Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 28.7.13

Directions:
From the more famous Vatten Cairns (A863) take the narrow minor road south and park as best you can near the farm (on your left). Walk up the road until you reach the brow of the hill and hop over the metal field gate on your right.
Head for the highest point and the Cairn will soon come into view.

Despite the heavier rain and descending mist this was well worth getting (even more) wet for. The Cairn now consists of a low circle of stones although the central cist is in good order despite the missing capstone. Foxgloves were growing out of the centre of the cist which seems appropriate somehow.

On a clear day there would be great coastal views. The nearby Vatten Cairns were visible on the horizon.

All in all a good little Cairn to say hello to and well worth the small detour when visiting the ‘must see’ Vatten Cairns.

Visited 28.7.13

These are two very large Cairns, close to the road, and well worth visiting.
They were much bigger than I was expecting.

The northern Cairn is in better condition although its southern counterpart has the better views. Due to the rain / mist the views were somewhat curtailed.

Access is via a metal field gate and across a bogy field. All went well until I stepped into a hole and my right leg fully disappeared into the ground. There I was ‘sat’ on the wet grass in the rain – with a leg covered in black ‘bog water – such is the life of a TMAer!

Once I had regained my composure (and leg) I carried on to the Cairns and slipped and slithered to the top over the wet heavily moss covered stones.

I didn’t stay long due to the weather and a car full of people who had had enough for one day!

Visited 28.7.13

It is a long drive north off the A850 / B886 along an increasingly bumpy minor road to arrive at Trumpan and its ruined church. In saying that I do like an old ruined church and this one doesn’t disappoint. The graveyard itself is clearly well maintained.

It took a little while to find the stone (I had at first walked past it) and it is located near the entrance to the graveyard (on the right if memory serves). My O/S map refers to it as the Priest’s Stone. It is about 1.5m high and has a crack running through it in which many coins had been wedged. The hole in the stone doesn’t go all the way through and is actually quite small.

I am sorry to report that I failed the ‘finger test’ so I had better make the most of my time on earth as it doesn’t appear I have much else to look forward to!

I also spotted an old stone which looked like it must have been the font. That too had coins placed in it.

This part of Skye reminded me very much of being on Orkney. Even the headstones had the ‘hairy moss’ so prevalent on the Scottish Isles. This is a great spot for a graveyard with cracking coastal views (despite the rain/mist).
There are a lot worse places to be laid to rest, that’s for sure.

I have to agree with Ryaner below about this being one of the most impressive sites in the Burren.
It is similar to Dun Aeognus on the Aran Islands in that it uses a cliff face as a natural defence to the north.

Here is a link to an aerial view on Bing Maps to get a better idea of its plan binged.it/13C2kNd

I seem to recall that the valley to the north of it acted as an east – west transport link across the Burren so this would have been a controlling point on this route.

[visited 27/07/13] Standing alone in the centre of a field on the edge of Rostrevor, this stone is pretty much unknown by locals. We stopped at the gate at first, parking up and then just peering at the stone like onlookers to some private event, then rushing on as we had family to visit. The next day however I made sure we had ten minutes as we went past it so shinned over the gate and had a close look.

This is a decent enough stone coming just up to chest height. I had presumed it would be edge on to the direction of the valley but it’s weird cross section meant it was hard to identify any meaningful potential alignment. Its not hard to see why it is located here though, the views are great and the stone is at the start of a pass which leads up and through the Mournes.

Access is fairly easy, just a gate climb and a short walk across a grassy field from the nearest road. The OS Mournes 50k map isn’t exactly clear as to it’s location, until you realise the marker is some distance from the text saying standing stone in the field towards town from the cemetery on Kilbroney Road.

[visited 28/07/13] Unfortunately I only got to the edge of the field for this one. The large herd of cows and bulls, if the very clear keep out notice was to be believed, blocked my path to the stone. It looks to be a bigun though, over head height and standing proud on a knoll. I suspect the views over Carlingford Lough are pretty good.

Curiously an old photo shows the stone to be encased over half way up with a mound. My limited viewpoint hinted that a lot of that has gone, but a closer look is definitely needed.

Access isn’t possible without the farmers assistance, unless you are some kinda freaky cow whisperer.

