (for me) there isn’t a lot to recommend a visit – other than the ease of access.

Visited 24.4.14

Directions:
From the lovely village of Stow-On-The-Wold take the A424 south. Then take the minor road south towards the ‘picture postcard’ hamlet of Wyck. The Barrow is very easy to spot at the junction where you turn right towards Wyck. There is a trig point at one end of the Barrow.

You can park outside a ‘garage-type’ place next to the Barrow. The Oxfordshire Way public footpath runs right alongside the field where the Barrow lives but there is no public access t o the actual field.

The field was in crop and surrounded by a barbed wire fence. I therefore settled for a view from the footpath and this was fine as the Barrow is very close to the fence. It is large, for this part of the world, approximately 2m high x 10m across. In addition to the trig point it also has 3 large trees growing out of the top of it.

This is another easy site to visit and, like the Salperton Park Barrow, I am surprised that I am the first TMAer to write any field notes on it?

Anyway, this is a very nice Barrow to see and well worth checking out if you happen to be visiting the tourist hot-spot of Stow-On-The-Wold.

Visited 24.4.14

Directions:
From Cheltenham take the A436 east and then the minor road south towards the village of Hazelton. Take the first turning right (west) and the Barrow can be found in the trees, next to the road, on your right – near the junction.

The Barrow is easy to spot in the trees and quite a large one it is too. I would say it is about 1.8m high x 10m across. It is quite overgrown with the usual bushes / brambles etc. At least there are no large trees growing out of it!

On a day like today this was a very peaceful place to be. The sky was blue, the sun shining, not a breeze and the only sound to be heard was birdsong. Some of the trees appear to be very old and the floor was carpeted with patches of bluebells. This was indeed a good place to be.

This is an easy Barrow to find / see and quite substantial for this part of the world. I would certainly recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area.

Oddly enough E.H. has nothing to say about the Barrow

The O/S map shows an enclosure opposite the Barrow but again, I can’t find anything on E.H. to say what period the enclosure is from etc.

Visited: April 11, 2014

This is one of the more remote hunebedden, and requires a walk of some seven kilometres from either Midlaren or Annen, as there is no direct bus service from any of the larger towns or cities. But on a fine day, the walk to Hunebed D6 Tynaarlo certainly reaps its rewards, as this diminutive 5.5 x 3.1 metre Bronze-Age passage grave ranks as the most complete in The Netherlands: the only thing missing is its original sand and turf-covered barrow.

The hunebed stands in a tree-bordered clearing in Tynaarlo, about 50 metres after Stationsstraat gives way to Hunebedstraat. No restoration has ever been carried out on D6 Tynaarlo and all the stones continue to stand exactly as they have for 5000 years! Not for nothing is D6 often dubbed ‘the most beautiful hunebed in Drenthe’. It has, over the years, featured in a number of drawings and paintings.

As recently as 2010, an investigation revealed that the majority of the stones chosen by the hunebed builders for D6 consisted mainly of pink granite boulders, which are rare in this area. The shades are red, pink and light-pink, though there is no obvious pattern to their placement in the monument (for some unaccountable reason, this information is not provided on the noticeboard at Tynaarlo, but was found on the one beside hunebed D16 Balloo).

Hunebed D6 is the pride of Hunebedstraat in Tynaarlo. It is one of the best preserved megaliths in the Netherlands and still stands just as its builders created it. Twice every year, residents clean up the area around the monument and remove weeds and low bushes.

Visited: April 11, 2014

Hunebed D4 Midlaren lies parallel with the rear wall of the farmhouse, just a few metres northwest of its twin D3, and is in fact the first of these two hunebedden you will encounter on visiting the site (for directions, refer to Hunebed D3 Midlaren).

Hunebed D4 Midlaren is larger than its neighbour, measuring 14.8 by 3.9 metres. Originally with a complement of 14 sidestones and 7 capstones, all remain present save a single missing sidestone. The capstones, several still supported on their sidestones, are remarkable not only for their size but their regularity, as can be seen in several of the accompanying photographs.

The farmhouse beside D4 has been undergoing renovations for some months, and now provides a much more respectable backdrop to the monument.

This link leads to a short YouTube video about Hunebedden D3 and D4.

Visited: April 11, 2014

Hunebed D3 Midlaren and its twin D4 lie on the outskirts of the village of Midlaren, which can be most easily accessed by taking the No 50 bus from either Groningen or Assen. Get off at Bus Halt Tolhuisweg. The hunebedden lie along Hunebedpad, which you will find 250 metres south of the bus stop (in the direction of Assen). Follow Hunebedpad for 400 metres till you come to its T-junction with Schutsweg and turn left. About 50 metres ahead, on the right side of the road, stand two old farmhouses amongst a plantation of splendid mature oak trees. A ‘Hunebed Sign’ indicates the path that leads behind the first farmhouse, where you will find the hunebedden, hard up against the rear wall of the building.

