14/03/2014 – Hadn’t really planned to visit here today but we were close by and the sun was trying to break through the clouds so I thought we would say hello to the stones. Parked opposite the track to Old Wester Echt. We walked north and then down the track to New Wester Echt. The circle is in the field south of the farm. Three stones remain of what was probably an impressive circle when complete. They are all pretty tall and quite different to each other which I liked. Good view north to Bennachie and south over the long gone recumbent. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Latest Fieldnotes
March 14, 2014
Visited 8th March 2014
I’d been itching to get back here all week, seeing as it was just a five minute walk away from where we were staying, however every morning I got up to be greeted by either grey rain swept skies, or cold dank sea mists. Today however I was woken by bright sunshine peeking its way through the curtains. So enticed by the thought of a barrow before breakfast, I was up and out by 8am.
Just a short walk along the top of the headland above Priest’s Cove and I arrived at Carn Gluze, and now knowing why the sea mist had vanished, blown away by a bitter wind of such incessant force it made me homesick for Orkney!
The barrow itself is big. Standing in the shadow of an old mine chimney which looms nearby, it could at first glance be mistaken for the remains of one of the old industrial buildings, or the remains of a spoil heap, which is not helped by the 19th century ‘reconstructions’ of William Borlase, which only seek to confuse the layout of the site. Climbing onto the outer stone ‘collar’, I’m almost blown off by the wind, but clambering down into the space between the dry stone walls allows me surcease from the icy gusts, and the ability to inspect the cists a bit better and write my fieldnotes.
It’s certainly an impressive place, and amazing views are to be had out to sea, looking down to the Land’s End peninsular, but I find it difficult to get a handle on this place. It is very different in layout to most barrows and chambered tombs, and the radical alterations undertaken by Borlase in 1878 obfuscate the original layout to such an extent the monument as a whole loses something for me. I’d love to see a more sympathetic modern archaeological restoration undertaken to more properly bring out the wonder of this place.
My hands are freezing by now, even in the shelter of the barrow, and I’m too cold to stay much longer, so clambering out I bid the place farewell. I’m sure I’ll be back, I’ll need at least few more visits to try and work out this place!
March 13, 2014
Visited today courtesy of a good friend who now lives in Devizes – part of a long awaited trip to Old Sarum. The sun was shining and at Old Sarum we really did feel like tourists, walking around the old castle ruins and ramparts a few paces in front of a French family.
Figsbury Ring, off the A30, was a very different experience. By now the morning mist had cleared and the afternoon was Warm and Sunny .. how wonderful in itself that was in the middle of March. The first thing I noticed, although owned by the National Trust and designated a SSSI, Figsbury Ring is adjacent to some heavy duty MOD land and there are ‘Keep Out – Danger’ notices all along the right hand side of the hill fort as you walk towards it.
An unusual hill fort, univallate with an inner circular ditch. I did a bit of reading after my visit and there is a view that this is the site of a late Neolithic henge which was later utilized as a hill fort. On a grassland chalk ridge it provides great views towards Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral – though both were shrouded in mist today.
In the course of my reading I also came across this item in the Heritage Journal. It doesn’t appear to be posted on TMA so here it is –
heritageaction.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/figsbury-ring-a-monument-in-need-of-care-2/
Perhaps it is worth mentioning there were lots of rabbits around – we spoke to a dog walker as we were leaving who had just disposed of a rabbit picked up by her dog which appeared to have myxomatosis.
13/03/2014 – Parked next to the church in Leslie and walked up the road to just past Braehead farm. Easy access to the field and a short climb uphill to the circle. Just the recumbent left but what a stone. I loved the grooves around it. Great view and location. Well worth a visit.
13/03/2014 – The last few days have been sunny whilst I was stuck in work. I’ve got a couple of days off now and of course the clouds have moved in, often seems to be the way. Still at least the rain held off. There is a tea room (Old Post Office) at Chapel of Garioch we have been meaning to visit so I thought we better have a walk first to justify the cake eating.
We parked opposite the church in Tullynessle, south of Corrie Cairn. Walked north up the road to just past the houses at Roadside and then climbed up the field to the circle. No access problems.
First time here and I was really taken with it. Just the recumbent and one other stone left but the footprint of the cairn is good. Location wise, it is fantastic. Nice little cup marks on top of the recumbent as well. The place must have been quite a sight to see when the circle was complete. I think this is one of my favourite RSC sites I have been to, just for it’s place in the landscape.
