Latest Fieldnotes

The farmer is apparently a perfectly nice bloke, we didnt come across him, his wife came out to us, and i’m glad to say she is also a nice, friendly and helpful guardian, she even apologised to us for not getting round to getting rid of all the thistles, knowing my own willingness to present a site in it’s best light I know how she felt, I bet she’s out there right now making the place look presentable. Thank you.

Burl says much on the site:- The name of the ring means ‘the spring of Gunnarr’ from the old Norse. The outer ring is badly pillaged with the remaining stones having a lye down. At the precise north just outside the ring are the two big impressive entrance stones. A slight mound within the inner ring contains the remains of a cist. Having architectural similarities with Castlerigg and Oddendale.

Oh, and the M6 is a bit on the too close side but it doesnt take much away from the site.

You can stay here for as long as you like, in theory, but the ‘liftings of the husbandmen’ (great name) is in such a sad state you probably wont need more than fifteen minutes before the draw of oh so many intact sites pull you away, so why not park on the pavement right in front of the field gate, you could nip across the field in your slippers, or maybe even lug an armchair with you, then you can sit in comfort as you give unsuspecting rail travellers the V’s.
(Not that road builders get away with anything)
When a stone circle gets destroyed it’s a bit like the death of a star (twinkle twinkle) they depart in so many ways, the whole thing could just be gone, only a single stone might be left, all the stone could be used for something useful but less so than it’s former self, this stone circle is of the Neutron star variety, much much smaller than it was, but with strangely high gravity, to stone heads at least, less than a quarter of it is left, but it’s well visited.

Nonsense aside, these six pink shap granite stones are still very big, easily visited, and forming a kind of arc, I hope The Eternal is right when he says the other stones are under the railway, as totally missing is worse than covered, even by a railroad, sort of. The circles still there, we just cant see most of it any more. Even in it’s destruction, it’s still part of a larger wider community of sites stretching for miles up along the M6.

You only have to glance at an OS map to know that the triangle of Dorset between Dorchester, Bridport and Portland is one of the richest and most interesting prehistoric areas of England. Better still is driving along the A35 on a bright day after leaving the colossus of Maiden Castle and heading towards Winterbourne Abbas and that amazing view of the rolling hills and cliffs and the sea to your south. It’s so uplifting it makes you want to sell up and move down there – now!

Today, however, it’s not bright and we’re heading east after a few days of walking and fossil hunting in Lyme Regis and we seem to be keeping just ahead of a huge rainstorm heading in from the south west. So it seemed a good time to stop off at the Grey Mare just before the impending deluge. It’s not a terribly easy one to find and seemed to be further from where we parked than we’d imagined, infact so much so that Mrs Cane gave up and headed back to the car before she could hear my triumphant exclamations as I climbed over a gate into the field where it stood.

Despite it’s relative remoteness it’s a charming piece of work and has the feel of a diminutive WKLB or Wayland’s Smithy with it’s big stone façade and has a very different look to The Hellstone which is a not too distant neighbour. The back of it appears to have been a largely stone construction as there are very large flanking stones visible in various places which you don’t often see at long barrows unless they’ve been seriously denuded of their earth covering. It’s also very well sited as there are tremendous views over the Dorset countryside and, if I’m remembering rightly, a view of Chesil Beach and Portland Bill to the south east. Having stretched my “just 10 minutes” into half an hour I made my way back across the fields vowing that I must return for a long weekend to this regional treasure trove.

Visited 13th August 2012

I’ve always looked at these stones on past visits to Orkney and wondered if they were once part of a great processional avenue between Stenness and Brodgar, and always marvelled at how fantastic it would be to have such a pair of stones in your front garden.

The fact that they were so close to someone’s house had always deterred me previously from approaching them too closely, instead contenting myself from taking pictures from the roadside. However whilst on a tour of the Ness of Brodgar excavations we were told by our guide that the house had been bought and gifted to the excavation by a mysterious benefactor! Since it was now occupied only by archaelogists on a tea break I took the opportunity after the tour to get up close and personal with the stones.

They seem to both align with Stennes as well as obviously being adjacent with the other structures being uncovered on the Ness, and it will be fascinating to see whether any further evidence of additional stones once having been present comes to light in the future, apparantly long term plans will be for the house to eventually be removed from the site to open up the landscape and allow additional excavations to take place on the site the house occupies (all depandant on securing the continuation of funding for the dig of course)

It’s great to be able to pay an unhurried visit to the stones in the heart of this amazing area of rich prehistoric remains, and keep your eye out for Corncrakes, the RSPB have been developing some Corncrake friendly environments along the Ness to encourage an increase in the birds numbers, we didn’t see any today but we had spotted a small group of them a couple of days previously early in the morning as we were heading out to get the ferry to Hoy.

