Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 14.4.12

A short distance to the east of the main cluster of Barrows on Hingston Down are two more Barrows.

I only had time to have a look at the one nearest the road. It is approximately 1 metre high and 25 metres across – grass covered. It is easily seen from the road and does not look like it has ever been disturbed.

The second Barrow is slightly south east of the one closest to the road but cannot be seen from the road. The O/S map shows a further Barrow a few hundred yards further to the east of these two. Again, I didn’t have time to investigate.

Visited 14.4.12

Directions:
3km north east of Callington – just off the A390. Follow the brown road sign for Kit Hill summit. There is a large free car park right next to the Barrows so access is very easy.

After a visit to the Dupath Well-House (E.H. site) in Callington I just had time to visit this Barrow cemetery. (As an aside the well-house is a cracker and well worth a visit)

The Barrow immediately south of the car park is approximately 0.5m high and 10m across. It has been dug into and is well mangled. There are two stones sticking out of it.

The Barrow immediately east of the car park (the other side of the road) is approximately 1.5m high x 15 m across.

The next one along is 1.5m x 10m

The last of the Barrows was the other side of a very muddy field and had tractor tyre marks across the top of it! It is another mangled Barrow and looked to be about 1.5m high x 30m across

As I said, all of these Barrows are easy to see but you do have to jump over a field gate to get close to the 3 across the road from the car park. (Muddy)

There are good views to be had and I would certainly recommend a visit to see these Barrows when in the area.

The O/S map shows a further two Barrows to the south west which I didn’t investigate.

Visited 16.4.12

Directions: On a minor road east of St Columb Major – off the A39.

Even on a Sunday evening this is a surprisingly busy road so you have to take care.

The Dolmen is to the left of a bungalow opposite a lane signposted for the RSPB.
If you are careful you can just about find somewhere to pull over on the junction.

14.4.12

Not a visit as such, more a view from afar:
From the top of Brent Tor to be exact!

With the help of my trusty binoculars I was able to spot 3 of the Barrows – one of which looked to be well mangled.

My O/S map shows 6 Barrows in a line running East / West. There does not appear to be any public access to the Barrows.

Obviously a proper visit to the Barrows would confirm this?

Visited 14.4.12

Another church – Dafydd was delighted!

We parked in the large free car park and whilst the others stayed in the car – ‘if you think I am walking all the way up there……………….’ myself and Dafydd headed up the path.

The path was a bit muddy at first but soon dried out as we went uphill.

The defensive stone rampart / ditch is actually at the base of the hill and not further up the slope as you would expect. The curving rampart is about 4 metres high in places (from the outside) and 1 metre from the inside. Quite well preserved along the northern section.

We went all the way up to the church and had a look around inside. I picked up a booklet on the history of the site.

It was a misty old day with drizzle in the air and a cold, biting wind.
On a clear day you would be able to see for miles in all directions – but not today!

Well worth a visit when in the area.

Visited 14.4.12

Directions:
Immediately north of the village of Lydford (just off the A386) – where the road forks. There is a convenient parking space at the junction.

As part of my on-going attempt to visit every E.H. site I stopped off at Lydford to look at the castle on my way down to Cornwall. (There is a cracking church to visit right next to the castle with a funny tomb inscription of a clock maker!)

Anyway, looking at the map I spotted a ‘Tumulus’ just to the north of the village.
How could I resist?
Gallows Hill? – No prizes for what must have taken place here in the past!

The field in which the Barrow stands is surrounded by a hedge and barbed wire fence and I couldn’t find a way in. However, the Barrow can be easily seen over the fence so it’s not a problem.

E.H. state:
‘A large bowl barrow, 35m in diameter and 1.56m high, with no trace of a ditch. It is turf covered and very well preserved’.

Visited 21.4.12

Easily seen from the B3263 just north of Tintagel.

It looks like a mini Motte to me and has a large tree growing out of the top.

It is approximately 3 metres high and 20 metres across.

Nothing much else I can add.

Visited 21.4.12

I was originally going to walk here with Dafydd from Tintagel Castle but was too tired after carrying him back up the hill so decided to drive to the church instead. There is a large N.T. car park next to the church (which is worth a look in its own right.

It took a few minutes to actually spot the stone as it is amid the headstones in the grave yard and about the same height. The stone has quite a lot of lichen covering it.