[visited 28/07/13] To be brutally honest, I thought I hadn’t found this and had just snapped a picture of an amazing modern garden ornament. Upon reflection I really wish that was the case. The modernness of the house just makes the whole thing even sadder.

Access is great, though the houseowner might complain if you park your car next to it.

One of three previously unrecorded marked rocks found yesterday . Light not ideal but you get a rough idea.I’m sure that the stone is not in situ and has been dumped here , probably from a fairly recent development at the bottom of the hill .

Said to be a ring barrow, I guess that’s as good a name as any. Herity says that “The form of this site is similar to that described in the OS Letters as the ‘Rath of Cumhal”, giving the nearby town its name, Rathcoole (old Fionn again).

It’s on the southern slope of Windmill Hill, about 300 metres down from the road. The overall diameter is 80 metres, with the internal flattened mound about 30 metres across. Both fosses are better preserved on the south-eastern quadrant, the two almost a metre and a half deep.

I’ve seen double- (and triple-) ramparted raths before, but never a double-ditched barrow. It’s a thing of structural beauty, slightly spoiled by the nearby pylon and truncated on its western arc.

I had parked badly here and may have come the attention of the locals so I was a tad uncomfortable and didn’t stick around to fully appreciate this site. Still, another Dublin (the Kildare border is about 200 metres away) monument that I’d only heard about very recently – and one of substance at that.

Boherboy, from the Irish Bóthar Buí – yellow (maybe gold) road, has this stone pair that I pass regularly. Lily-Mae and myself stopped by today after having visited the barrow in Newtown Lower. The grass hadn’t been cut nor grazed in a while, leaving a golden brown meadow for Adam and Eve (yeah, I know) to bask in.

The male pointed stone is about 1.3 metres tall, the blocky female slightly taller. They’re aligned roughly east-west. They suit each other and one cannot imagine them separate.

The landowner showed up while we were here and was extremely friendly – these semi-urban stones are visited regularly and I had expected that he may well be pissed off with the damage to the gate, but no. He was here to see if it was worth cutting the grass for winter feed.

This monument is one I take for granted but I appreciated its beauty much more today.

Visited 26.7.13

Directions:
After visiting the two famous Brochs near Glenelg take the rough, minor road north towards the ferry terminal. Shortly before arriving at the terminal the two Cairns can be easily seen in a field on your right at the centre of the bay.

Two large Cairns next to each other. One was crowded with sheep whilst the other only had one sheep on it – perhaps he was ‘Billy (the goat) no mates’!!

Access to the Cairns is via the usual barbed wire fence and across a field of spiky grass; but you can get a good look at them from the road if you prefer. There are good coastal views to be had and when originally built these Cairns would have been very prominent to passing seafarers. Which I guess was the intention?

Not really worth the visit unless you were heading this way to catch the ferry to Skye.
I didn’t have the time or opportunity to have a look for the nearby cup-marked stone.

Canmore states:
‘The remains of two cairns on the brink of a raised beach. The eastern one is a turf covered stony mound 11m in diameter and 1.5m high. The centre appears to be intact. The other cairn is now a mutilated turf covered stony mound 16m in diameter and 1m high. The area is still traditionally known as a burial ground’.

‘A cup-marked stone, with some of the cups connected by channels is situated a little NW of the cairns. It is a large slab of natural rock by the side of a small hazel wood on the right of where a gate crosses the road to Kyle Rhea. At the base of the rock are at least 12 small, shallow cup-marks, one pair joined together in a barbell shape, and 5 grooves, approx 6inches long’.

Visited 26.7.13

We parked at the farm and noticed a hand made sign stating that the Broch was a 1km walk up a track. Karen stayed in the car while I, Dafydd and Sophie headed towards our goal. Sophie enjoyed herself splashing in the puddles and chasing the sheep whilst Dafydd was taking notice of the various items of farm machinery.

The track was fairly level but a bit rough. Low clouds hung over the mountains in this picturesque valley. The river gurgled away making its way to the sea in Glenelg Bay.
It was a very atmospheric walk, something Scotland excels in – no wonder I love this country so much.