Visited 12th August 2012

To my mind one of the finest standing stones in Orkney, and so easy to visit, as you head up towards the equally fantastic Brough of Birsay on the A967. The huge 12’ high bulk of the stone is unmissable to your left as you head north towards Birsay. We pulled into a nearby lane, just to the left as you pass the gate to the field, where it is easy to park at the side of the road while you visit the stone.

Although there are many stones on Orkney this one seems to have a real character, and is in a lovely setting near the coast, and looking down to its favourite watering hole of the Loch of Boardhouse.

Letting myself into the empty field through the nearby gate it’s easy enough to duck under the rickety barbed wire fence which cages in the stone (presumably in an effort to curtail it’s nocturnal yuletide wanderings!). A brisk Orcadian wind batters me as I hug the stone, but the gorgeous blue sky and shelter provided by the menhir encourage me to stay a while, and just take in the splendour of this huge stone which has stood here for so long, an ancient landmark even when the Norsemen were here, the name of the neighbouring farm, Stanger, coming from the old Norse ‘steinn-garðr’ meaning ‘Stone Farm’.

Soon I know we’ll have to move on down to Birsay, as the sun is bright and sparkling over the sea, beckoning us down to the coast, but you can’t ignore a visit to a stone such as this, just as long as you don’t get in the way of it’s drinking habits!

Thank you to those that fought to keep this circle for all of us to still visit and enjoy.

I visited the Nine Ladies for the first time a week ago today. What an amazing place it is. When I arrived there we’re a couple of elderly lady back packers having a rest on the stones and a traveling man hanging out in the sun with them. He was a really nice guy, blissed out with his acoustic guitar and hammock in the trees, not a bad life!

I approached in the car through Stanton on Peak, keeping straight on (left turn) onto Lees Road and didn’t follow the Brichover Road. If you take Lees Road then just keep going up the hill through the trees until you reach the brow of the hill where there is a lay-by to park and a path that will lead you towards the circle.

The Nine Ladies is a very magical place to visit for the first time, maybe every time, I look forward to the next visit to find out. The condition of the circle and the surrounding ground was well kept and mostly litter free, there was a really, really good and positive feel to the place, it regained a feeling of mystery and secrets despite the harsh treatment it has obviously been subjected to. It’s a little sad to read some of the field notes here and the sad state this place has been found to be in the past. I am happy to report I felt supercharged and in love with this ancient place that has survived and inspired people to make sure it survived against very tough odds.

My first visit to Arbow Low, and a great visit it was. The whole family all marched up there, leaving two quid in the little metal box for the two adults in our party.

After a while our youngest got bored but my daughter and I stayed and had a really good time exploring each stone and walking around the entire site, we even had the place to ourselves for a while. It was a beautiful hot dry day, a little overcast at times but when the sun broke through directly the light on the stones was amazing. This place has a real energy, it had a deep feeling of peace about it and is magnificent in scale. If you’re up this way then you have to call in and spend some time in the wonderful Arbor Low.

I’m with Jane on this being very reminiscent of Silbury, albeit a very small one, perhaps more Silbaby that Silbury then.

Anyhow, the view across to Arbor Low is great from here and the landscape itself very beautiful.

Access couldn’t be better or easier though, and still the building and farm building do not impose themselves while I sit here dreaming.

Kiss me Hardy!
Or on second thoughts perhaps not, these barrows are much more interesting.

On a September evening the Hardy monument car park is close with just the lay-by below serving the occasional dog walker. Parking is still easy though in the lay-by for the heath walk.
These barrows are still pretty fine specimens with incredible views, some well guarded from people with barbed wire but not from the Rabbits who we’re having a great time diving in and out of their burrows.

The late summer sun gave this place an other worldly feel as I drove up to the blind summit bathed in sunlight, shadows all around the car it was like driving directly into the sun and then dropping off the edge of the world into darkness.

This is an interesting site in that it offers such a clear view of Maiden Castle and the surrounding landscape. I’ve only ever seen these barrows from maiden castle in the past so this reverse view (for me) is very welcome indeed. It’s also an interesting place as it joins up Maiden Castle right across to The Hellstone via Black Down and the Hardy monument, across to Hampton Down. This is a must do walk for the future!