Back to the car the same way then on to the tea room via Braehead stone circle for my cake, yum :)
Visited 12.3.14
Directions:
From Haverfordwest take the B4329 north. After about two miles you will drive past/through Poyston Cross. The Barrows are about one mile further along the road on your left hand side.
This is a busy road although it is possible to pull in at the metal gate which gives access to the field where the Barrows reside. There was livestock in the field so I settled for a view from the gate. It is no more than a long, low grass covered mound – you know the type I mean!
COFLEIN states:
‘One of two barrows known collectively as ‘the tumps’, 26m in diameter and 1.2m high, this barrow shows signs of having been dug into and is clipped to the NE. The other barrow is 112m to the west. It is 29m in diameter and 1m high. It has also been dug into’.
Visited 12.3.14
Directions:
From Parc y Garreg standing stone continue along the road east. The Barrows are in a field on the left immediately after the turning. You can park at the entrance to the farm drive opposite.
The Barrow is visible from the field gate as a low garss covered ‘bump’.
COFLEIN states:
‘One of three Barrows 30m in diameter and 1.4m high’.
Visited 12.3.14
Directions:
From Narbeth take the B4314 south-east. Continue south towards Ludchurch but take the turning left (east) at the crossroads just before you get to Ludchurch. The standing stone is about 1 mile along this minor road on your left. As with most other sites in this part of the world the stobe can’t be seen from the road due to the high bank/hedgerow. It can be seen from the top of the bank.
Since the previous TMAers visits there has been some serious changes to the site. There is currently a road being built right through the field in a north-south direction before turning parallel to the road (other side of hedgerow). There is a lot of construction work being undertaken.
I therefore had to settle for a view from the top of the bank.
On a more positive note the road isn’t right next to the stone so (other than spoiling the setting) shouldn’t pose any threat.
The stone looked pretty bathed in the evening sunlight.
Visited 12.3.14
Directions:
From Garn Turne Burial Chamber head back the way you came (east) to the crossroads and turn right (south). Take the first right (west) and you will shortly see bridleway signs pointing either side of the road. You can pull in (just) next to the bridleway sign on the left. Follow this bridleway (south) and you will soon spot Parc y Llyn on the far side of the field on your left.
The bridleway was extremely muddy and my boots sank deep into the mire. It is only a short walk (via a metal gate) and then a not-quite-so-muddy walk across the field.
The capstone has collapsed down into the chamber although it appears most of the main stones are still present? The rear of the chamber backs onto a hedgerow.
I thought the stones forming the back of the chamber were (although small) well preserved and quite impressive.
Although this is probably the least impressive of the trilogy of Burial Chambers I have visited today it certainly warrants a visit when in the area. After all, the tombs are so close together (within a radius of about 1 mile) it makes perfect sense to visit all three at the same time.
Pembrokeshire is a wonderful part of the world and brimming with prehistoric sites of all description.
I shall have to make the effort to come here more often.
Visited 12.3.14
Directions:
From The Altar Burial Chamber continue along the minor road south and turn left at the crossroads. Despite the high hedgerows you will soon spot Garn Turne Rocks on your right. There is just about room to pull over in a passing place. It is only about one mile south of The Altar Burial Chamber.
There was no obvious, convenient entry point into the field but given the time of year I was just about able to squeeze through the hedge – not recommended! Garn Turne Rocks and associated Burial Chamber are only a short walk away up an incline.
This is one of those sites where it is pretty obvious to see why the location was selected for building a chamber. Garn Turne Rocks dominate the surrounding area and (presumably) this would have been a special place in times past?
On a day like today you can see for miles in every direction.
The Burial Chamber has totally collapsed and there are several large stones scattered about. The capstone is massive, one of the biggest I have seen.
The farmer who had seen me earlier at The Altar Burial chamber was now muck spreading in the field opposite (what are the chances?) so I decided against climbing on top of the Garn Turne outcrop. After all, there is (technically) no public right of way to the site/rocks. In hindsight I wish I had gone with my gut instinct and ignored him – something I intend to correct in a future re-visit.
This was site two in my trilogy visit of Burial Chambers for today and (despite the collapse) they don’t come much better than this.
Well worth a visit but try to find a more sensible point of access.
Perhaps via the drive leading to the farm?