As has been said, the Broch is in not as good condition as its more famous counterparts but is still worth the small amount of effort required.

The walk also takes in some wonderful scenery.

Visited 26.7.13

It had started to drizzle (in the Highlands this counts as being dry!) and we stopped the car on the rough, narrow road near Balvraid Farm. The others sat in the car while in the car while I hopped over the barbed wire fence to get a close up of the Cairn.

The remains are impressive and well worth a look when visiting the nearby more famous Brochs. There is a large capstone held up by 3 stones while a further two stones have fallen.
The whole Cairn is sat on a mound about 10m in diameter.

As with the other sites in the area good views abound.

Visited 26.7.13

Despite its size we managed to actually drive past the Broch before I spotted it while exploring its ‘twin’ up the road. There is a parking space and information board. Access is via a wooden gate and short path.

The half of the walling still standing is very impressive – pity the other side is gone.
However, enough remains to give you a good idea of how substantial these Brochs were when first built. (Doubt my house will look so good in 2,000 years time!)

You can walk a short way up the internal staircase which is an added bonus..

It is a long old drive along a narrow, twisting and often poorly surfaced road to get to these Brochs off the main A87 but in my opinion well worth it.
An easier route would be via the ferry from Skye if you happen to be on holiday there.

Visited 26.7.13

Not quite as impressive as its near neighbour but certainly worth a visit just the same.

There is room to park and a short but steepish walk will soon bring you to the Broch’s doorway. As with Dun Telve there are internal stairs you can walk up which is fun.
The walls are not as high as Dun Telve but still a decent height.

‘The best preserved Brochs on mainland Scotland’ the information panel proclaims.
I wouldn’t disagree as the only better ones I have seen have been on the Scottish Islands.

That’s another two Historic Scotland sites off the list.
All in all well worth the long drive out of our way (at least I thought so!)

If visiting the Brochs check out the ‘Wagon Café’ opposite Dun Troddan.
Definitely the most unusual café I have ever been to!
Is there a more unlikely place to find a café?

Visited 10.8.13

‘Be careful what you wish for – it may come true’ as someone one said.
Well, this was a point in case.

A couple of days ago I was up in these parts visiting the Cairns around Llyn Fawr. I was hoping to also visit the Cairns on Hirwaun Common but run out of time.
‘Wish I had more time, don’t know when I will be up here again?’ thought I.
Two days later here I am.

Following a less than successful visit the Brecon Beacons mountain centre (on the grounds I had left my money home and I couldn’t buy any food, drink or (most importantly) ice creams by card as they ‘don’t get a signal’ we headed home with two unhappy children, one unhappy driver (no latte for Karen) and me hoping for a quick look for the Cairns I missed a couple of days ago.

Somewhat reluctantly Karen agreed to my request and we soon pulled into the viewpoint described previously. The burger/ice cream van was still there but this only made things worse as he was sure not to take cards! Sophie had thankfully fallen asleep and Dafydd (still in a strop following the lack of ice cream) decided to stay in the car and not come with me – something I was later very thankful for.

‘I won’t be long’ I optimistically said as I headed down the road towards the common.
‘I won’t need my boots as it will only be an easy walk across the common’ I added.
How wrong could I be?

Hoping over rust field gate I followed the edge of the trees as this would give me the most direct route to the Cairn marked on my O/S map (Craig-Y-Bwlch). I soon discovered why even the sheep were keeping out of this part of the common!

Despite it being a dry summer and the last couple of weeks in particular had been good weather the ground became more and more boggy the further I walked. I could see that normally this field would be little more than a swamp. The grass was growing on top of ‘mounds’ which stood about a foot higher than the floor level – no doubt this would normally be a foot of water. Still, not too bad, even if my trainers were starting to take a bit of a battering and the ground got wetter and muddier.

SPLAT! – my right leg sunk up to my knee in blackish ‘bog water’ and down I fell – side-on into said ‘bog water’. My notes came out of my pocket and floated on the foul smelling water. My trainer nearly came off as I regained my feet. I was covered.
‘Good grief’ I said to myself (or words to that affect), may as well carry on now.