Hunebed D3 Midlaren is built from some very large stones indeed, but it has a very untidy look as nearly all the capstones have slipped from their supports and now lie within the crypt of the grave. The hunebed is complete, but has never been restored, so you see as it has now looked for centuries, although, if you look carefully, you might see where cracks in some of the stones have been smoothed over with cement. D3 measures 10.7 by 4.4 metres and consists of 12 sidestones and 6 capstones, only the third one of which still rests on its supports. Despite the fact that the sidestones are deeply buried in the ground, the capstones are so enormous that Hunebed D3 has an imposing profile: indeed, capstone No 2, though now collapsed into the grave, still stands almost two metres tall.

Hunebed D3 Midlaren stands under the canopies of a plantation of mature oak trees, and the best time to visit is in early April, before their leaves have unfurled. On a sunny day, this is one of the nicest hunebed sites in the province.

This link leads to a short YouTube video about Hunebedden D3 and D4.

Visited: April 14, 2014

This medium sized hunebed measures 8.5 by 3.2 metres, and lies at the northernmost tip of the Valtherbos woodland between Klijndijk and Valthe—no more than two kilometres from either village. I visited Hunebed D35 Valthe directly from the Valthe Twins of D36 and D37, walking through the fields along Langhietsweg, then picking up Brinkweg then Westerweg from the west of Valthe. Where Westerweg passes a large expanse of woodland, you will encounter a ‘Hunebed Sign’ directing you along a footpath to the right, immediately in front of the trees. Hunebed D35 Valthe lies half-way along this forest edge, in an obvious clearling.

On first approach, only the tops of some of the stones are visible, as the remains of the original barrow are still sufficient to conceal much of the monument. Originally, this hunebed possessed 10 sidestones and a probable 5 capstones. Only two capstones (one still in place) have survived to the present day, and all the sidestones are deeply buried in the sand, some almost completely hidden.

Notwithstanding its somewhat ruinous state, D35 is most certainly worth a visit. The location is atmospheric, specially in autumn when the nearby heather is in full bloom.

I’ve tried to get to this tomb on two previous occasions, defeated both times by the forestry, the lack of detail on the map and the many gated bungaloids. Not today however, the archaeology.ie screenshot landing me right on top of it.

There is a field that comes all the way down from the cairn on top of Lugnagun into the townland of Blackrock. Up through this for about 300 metres, along the old path way and over to the north-east for another 300 metres and there she sits in the corner of the adjacent field.

When Ó Nualláin visited the site in 1989 or 1993, he saw much more of the structure than I could see today. The roofless gallery sits in much of its cairn, but any facade or larger stones are now covered by vegetation and soil, even at this early time of the year. There is evidence of the classic wedge tomb double-walling on the south side of the tomb. The gallery faces just south of west. The cairn is almost a metre and a half high.

From the back of the tomb, the view is dominated by the ridge of Kippure, Seefingan, Corrig and Seahan. Views to the west are of Blessington reservoir.

A kind of a disappointment as I was expecting to see a lot more of the structure, but a good thing that so much more than the usual skeleton remains.

Oldcourt ring cairn, robbed out cairn or barrow is relatively easy to get to. It’s in an area that has much of interest, south-west of a large habitation site at the top of Woodend Hill. There are great views to the south and the tree-line that contains Lugnagun passage grave is visible, though a daunting prospect across the valley and up a steep incline.

The cairn/barrow is about 15 metres across and the stony bank is visible at a height of .3 of a metre, though very hard to get a good shot of with all the rushes and stuff. I had her nibs in tow and even though I wanted to, I didn’t fancy the climb to the top of Woodend Hill with her on my shoulders.

Visited 18.4.14

Being such an iconic site, Paviland Cave is a place I have been desperate to visit for a number of years. My ‘close but no cigar’ visit of last year had only made me even more determined to finally gain access to the cave.

The opportunity for a re-visit was both unexpected and very welcome.

It was a beautiful spring day but I had been earmarked for painting duties! Sophie was out for the day and before long Karen could see I had itchy-feet and was less than happy at the thought of being stuck inside on such a lovely day. Karen then asked if there was anywhere I fancied going for the afternoon? I checked the tide times and found that low tide on the Gower was approximately 3pm. Now was my chance.

Karen knew about my previous failed visit and also knew how much I wanted to visit the cave. By 12.30 we had all piled into the car (Owen came with us in Sophie’s absence) and we were soon on our way – I was so excited!