Visited 12.3.14
Directions:
From Wolf’s Castle on the main A40 follow the signs east for Little Newcastle. After stopping to look at the memorial stone on the village green to ‘Black Bart’ the famous pirate who was born here, take the minor road south. You will shortly pass a church on your right and cross over a river. As the road starts to climb you will see the drive to Whitehall Farm on your right. There is room to squeeze in here. Opposite is a metal field gate. Over the gate and follow the bank/hedgerow up the hill. The Burial Chamber will soon come into view; although largely hidden by the hedge.
It was a beautiful spring day. Not a cloud in the sky, no wind and warm sunshine.
The scenery as we drove across the bridge was one of the best I have seen. The woodland was carpeted in snow drops; an old, moss covered stone bridge spanned the babbling river – it really was a beautiful sight. Pity Karen had left her camera at home!
As regards to the Burial Chamber (I am sure of more interest to you) it was a muddy walk up the edge of the field. Although the bank/hedge/road appears to have cut the chamber in half it doesn’t overly spoil the site. A reasonably chunky capstone is supported by (I think) three uprights. Two at the front and a smaller one at the back.
Someone had left a small ‘offering’ of sea shells under the capstone. There are decent views to the east. It’s a great pity that the farmer decided that one of the supporting uprights would make a good place to wrap his barbed wire around when fencing in the field. Why he/she thought that in addition to the large bank/hedge a barbed wire fence was also required I don’t know. It is a common feature in this part of the world.
As others have said, the chamber is not visible from the road so you will have to walk into the field to have a look. The bush in front of one of the photos is thankfully no longer there.
A small amount of effort which is well rewarded.
I was spotted by a farmer driving a tractor jumping back over the gate but he didn’t stop or say anything!
Well worth a visit when in the area.
Visited 8th March 2014
On previous visits we’d just parked up in the lay-by and walked down the track to the stones, but today Men-an-Tol came at the end of our circular walk over the moors.
We approached down the path from Ding Dong mine, and all was well until we reached the dip at the bottom of the hill where all the accumulated rainwater runoff from the moors had collected into a swampy morass. Ellen was a bit perturbed about crossing the quagmire but with the famous last words of ‘Don’t worry I’m sure it’s not that deep’ I strode forward and plunged knee deep into sucking mud. Fortunately Ellen was able to extricate me from the bog whilst miraculously managing not to loose my wellingtons, and we gingerly picked our way through some tussocky areas just visible above the water.
After this it was all plain sailing on the rest of the walk. The stones are so small though they’re not really that noticeable from this direction until you get right up close to them, then seeming to magically appear from the moorland in front of you. We’ve got the place to ourselves, a rare occurrence, and it’s nice to rest in the sunshine by the diminutive stones. I’d forgotten how small they were, and despite lacking the grandeur of some of Penwith’s other sites, and if you wanted to be unkind, perhaps looking a bit like a garden feature (although this is exactly the sort of thing I’d give anything to have in my garden!), there is an indescribable something to this place, that grants it a magic all of its own.
I’m pleased to see no signs of cattle damage or erosion as I walk around the stones, although today I’m too tired and muddy to squeeze myself through the holed stone. Instead I bend down and look through the aperture, loving the perfectly smooth roundness of the holed stone as I run my hand around it. I know it was once supposed to be a stone circle, but it just seems to me so unlike any other monument of that type, I do wonder. Making the hole in the stone would have needed tremendous effort, and if the monument was once a circle with the holed stone as a just a perimeter stone set obliquely to the rest, why go to all that effort? I would have expected it to be more of a feature, perhaps a portal entrance or setting within the circle, or perhaps it was the case that the hole was made later in an orthostat, perhaps after the circle had fallen into disuse. It all just adds to the enigmatic mystery of this lovely place.
So after a good long ponder, we finally set off down the track which takes us back to the lane and the end of our walk, tired, happy, and with the prospect of a nice lunch in the Kings Arms at St Just ahead of us, exactly what a day out megalithing should be!
March 12, 2014
Visited: March 12, 2014
On a beautiful cloudless day, with snow-capped Lochnagar prominent in the distance, I set out to visit the possible Corrybeg Stone Circle.
Rather than follow the estate track up the hill, I took a footpath that led from the cluster of ruined buildings at the edge of the woods northwest of the Abergairn farm buildings and followed a boundary fence uphill into the trees. After about 450 metres, another fence joins this one from the right at the 430 metre contour. To reach the circle, follow this fence to the right and downhill somewhat, for about 100 metres, all the while looking to your left through the trees. The large south stone of the circle soon comes into view, situated on a slight rise, just above eye level, perhaps 20 metres from the fence.