Onwards I went trying to get to the higher ground where the sheep were. (Who says sheep are daft? – they have more sense than me!). On I trudged, the going getting worse and worse. At times I could barely make any headway. Down again I fell. I was so glad Dafydd stayed in the car. There was no way he could have walked through this and there was no way I could have carried him. This was without doubt the worst walk to any ‘old stone’ site I had ever had the misfortune to endure.

Eventually I made my way to the barbed wire fence and was much relieved to get over it and onto the higher (and much drier) ground. The sheep soon scattered.
By now I was tired, wet, muddy and smelly. I looked for where I thought the Cairn was most likely to be and as luck would have it I chose right.
(Funnily enough on my recent trip to Scotland there were a few occasions when I headed for where I thought a Cairn should be and came up trumps ever time – I must be getting better at this!)

The Cairn is a good one. Only low with nearly all the stones gone but it does have most of the capstone in situ – something you don’t often see. The section of missing capstone is possible the large flat stone dumped on the side of the Cairn? I laid flat on the (dry) grass and peered in under the large grass covered capstone. Nothing to see in the gloom other than some animal droppings. Luckily the culprit wasn’t at home or I am sure we would have both had a fright!

There are cracking views to be had towards the Brecon Beacons and this is a good final resting place. The only thing spoiling it is the large open-cast colliery immediately below – creating a large ‘wound’ into the landscape. The yellow JCBs and lorries were scuttling about.
At least one day they will all be gone and the hillside will ‘heal’ itself.

I didn’t look specifically for the other two Cairns recorded as they did not appear on my O/S map. There was one low ‘mound’ which could have been one of them but there was nothing else obviously ‘Cairn like’.

On my return to the car I decided it would be best to go in a loop, staying on the higher, drier ground, and not the more direct route I had first taken. This proved to be a much better option and although I did have to negotiate one area of bogy ground it was nowhere near as bad as the way I had come – although there was still one barbed wire fence to get over.

As I trudged back to the car Karen’s initial look of annoyance (I had been a lot longer than expected) changed into a big grin as she saw the state of me. Laughter could be heard from the couple in the car I passed. I didn’t say a word. I took my trainers and socks off and put them in the bin – queue more laughter from said couple. I open Karen’s door, ‘you look like you s**t yourself’ she helpingly remarked. Quite.

Despite my misfortunes this Cairn is certainly worth taking the effort to visit. As I said it’s not often you see a capstone in situ and the views are excellent.

Access advice:
Park in the viewpoint car park for Llyn Fawr. Carefully walk north along the busy road (A4061) until you reach the sharp bend to the left. On the right hand side you will see an old rusty field gate with a low dry stone wall to the left of it. Follow the ‘track’ down and cross over the stream. Keep to the left hand side of the fields which is near the cliff face and the driest ground. Keep going and the Cairn will come into view situated on a small high point. DO NOT attempt the more direct route near the trees unless you are some sort of masochist!

Visited 26.7.13

Directions:
Right next to the A890 – just to the north of Auchtertyre.
Parking is available next to site

Not much to report really. The site is a small rock outcrop covered in ferns and heather. Therefore not a lot to see. At least it is easy to get to!

Canmore states:
‘Summounting a rocky knollis the foundation of an oval Dun. It measures 23m by 13m, with an outer wall face visible in the debris for most of the perimeter except in the west where the wall has mostly slipped away. The inner face is nowhere visible but the spread of debris suggests a wall thickness of between 3.5m and 4m. The entrance is not evident but may have been in the west at the easiest approach’.

Visited: May 19, 2013

Hunebed D20 Drouwen lies just south of Steenhopenweg in the village of Drouwen in a grassy, tree-bordered park. D20 is almost complete and still boasts all but one of its original six capstones. Up till 1998 only one of these was in place but, following restoration that year, all now sit on their supporting sidestones. As with its twin, D19, the entrance portal is well preserved, but what makes D20 stand out is its almost complete circle of 21 kerbstones: the positions of the missing six kerbstones are indicated by concrete slabs.

To reach this hunebed, start from the Markeweg bus stop in Drouwen, walk a few metres south to Steenhopenweg and turn right (west) into it. After about 350 metres, you will meet signs indicating hunebeds to your left.