I was a bit concerned about the traffic we would hit on a sunny bank holiday and sure enough the first bottle-neck was at (the less than delightful) Port Talbot. Once through that we again ground to a halt in Swansea. Clearly we weren’t the only people intending to visit the Swansea area today. The shop car parks we passed were full to over flowing – haven’t people got better things to do on a beautiful bank holiday than go shopping? It seems not.

I kept checking my watch and remembered how I had misjudged the tide last time. But what can you do when stuck in a traffic jam? After what seemed like an age we got through Swansea and onto the quieter roads of the Gower itself. To be fair to Karen she drove a quickly as she could (within speed limits of course) and we eventually arrived at Pilton Green.

Myself and Owen jumped out of the car (Dafydd wanted to come with us but I didn’t think it would be safe for him – given the sharp rocks I knew we had to cross) so Karen and Dafydd drove on to the car park / café / shop in Rhossili.

We jogged through the fields and down towards the rocky gorge. With great relief I saw that the tide was still out – hurrah!

We slowly and carefully made our way across the sharp rocks down onto the flatter part of the beach. I looked back to realise that the last time I visited and sat on the rocks (and was tempted to try to wade out to the cave) the depth of water would have been way over my head – so I am glad I didn’t try it!
We walked around to the right and there it was, up in the cliff face – Paviland Cave!

From the beach the cave didn’t look as big as I was expecting and we wasted no time in clambering up the rocks to get to the cave entrance. Outside the cave the sun shone in a dark blue cloudless sky and it felt like summer. Inside the cave it was much cooler which was welcomed after our jog and clamber.

I went straight to the back of the cave to take in the famous view of the teardrop shaped cave entrance looking out onto the (for today anyway) clam blue sea. I looked all around the cave and was appalled to see that someone had scoured the words ‘Myke and Christie’ onto the cave wall – I hope they are very proud of themselves? :(

I then tried to climb up to the high ‘upper chamber’ on the right. I was in two minds about attempting this as the cave wall is vertical and I didn’t want to fall and injure myself in here! However, there were very tempting natural hand-holes so I went for it! I managed to get up to the edge of the cave but I couldn’t find a final place to hold to get up into it. I did however get high enough to see that the cave sloped upwards to the left and that there was light coming in from the end of the cave – another entrance perhaps?

I then spotted the sanded over section towards the front of the main cave, presumably where the skeleton was found? The sand covered a Hessian sheet which I assume is to protect an archaeological dig?

We sat and pondered and I was explaining to Owen the importance of this cave and why I wanted to visit it so much. I also explained how the view out of the cave would have been very different to what we saw today! He found this fascinating – as did I.

At this point another family arrived, two adults and a boy of about 11. We said ‘hello’ and I had a quick chat to the lady. It was clear that she was the main reason they were visiting today! Myself and Owen went outside to explore the many rock pools and sea anemones and to leave the family have their turn alone in the cave.

The tide began to turn and we all made our way back up the rocks to the safety of the gorge. It wasn’t long before flat part of the beach became submerged and the cave once again cut off. I felt both elated and relived to have completed my ‘pilgrimage’.

We walked back up to the road (about 1 mile) and I ‘phoned Karen to pick us up.
One problem – there was no signal in Rhossili.
Only one thing for it – a 4 mile walk along narrow country lanes, in the blazing sun, to Rhossili. To say that Owen was unimpressed would be putting it mildly!

It goes without saying that this is a ‘must see’ site for all those able to do so.

A few tips when planning your visit to Paviland:

1. Despite my initial reservations it appears to be ok to park alongside the farm track opposite the public footpath sign in Pilton Green. There were several cars parked there and as long as it isn’t too muddy you should be ok.

2. The walk from the road to the cave is easy, through a couple of fields / kissing gates. However, once you get to the gorge the rocks are very sharp and quite difficult to cross safely. It is only suitable for those who are mobile and fairly agile. The rocks from the beach to the cave present the same problems.

3. There is no ‘phone signal in the area around the cave and I would advise you take someone with you. I would dread to think of the consequences if you had a fall and injured yourself / knocked yourself out when the tide turned.

4. It is obviously vital you check the tide times and make sure you don’t get cut off.

Visited: April 14, 2014

Hunebed D37 Valthe lies half a kilometre due south of the village of Valthe, just a handful of metres east of its twin, D36.

There is not a lot to say about this hunebed, which is very incomplete: of its original six capstones, two lie inside the passage grave, while the other four are missing altogether. For most of its length, the grave passage lies exposed and empty.

Despite this, the site is highly atmospheric and well worth the visit, surrounded by exquisite oak trees and expansive green fields. And of course, hunebed D36 lies only a few metres to the west, on the same site.