Thelonious has said it all. It’s a stupendous location. Sadly, Lochnagar cannot be seen well from the circle, but walk a mere 10 metres east of the south stone and there she is, resplendent on this day under an unbroken mantle of gleaming snow.
This is a somewhat puzzling site as there is so little information to indicate definitively that it is a stone circle. The strongest point in its favour is the fact that the large north stone appears to be firmly resting on chock stones along its entire length, a situation that hardly seems natural.
Regardless, for anyone looking for a short day out, and including a round of Craig of Prony (532 m) and a visit to Abergairn Castle (a ruined tower house), this site is well worth a visit.
This site was visited by Canmore on October 5, 2015, and you can read a detailed assessment of the site there.
March 11, 2014
Knocklegan standing stone is now no longer standing, collapsed into the hedgerow and overgrown with brambles. I did a quick tidy up and revealed a roughly 2 metre long stone that would have been reasonably impressive when stood up, but now lies forgotten and ignored by the side of a pasture field.
Marked as a bullaun stone on the OS maps, this is a very unlikely candidate for that title. Maybe the hole/bowl is man-made, but I’ve read elsewhere that it goes right through the stone. It is however revered locally and has a rag tree beside it.
North down the hill from Kilree monastic site with its round tower and high cross is this rock outcrop. There may be a bullaun buried under the grass, but the visible bowl-like depressions are very natural looking. The most likely suspect is very deep and seems to go through the stone, a bit like the ‘bullaun’ north of here at Kilmog.
North west of Cerrig Cynant stone circle is the last of this hillsides ancient delights, another ring cairn. Coflein gives the same name to both ring cairns, Bryn Poeth Uchaf (or Isaf) but calls one a cairn and the other a ring cairn, this is apparently the ring cairn, but they both are really. Aren’t they?
The ring cairn is not on top of the hill, it’s positioning when compared with it’s sibling over there is more normal. Perhaps it was meant to be seen from the south by the farm house maybe. The ring is mostly just lumpy ground surface, I had to circle it entirely to make sure it was what we were looking for, and discovered it to be much more together at it’s southern end, I guess that’s what you’d expect if that was the direction from which you were looking up the hill.
That horrid reedy grass has taken over the inside of the circle but amid all this precious wild life habitat I saw a bigger stone perhaps a foot and a half long ???
So that was that, it took three years but I had to see it, I had to get there, you know, I just had to. The day was now drawing to an end, the sun was low and by the time we got back to Carreg Garn Fawr it was most definitely home time.
Sciatic leg saw to it that the drive was nothing short of torture, the prices we pay sometimes far exceed money.
After having just been to Bryn Poeth Uchaf ring cairn and been partly blown away by the site and the views, we headed optimistically in a north north west kind of direction. Running across our path was a linear earthwork, an old wall or dyke or something, anyway, from on top of it I saw a stone, a standing up one.
This is it, I knew this was it, a kind of euphoria spread through me, having failed to find it last time I came, by what I could now see was a mere couple of hundred yards. Drat.
We set about uncovering all the stones, a big one lay on it’s side on the eastern side, the tall pointy one I’d seen on the dyke was at the south end, smaller stones had to have grass pulled away to recover them. The ring is perhaps two thirds complete, Alken counted ten stones I think. On it’s northern arc it seems to have gone completely unless that is where the smallest stone are, and are now all underground. Tony, go and get your mates, oh yes, how sad.
The views were more set back into the immediate landscape, so although the view south was long it didn’t have the impact as from the first ring cairn.
One more ring cairn to find, north west of Cerrig Cynant stone circle.
There’s no easy way to get to this trio of sites, you either drive or walk through the forest immediately west of the sites or walk in from the south, having just seen Carreg Garn Fawr. I’ve tried the forest route once before, but having got onto the hillsides cold and wet children’s feet got us sent back to the car early. Very disappointed.
This time turned out to be considerably more rewarding. We leave the cairn and quartz stone behind and follow the path that skirts along the tree line, until a farm track takes us right and down towards the farm house that is I think also called Bryn Poeth Uchaf. This wasn’t the right way, initially,
The man who’d seen us through his kitchen window came out and asked us something, we didn’t quite catch what he said but we went over to tell him of our plan. He explained that a woman from Cadoo (Cadw) had come over not long ago, pointed across the valley and said that the bump on top of that hill was suspected by her of being something ( how she didn’t know it was already on Coflein I don’t know), oh, and he was from Cardiff originally.