Visited 7.9.12

Directions:
On the side of the B4518 – just north of the junction with the side road which leads to the nearby Pen-y-Gaer Hillfort. There is room to pull over on the verge just after the road cuttings on your right – the Hillfort is directly above these cuttings.
Be careful as although this is only a B road it is very busy.

I jumped over the gate and headed up through the field of sheep. At the top of the field was a second gate to jump over. This then leads you into the western side of the Hillfort. Much of the southern/eastern part of the site is covered in gorse and bracken.

To be honest there is not a great deal to see other than the banks and ditches on the western side – although this is more than made up for by the great views.

The Pen-y-Gaer Hillfort is easier (and safer) to access and has better remains so would be my suggestion if you only have time to visit one of these Hillforts.

Visited 7.9.12

Thanks to Postie for bringing this site to light – otherwise I may have missed it!

This is a cracker of a Hillfort to visit with absolutely stunning views – they really are!

We parked at the viewpoint car park and Karen had a coffee from the Red Kite Kiosk while Sophie had an ice cream. I on the other hand decided to check out the Hillfort.

I walked up the small road behind the café and over the cattle grid (you could park here to avoid the walk if you so wished).
I then climbed over the metal field gate and made my way up to the Hillfort – a short but steep walk.

The tumbled stone walls are easy to see and it doesn’t take long to walk the full circumference of the site – whilst enjoying the views.
The Hillfort overlooks Bryn Tail lead mine (CADW site) also worth a look if you like that sort of thing?
By the way, I couldn’t spot the Cairn either!

All was quiet atop the Hillfort, except for the occasional screech of a bird of prey circling in the distance – a Red Kite perhaps?

It was a hot sunny day with only a light breeze.
Wind turbines were slowly revolving in the distance but it is the view over the reservoir which continues to capture your attention – it is splendid.

On the way back to the car I stopped to pick blackberries – what a great hobby this is!

This is definitely one to visit when in the area.

Visited 7.9.12

Now, I do like a pretty church setting for a standing stone and this is a good example of just that.

Parking on the main road (A496) you walk under the ornate wooden church grounds entrance and down the gravel path to the church.

The stone is easily found to the left of the church entrance.
The stone is approximately 4ft high x 2ft across.
As previously stated the stone is very smooth and had yellow lichen growing down one side.

I wanted to have a look around inside the church but unfortunately it was locked.
The church is in a lovely setting with mountains in the distance and a nice, slightly overgrown graveyard to investigate – if I only had the time!

Good place to visit this.

Visited 7.9.12

Directions:
In a field on the left of a minor road midway between the A499 and Dinas Dinlle.
There is room to park in front of the house which is opposite a metal field gate.
(Karen would like to point out that she thinks this is part of the lawn as it had just been mown – I on the other hand reckon this is not part of the property!)
NOTE – the standing stone is not visible from the road.

Hop over the gate and walk across the flat but muddy field (5 min walk)
The stone can be found in the second field on the left.

It is approximately 1.5 metre tall x 0.5 metre wide.
The stone has a great mountain backdrop.

Worth a quick look when in the area.

Visited 11.9.12

My penultimate CADW site.
Well sign posted; large car park and a level, information boards and a gravelled path leading direct to the site.
Nice and easy for a change!

Karen stayed in the car while Sophie and myself made the longer than expected walk (10 minutes) to the tomb.
As with nearly every site I visited on Anglesey this week we had the place to ourselves.

When seeing Bryn Celli Ddu for the first time it is an impressive sight – like a mini Maes Howe – without the need to pre-book a visit!

We first walked right around the Burial Chamber before entering from the far side.
During this walk I noticed a large stone in the next field – anything to do with the tomb?
Sophie was a little apprehensive at first but thought it was fun when I put her head light on. (This wasn’t really needed as it was fairly light inside)

The thing I was most interested in having a look at was the supposed ‘fossilised tree’ standing stone inside the chamber.
At first glance it just looked like a normal standing stone but the more I looked at it the more ‘tree-like’ it became.
The stone is very ‘trunk like’ – rounded like a pillar (or tree trunk!) and the side facing you does have ‘bark-like’ markings although the opposite side shows no such markings.
It would be fascinating to know if this is in fact a fossilised tree or not?