Visited: May 19, 2013

Hunebed D19 Drouwen lies just south of Steenhopenweg in the village of Drouwen, shortly before it passes beneath the N34 highway. D19 lies to the west of hunebed D20 in a grassy, tree-bordered park and still has five of its original nine capstones in place. Two more capstones lie shattered on the floor of the grave. The entrance portal is prominent with four sidestones and one capstone in place. D19 underwent restoration in 1998 when two split sidestones were repaired and their capstone repositioned.

Hunebed D19 was the very first hunebed to undergo a detailed archaeological investigation (in 1912) when the remains of 400 pots, 14 axe-heads, 9 beads and 6 copper bands were unearthed. The latter are the oldest metal objects ever found in the Netherlands.

Many of these pots, painstakingly reconstructed from their fragments, are now on display at the Hunebed Centrum in Borger. Three of them are illustrated above.

To reach this hunebed, start from the Markeweg bus stop in Drouwen, walk a few metres south to Steenhopenweg and turn right (west) into it. After about 350 metres, you will meet signs indicating hunebeds to your left.

You can view a short video of D19 Drouwen on YouTube.

Yet another ‘Greywether special’, modern antiquarians partial to the serenity inherent in the ‘woodland clearing vibe’ could do a lot worse that to pay a visit to the slumbering chambered cairn of Bealachnancorr. In fact it’s not so much ‘slumbering’ as downright comatose. Hey, bring your insomniac friends and bank a fortune in deferred future goodwill, such is the tranquility on offer here.

Travelling on the A834 from Contin toward Strathpeffer, I take a minor road to the right at Jamestown and head approx east to locate the access road for Beallachnagore Farm. As intimated by Greywether I found parking to be less than straightforward initially; however I eventually squeeze in roadside beside an ‘electricity station’ (for want of a much better term) near the point where tarmac merges to dirt track. The farmer soon drives by, his friendly demeanour positive mute acceptance of my actions. So, walking up the aforementioned track to the farm, a footpath continues to forest’s edge and stile. Once across I follow Greywether’s simple directions; turn left, then right... hey, even I can follow those... and suddenly everything’s all right with the world, at least for a few hours.

OK, for a chambered cairn there’s not a lot of ‘cairn’ in situ, assuming there’s not a volume of stone within the moss. Which is always a possibility, I guess. However a significant number of chamber orthostats still remain erect. Pretty substantial examples of the genre, too, the impression formed by this ‘blissed out’ traveller that of the bare skeleton of a very impressive monument, albeit lacking capstone(s). ‘Blissed out?’ Hell yeah! I lie within the chamber and time seems to, well, do whatever the appropriate cliche dictates in such circumstances. Unless you happen to be an insect or bird, of course. No rest for such creatures, or so it appears, the former scurrying all over the place, the latter engaged in full on, noisy mating ritual. Yeah, everything’s in its right place, then. Check.

So, Bealachnancorr chambered cairn is more ‘chambered’ than ‘cairn’. But highly recommended to all heads nevertheless. Come and lose yourself for a while in the shadow of Cnoc Mor... and then go and ‘vitrify yourself’ upon the nearby Knock Farril. Simple pleasures, eh?

Balnabroich Farm is on the east side of the A924, south east of Kirkmichael, and has the two poster and standing stone nearby. Moreorless opposite this is the road to Stylemouth. After a quick conversation with the owners, several chickens and a very friendly dog I was very kindly allowed to park.

From here head uphill and jump over the gate. By this time it is flatter but keep heading east and climb the next gate, near a small weather centre, keep going until the next gate. Over that and the Grey Cairn can be seen. Looking south which today is bathed in sunshine looking glorious.

Keep looking south of the path and another cairn and hut circle (an excellent example) can be seen. I’ll discuss them in other fieldnotes.

A lot has been done to this cairn and the excesses of previous excavations can clearly be seen. It still stands at 27 meters wide and is 1.7 meters high. Originally it stood at over 7 meters in height which gives a fair idea of the damage done. Still it has impressive views and as I was to find out there is a lot going on in this area.

Visited 8/8/2013.