He didn’t know there was a stone circle up there somewhere, and I don’t think he knew what a ring cairn was. He was however kind enough to point out the easy way over the small river and we had the run of the hillside, run being an expression obviously.
Having crossed the river we didn’t run up the hill side and not knowing really where to start we headed for the pointed out hill top bump. Getting nearer we could see a few tantalising somethings poking up out of the bump.
At the bottom of the hills hill top was a small squadron of large stones, clearance most likely. Then were up and on top of the bump and the somethings are indeed stones, one of them is very much like a stone circle stone, not one you’d expect of a ring cairn.
The ring is at one point about a foot high but on it’s opposite side it fades away into the ground, it is at the higher part of the ring that the two or three stones poke out of.
The ring is on a narrow north-south ridge, gentle slopes on the west but steeper on the east. An unusual place for a ring cairn, and a decent ring cairn it is too. But the view is surely what brought the cairns builders here, an uninterrupted view of the big mountains of the Brecon Beacons, those in the know will know their names but I’d only be guessing. Snow has fallen on their tops, sun shine is falling them now and some low clouds make them look like a distant heaven.
After having wondered at the ring cairn and its mesmerizing view we depart, and wander up the ridge and to the west looking for the star of this hillside Cerrig Cynant stone circle.
March 8, 2014
Visited 5th March 2014
This place has been high on my list of must see sites for ages, and I must say it didn’t disappoint. Parking up at the wonderfully named Woom Grumpus common on the B3318, the quoit is visible on the horizon from the parking spot. Wellingtons were an absolute necessity as to describe the path as ‘boggy’ would constitute a gross understatement!
Huge puddles of indeterminate depth straddled the path, but properly equipped for a change we soldier on, the walk up to the stone being just under a mile, soon though we arrive at this most perfect of dolmens. Wonderful vistas can be had from the site looking out over the sea, but skies are grey and murky today, low cloud clinging on and obscuring the horizon.
I squeeze into the chamber, but it’s a tight fit. Inside though it’s nice and sheltered, and some handy stones inside allow a perch out of the mud for me to write my fieldnotes. It’s wonderful here inside the quoit, I can hear the wind howling away around the stones, and I feel far from the mundane world, almost as if I’m about to be whisked off to the otherworld at any moment.
The four closely placed orthostats support a wonderful sloping capstone, and I can’t help but admire the economy of design, it’s a dolmen at its most streamlined. The entrance seems to be aligned south-easterly, and the granite tor of Carn Kenidjack looms away to the south in line with the quoit, and possibly the alignment continues on south to the circle of Tregeseal.
I can’t think of enough superlatives to describe Chûn Quoit, although one of West Penwith’s most iconic sites the necessity for a walk to reach it probably keeps away the casual visitor so the sense of isolation remains. A truly wonderful place, and I know I’ll be back!
Visited 5th March 2014
Although some of the places we’ve visited on this trip to Cornwall seemed very different to my past recollections of them, Sancreed Well felt so familiar I could have been here yesterday rather than ten years ago. As soon as we drove into Sancreed I remembered the phone box you park up next to, at the side of which is the path to the well.
The path seemed very overgrown though, and I began to wonder how long it might have been since someone last came this way. The answer was obviously very recently as when we arrived at the well the small glow of a freshly lit tealight shone out at us from the gloom of the subterranean well chamber, so someone was here very recently, despite us seeing no sign of anyone around, either on the path or as we drove through the village, spooky.
The well itself is a magical place, a little verdant grotto with an otherworldly feeling as you descend the steps down to the clear cold water, your breath misting in the cave like interior. Green mosses and ferns sprout from the side walls, and no matter the antiquity of this well the tranquil atmosphere it exudes makes it ever a sacred place.
I didn’t notice any phosphorescence in the well chamber, but it probably needs to be darker to see the effect. Although nearby is a modern stone Celtic cross, this still feels a pagan place, the overhanging hawthorn tree covered in offerings. I must say the offerings left here are lovely, several pyrographed pieces of wood hang from the tree, exhibiting an artistry that must have taken some time to complete, crystals, ribbons and windchimes are also in evidence, and there is a refreshing lack of mouldy old ribbons or plastic which sometimes blight these places, it’s evident someone cares for and regularly visits the place, and if I lived down this way I would too.