Either way, there was something I had never seen before in a Burial Chamber next to the standing stone – a Weegie Board!
On top of which as an ‘offering’ of a bunch of lavender (I think).
I wonder if they got a response?

It goes without saying that this is a ‘must see’ site.
Probably the best prehistoric site on Anglesey.

Carn Euny:
Visit date: September 3rd 2012

Aside from Zennor Quoit, this surprisingly made my short break in Penwith that bit special. Not normally being an IA Settlement person I nevertheless went to see Carn Euny while I was close by. Boy oh boy what a surprise I got because I got to see my first Fogou (pronounced Foo Goo I am informed) and it blew me away. It was like entering a Neolithic Long Barrow but without any side chambers and you went in one end and came out the other! In other words it was a tunnel but so much more which you’ll understand when you see it for yourself. To the right of the main entrance of the fogou was another smaller entrance which lead to a circular ‘room’ with a circular roof ventilator/light. It was this chamber that is the WOW factor and as I was filming it with my camcorder I couldn’t stop talking into its mic. Both the circular walls of the chamber and the straight walls of the main fogou were neatly constructed to their lower sections and had a breen/blue tinge to them but above that the quality of the stone laying became less ‘skilfull’ I felt. This is probably down to the reconstruction work that has taken place which in itself was disappointing because it appeared like modern construction workers hadn’t either the skill or not taken the time to equal our great ancestors quality of work. Prior to visiting a fogou I had understood them to have been a product of the Bronze Age (so I’d read) but it seems they are more from the Early IA. The construction of the stonework is probably a good indication of that compared to the Bronze or Late Neolithic.

I reached the site easily enough. Take the Sancreed turning off the A30 and simply follow the plentiful signs to Carn Euny. The parking space is on a firm standing and would be large enough for around 6 or seven vehicles. There are two paths on offer to reach the site from there although the one off to the right alongside the house can be wet and muddy as it goes across a field and a couple of stiles.
But I loved it here and had the benefit of a lovely sunny day which was such a bonus after the poor summer we have had in 2012. The layout of the round houses in the village is quite a charming sight and it was obviously a very close-knit community in its heyday. Loved it!

I took loads of pix but haven’t uploaded any as there are plenty of the same already on display.
Oh and one last thing...access to the site is FREE!

Little Hill VII proves to be a rather uninspiring end to the day. A very overgrown cairn, on a golf course. Not one to make a special effort for, unless you like golf (I don’t). I always feel sorry for barrows on golf-courses though. If they manage to avoid being turned into a landscaping feature (like a couple of ones on Ludlow racecourse), they seem doomed to be “in the rough”, where vegetation is encouraged to smother them and legions of pringle-clad middle-aged men assiduously try to avoid them. Shame.

The second trig-surmounted cairn of the day, The Beacon is less impressive than Gelli Hill cairn. It’s quite reduced and low, but it does boast similarly expansive views to many of today’s other sites, especially to the northwest where Llandrindod nestles in the valley below. Carregwiber fort can be seen, and the Radnor Mountains provide the backdrop to the northeast. It would have been a fair size, judging by the footprint and stonework protrudes here and there through the grass. Access is easy, a footpath leads straight to the cairn across a single field from the road. I don’t stay long, but head on to Little Hill VII.

I skirt the hill below Carregwiber fort, I had tentatively hoped to get a visit in but I’m tiring and quite cold now, so decide to press on. Instead I manage a quick stop at Carregwiber stone, which is a small stone that in many places would be dismissed as a rubbing post, but here we seem to be surrounded on all sides by standing stones so it’s part of a complex. It’s a shapely, tapering stone, set above a slope to give greater prominence and a terrific view of the Radnor mountains. The ambience is rather spoiled by the carcasses of a rusting car, caravan and assorted junk in close proximity, but don’t let that put you off (too much).

From the Gilwern Hill cairn I head back north to byway and past a scenic little lake at Ffrwd. A padlocked gate across the byway is accompanied by an chunky upright megalithic slab, spotted with yellow lichen and leaning against another smaller slab. Coflein places Ffwrd stone hereabouts, this fits the (limited) description, but is it “it”? The location is only approximately near the Coflein blue dot, so it’s not certain.

I head on over to the outlying stone. It can be seen from the circle, so isn’t hard to find in clear weather. Wedge-shaped, is it fallen, was it always recumbent? There are various smaller stones scattered nearby which would make for promising packing material, but might equally just be random scatter. It has very decent views of the big cairn and over the valleys and hills to the west and northwest, I guess maybe towards Pumlumon and the major watersheds of mid Wales.