Well sited within rocky pasture overlooking the north-eastern end of Loch Craignish, with the wondrous Kintraw monolith and associated cairns located across the water to the approx east, I found the exposed chamber of Clach an t-Sagairt a joy to behold. Truly I did. As mentioned by those who came before, access is complicated a little by the proximity of housing. Although I’m not exactly enamoured with the thought of knocking on people’s doors, being a somewhat typically reticent Englishman, I would nevertheless recommend doing so here since this is a spot to simply chill out for a while without distractions.

Travelling south-west upon the B8002 at Adfern, take the ‘Soroba road’ uphill to the right near the bus stop. A little way along this look, again, to the right for ‘Bluebell Cottage’ (hopefully I’ve recalled this correctly) and duly ask at the house at the top of the cul-de-sac for access... i.e. not any of those beyond further to the right. The young lady answering the door knew what I was after before I had the chance to utter a word.... the ‘standing stones’, before you have the opportunity to infer any ungentlemanly motive ... readily agreeing to my pre-empted request, as of course a charming young lady would. Now this could have been due to my ‘devastating charm’. But I doubt it. Why, she’s even left a short length of her back fence free from the dreaded barbed-wire to kindly ensure stoneheads avoid damaging the soft bits when entering the meadow.

The monument is worth the effort, three uprights supporting a capstone (’1.8m by 1.6m and up to 0.3m thick’ [RCAHMS 1988]) to form a pretty substantial chamber within the remains of what appeared to be a circular cairn, albeit not that well defined a cairn. A chambered cairn, then. A couple of other stones stand close by including an ‘upright slab.. 1m by 0.15m and protruding 0.45m’ [RCAHMS 1988], together with what I took to be evidence of a secondary burial within the cairn. Then again maybe not? What is beyond dispute, however, is the manner in which the teeming downpour that greeting my arrival morphed into a beautiful, sunny late morning. Yeah, there are certainly many worse places to be than sat above Loch Craignish at Clach an t-Sagairt, hidden away in semi-obscurity. It seems the chamber was ‘cleared’ – as opposed to excavated – in the 1920’s when ‘ashes and splinters of bone’, together with fragments of pottery ‘said to resemble Food Vessels’, were discovered.

The monument deserves to be better known, I guess. But then again is doing pretty well as it is, thank you very much.

Visited 8.8.13

Great views of Llyn Fawr can be had from the Craig-Y-Llyn car park viewing point on the A4061.

There is an information board, picnic tables and if you are lucky, a burger/ice cream van!

If you also want to see Llyn Fach you will need to follow the ‘path’ west into the forestry – which also gives great views of Llyn Fawr.

Visited 8.8.13

Karen was out for the evening with her mother and the children had a sleep-over so I had the evening to myself (a rare event). It was cloudy but warm and dry so I wanted to make the most of my ‘opportunity’.

I decided to head up the Rhigos – that mountain road which is sure to close at the first sign of any wintry weather – although that was something I didn’t need to worry about today. I had my map and boots in the car so straight from work I headed west.

Although the distance from Newport isn’t that great you do have to contend with not only the ‘rush hour’ but also the narrow, twisting roads of the former mining villages you have to drive through. Tonyrefail, Penygraig, Tonypandy, Trelaw, Treorchy and Treherbert – names to conjure with but not greatest of places to drive through.

The road climbs higher and higher but eventually I arrive safe and well at the Craig y Llyn car park – complete with burger van, picnic tables and an information board which includes details of the Lyn Fawr Hoard. I also notice at least 15 crosses to (presumably) local people who again (presumably) have had their ashes scattered upon this view point. I read the inscriptions one by one and felt a little sad. The views from this vantage point are tremendous and you can see why people may want their ashes to be here. This leads me on to the whole point of my visit; to have a look at very much older final resting places of locals.
See, some things never change – what’s a good spot now was a good spot then.

I walked back along the edge of the surprisingly busy road (A4061) and the headed west along the ‘footpath’ towards the forestry plantation. The path skirts the edge of a long drop down towards Llyn Fawr – affording great views of both the lake and the countryside. The trees on the eastern edge of the forestry (as shown on my O/S map) have now been cut down and they only start shortly before I reach my first target of the evening – Garn Fach.