Visited 7th March 2014
The Merry Maidens are almost too perfect. A perfect circle of perfect little stones, in a perfectly mowed field, you almost feel the need to check whether inscribed somewhere on a stone is ‘copyright Disney Co.’ Beautiful but somehow superficially lacking in atmosphere, they are like the supermodel of stone circles, very appealing to look at but somehow a little vacuous underneath.
However on a day like today, with blue skies, and no-one else around (one of the advantages of coming to Cornwall this early in the year) all is forgiven. In fact I’m being a bit harsh as this is a really lovely place, just after visiting the wilder locales of West Penwith’s other circles, it all seems a bit too manicured here.
We wander around the ring though enjoying the sun, now warm on my back, and the gentle cawing of the crows in the next field, and I can see why this place is such a magnet for people, and it’s nice that after 4,000 years it draws folk still.
Visited 7th March 2014
The Blind Fiddler is visible over the top of the hedge which borders the A30, just up the road from the Sisters at Drift. Also handily, almost directly opposite is a layby for convenient parking to visit the stone.
Once over the stile into the field the stone is satisfyingly chunky, and surprisingly tall. The sun glints from flecks of quartz embedded in the menhir, as I approach to give the stone a customary hug. The landscape is too enclosed with hedges to get a proper view so it’s difficult to see any alignments, but the Drift stones seem to be pretty much directly to the east, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a link in the past.
The top of the stone is shrouded in lichen, which wraps around its top, like a mossy blindfold, and the stone from one aspect almost resembles a hunched figure stumbling forward, like a petrified Blind Pew (although it has been said I anthropomorphise stones too much!) but standing in this lovely meadow the Fiddler has a lot of character, and deserves more attention than just a cursory glance on a hurried drive.
March 7, 2014
Visited 7th March 2014
Shockingly on previous visits to the Merry Maidens I never knew that this place existed, yet it is literally two minutes’ walk from the parking spot for that stone circle, mind you that was in the days before I’d discovered the TMA website, and Mr Cope shockingly omits to mention Tregiffian in his magnum opus.
Today though after spending some time with the Maidens it was time to check out the neighbouring burial chamber, and what a pleasant surprise it is. A great curling semi-circle of stones for a forecourt, and surprisingly roomy chamber, make for an impressive monument. It’s a shame the road in effect cuts through the monument, and although the chamber is intact (albeit that the capstone is supported by a hardly subtle beam) when you step back you can see how the original curve of the mound is sadly curtailed. The cupmarked stone is really fantastic, at first I wasn’t sure whether it was a naturally marked stone or not, but the depressions on the stone were so deep they didn’t seem natural, it’s a great stone anyway, and I had no idea it was a replica until I’ve just read the previous fieldnotes! I also didn’t realise how close the Gun Rith menhir was as well, and totally missed out on seeing it, well just another excuse for a return visit, as if one were needed!
The way it’s crouched next to the road reminds me of a slightly more battered version of Arthur’s Stone in Herefordshire, but where as that place stands tall, Tregiffian seems to hunker down and sink into the road.
Tregiffian isn’t the quietest place to sit and soak up the atmosphere, as traffic regularly rumbles by, but it’s still a great place to visit, and so close to the Maidens that there’s really no excuse not to.
Visited 7th March 2014
Ladies and gentleman of the Modern Antiquarian, if I could only offer you one tip for the future, wearing wellingtons would be it.
They were certainly needed here, the field a churned up quagmire of deep muddy furrows, but with our trusty vulcanised footwear we didn’t have to worry. We’d driven past the Drift stones several times so far this week, peeking over the top of the field as we sped past like the coy temptresses they are, and with the return of blue skies and sunny weather today was the day to make their acquaintance.
There is a small car park next to the crossroads in Drift, where we left the car before walking up the A30 (thankfully fairly quite at this time in the year) before reaching the gate to the field containing the stones. I’m a little disconcerted to see half the field swathed in polythene and obviously planted with crops, but a clear path along deeply churned tractor tracks allows us to get to the stones.
They are a fine pair, the southerly stone still providing a shelter for veritable escargatoire of snails, probably distant descendants of those mentioned by Sweetcheat a few years ago. I like the way the church tower at St Buryan can be framed directly between the stones, but it’s hard to get a clearer view of the other aspects from the stones due to the proximity of the hedgerows.
The mud sucks at my boots as I walk around the stones enjoying the sunshine, but cautious not to step on the polythene or sink up to my knees in sludge, there’s nowhere really to just chill out at the stones so once the requisite photo’s have been taken its onwards to hunt out more stones.