The stone circle is close to the big cairn and should be really easy to find from it, look, just follow the fence northwest until it meets the bridleway, follow the bridleway along, job done. But it isn’t, because the ground is more up-and-down than you’d think and the fences have all moved! So it takes a while to locate the circle, Mr Burl’s description helps, although he doesn’t mention the big slab in the middle of the circle (off-centre). One of the new fences hems the circle in closely on its southwestern side, not like the open field shown on the current 1/25000 map.

The circle is a ruin, and even when it was brand-spanking new would have been a little underwhelming for anyone who’d been to any other stone circles anywhere. Perhaps they hadn’t though, or perhaps the ritual quality was so impressive that the circle was nothing more than a performance space. It was all about light and magic here, maybe. To be fair, the setting is fine, with nice views especially to the west where the ground drops down to the Wye valley.

The off-centre slab is intriguing, unsure whether it’s an original feature or a more recent interloper. Big though (see picture with map for scale). The other stones are pretty small, none more than a foot or so tall, some are buried – there are mole-hills inside the circle that are taller than some of the stones. Burl reckons it’s one for the “determined”, I won’t disagree as that should be enough to bring many TMAers anyway.

I spend a good while here, wandering around the perimeter rather than sitting as I’m feeling the cold a bit now – the sky has started to clear and blue patches have appeared but there’s a distinct chill in the air and my boots are squelching a bit from the earlier downpour.

Despite the confusion of fences, the Gelli Hill cairn is a big bugger, so there’s no missing it. It helps greatly with orientation and perhaps it was always that way, helping visitors to find the diminutive stones of the nearby stone circle over the millennia. A proper, stone-built monster cairn this, damaged by digging and the addition of an OS trig pillar to the cairn’s top.There are big blocks amongst the smaller rubble, perhaps there was a central cist of some sort? It’s reminiscent of the cairn on Bache Hill not far away. To re-inforce the point, the top of the Whimble peeps into view briefly through the cloud.

There would be great views of the Radnor mountains from here, but sadly the tops are still enduring a deluge and are hidden within a curtain of grey. Luckily for me, the heavy rain that marred the visit to Gilwern Hill a short time earlier has mostly passed over, leaving behind light drizzle and a substantial drop in temperature.

One field on from the ring cairn, I leave the comfort of the broad byway and head uphill on a footpath that leads direct to the cairns on Gilwern Hill. At this point, the cloud and light drizzle turns inconveniently into a proper mid-Walian downpour. The top of the hill is cairn II itself, a large grassed-over mound the best part of 20m across and well over a metre high, with a little walkers’ addition on top that I didn’t expect to find in such a remote spot. Evidence of the mound’s stone construction is apparent from protruding stones, otherwise it could easily be taken for an earthen round barrow. A modern post-and-wire fence cuts across the southeastern side of the cairn. Aside from the lashing rain, this would be a fine spot with extensive views, particularly of the neighbouring Gelli Hill cairn.

Gilwern Hill cairn III is supposedly close by. I can’t see any sign of another cairn here. I head on down the hillside, southwest, hoping to find cairn I. This is shown on the map, but I fail to see any sign of it either, as it’s at this point that I begin to realise that the field patterns shown on the OS map have been altered and replaced by post-and-wire fence lines in other places, as well as a re-routed farm track. These re-arrangements will come back more strongly later in the walk, but here it conspires to confuse me and I fail to find cairn I. A pair of red kites hangs over cairn II on the hilltop behind me; this is obviously a little haven for these magnificent birds.

First though, there’s the small matter of a ring cairn discovered on a late-night trawl of Coflein’s blue dots but not shown on the OS map. As I climb the hillside up towards the cairn, a red kite comes to check me out, swooping low above my head to display the characteristic forked tail of the species.

Nearing the hill top, a low mound appears on the right of the path, with a number of stones protruding from the top. Here it is! It’s a decent ring cairn, fairly well-preserved, nothing spectacular but nicely sited on a high-point, with good views of the surrounding hills. If you covered it in heather instead of grass, you could sneak it onto Stanton Moor as an embanked stone circle and you’d get away with it. Definitely worth the walk and shame on OS for missing it off the map (hooray for Coflein obviously). My newfound red kite friend comes back to see what’s occurring. Not much, actually.