Garn Fach
I searched and searched for this Cairn but to no avail – despite it being right next to the track. ‘Topped by a modern stone pile 1.7m high’ – not even I could fail to spot that, despite the trees. The pile of stones are no longer there and as for the location of the Cairn? – your guess is as good as mine. I simply couldn’t find any trace of it and I know I was in the right place. Perhaps a tree is now growing on top of it?

I continued west along the rough path to reach target number 2 – Y Foel Chwern
This path by the way is called cylchoedd-a-dolenni (loops and links)

Y Foel Chwern
This Cairn was a lot easier to spot; mainly because of the painted sawn-off telegraph pole which now more of a yellow colour. The Cairn is covered in heather and a young fir tree is growing out of the top. There are many large stones sticking out of the surface. There would no doubt be good views if it weren’t for the trees all around.

A little further west brought me to my third target – Craig-Y-Pant

Craig-Y-Pant
This is no more than a low grass covered mound surrounded by trees. If you didn’t know it was there you would walk straight past none the wiser. Little else to report.

Finally it was time to head for my fourth (and final) target – Carn Foesen

Carn Foesen
I walked back to the spot where Garn Fach Cairn is supposed to be and then south along the track. You first pass an ornate metal sign/post (National Cycle Network) and you then soon come to the small cast iron boundary post and the adjacent Cairn.
The Cairn (for a change) was easy to spot and consisted of a low mound of grey stones with the centre hollowed out. What this does do is show the clear outline of where the cist is/was although it is now full of stones and I was unable to identify any edging stones of the cist itself.

I then turned my attention to the memorial to little Willy Llewellyn. I realised I had been here before, several years ago, before Dafydd was born. The memorial was covered in ‘gifts’ – teddies, toys, coins etc. I added a sweet for what it was worth (although it felt right to leave something). I am not a particularly emotional person (ask Karen!) but I was deeply moved when reading the epitaph. I can’t even begin to imagine how a small child of Willy’s age could have got out here? The terror he must have gone through and I didn’t even want to think about how things ended for him. Willy was only 5, the same age as Dafydd, perhaps that’s why it affected me so much. It may sound strange but I couldn’t bear to stay here very long.

I continued south along the track before heading east, back to the car park, via a road used by the forestry lorries. The first time I came here I actually drove up this road to park a lot closer to the Cairn/Memorial – although I doubt I was supposed to! In reality (at this time of day) there would be nothing to stop you driving up the forestry road as it does not have a barrier preventing access and the road is well made.

All in all there isn’t a lot to recommend in visiting these Cairns. It is a fair old walk from the car park, along rough paths, and the Cairns aren’t much to shout about.
I would suggest it would be better to stop at the car park, have a cuppa and a burger, and enjoy the great views out towards the Brecon Beacons and below over Llyn Fawr.

I had intended to also visit the nearby Craig-Y-Bwlch Cairns but once again time got the better of me. One for next time……………….

Visited: 2011, 2013

Hunebed D43 Schimmeres is a so-called Long Grave, dating from some 5000 years ago. It is the only structure of its type in the Netherlands although a few more can be found near Oldenburg and Schleswig Holstein in Germany. D43 measures six metres wide by 40 metres in length, completely surrounded by a tight circle of 52 large stones, each arranged with its flattest side outwards. Within this boundary are two smallish hunebeds. The smaller northern hunebed consists of six sidestones with three capstones; the southern one has ten sidestones, but just two of the original five capstones remain. Both hunebeds possess a single pair of entrance stones.

In a detailed investigation by Albert van Giffen in 1960, three sacrificial pits were discovered, two outwith the long grave and one inside it.

From Emmen Station, head north along Weerdingerstraat for about 250 metres then follow the 3rd road on the left, Walstraat till it ends at a T-junction with Noordeinde. Turn right and follow Nordeinde for 200 metres till you are level with Dopheide (the 2nd street on the right-hand side).

On your left (on the opposite side of the road), look out for a sign stating: Hunebed “Het Langgraaf” at the start of a dirt road which leads past a small-holding then through a small wooded area to D43.

Read more about D43 on Hans Meijer’s website Dolmens in the Netherlands.

Yet more information and photos are available on John Kuipers‘ website.

You can view a short video about hunebed D43 on YouTube.