I looked for the possible Ballaun hole and found it just above ground level.
However, feeling with my fingers it felt like 3 small holes in a triangle (a bit like the holes in a bowling ball) not one hole. Either way, the hole(s) is not very deep and didn’t look like any Ballaun hole I have seen in pictures.

Worth a look when visiting Tintagel Castle and gives good views out over the castle and along the coast.

Visited 21.4.12

Whatever your views on all things ‘King Arthur’, this is a great place to visit.

Whilst Karen and Sophie were happily looking around the ‘themed’ shops, I of course headed out towards the Castle/Cliff Fort with Dafydd. It is a bit of a hike from the town out to the headland and I’m afraid it would be difficult (impossible) for those with mobility problems. There are a series of steep stone steps to get up to the headland.

For those who are able to make it the views are simply superb. Waves crashing on rocks all around; fine coastal views on both sides. (It helps of course if the weather is good!) There actually isn’t that much to see of the castle ruins although the outline of the ‘Dark Age’ buildings are very interesting. There are several information boards scattered around and much more details in the guide book you can buy.

We then made our way down onto the beach to have a look at ‘Merlin’s Cave’ (Dafydd wanted to throw pebbles into the sea). This is even more difficult to access than the castle as the lower concrete steps have been washed away by the sea and you have to clamber over large boulders. There were lots of people about but you do need to be fairly agile.

Unsurprisingly Dafydd developed his ‘bad leg syndrome’ on the steep walk back up to the town and we agreed on a joint carry/walk solution. By the time I reached the top of the slope I was pretty well knackered. Perhaps the £3 I could have paid to have been driven up the hill in a Land Rover wasn’t so expensive after all?

All in all well worth a visit.
Don’t let the ‘Arthur’ hype put you off.

Visited 18.4.12

Directions:
The church is clearly visible from the B3279. Just follow the narrow lanes up to the church. There is plenty of room to park outside the church. Access to the church is either through the ornate metal gate or up the stone steps over the church yard wall.

Dafydd has a ‘thing’ for churches and he didn’t need any encouraging to go exploring with me although the church itself was unfortunately locked.

There is an info board at the entrance to the church although there is no mention of any prehistoric activity. The church yard is clearly circular.

This is a lovely place to visit, very quiet with only bird song to break the silence. The grave stones are slightly overgrown which I feel adds to the charm of the place. There were several very elaborate head stones which must have cost a small fortune – a wise investment?

There are decent views to be had in all directions and this was a nice place to visit.

Conglomerate rocks can often be confused for engravings and are generally avoided by engravers but this is a genuine example of some or all of the natural markings being enhanced .

Despite the planes overhead and the motorways nearby, I didn’t actually find this a depressing site like some of the previous visitors evidently have.

Maybe it’s because it was a bright sunny day, the grass had just been cut, and there was a total absence of feral children.

Readily seen from the round barrows upon the western flanks of Cold Kitchen Hill – which, incidentally, possesses a frankly superb long barrow to the east – it would’ve been rude not to have dropped in before heading home. So I did. Although, to be honest, another such monument – near the Court Hill plantation across the way – was beckoning, too. Some other time, perhaps?

Parking at the spacious entrance to Dairy Farm, I peered under the hedge before sussing that an (unsigned) public footpath actually runs past the site, entering the field from the bend in the minor road a little to the south-east. It’s immediately obvious that the view from on high does not deceive.... this is a very substantial round barrow, indeed, set within verdant pastureland. However herein lies the problem... literally, in the form of the bovine occupants of the field. Yeah, sadly – disgracefully – it would appear the southern flank of the monument has been seriously damaged by the clambering actions of said creatures, much of it crumbling away, in fact.

Ascending, carefully, to the flat summit of the mound to investigate further, the sight of several fresh cow pats tell their own story to these incredulous eyes. Hey, I’m well aware cows are able to climb... but, in my not inconsiderable experience, this is unique... the damage so appallingly obvious, yet preventable. Words fail me, they really do. How can the landowner not see this is wrong? I mean, HOW?

What price a simple fence to protect a priceless part of the locality’s ancient heritage? This is no mere eroded, grassy bump in the corner of a field. Oh no, this is a fine, seriously upstanding Bronze Age monument, mute testimony to those who worked this land before. I return to the car intent upon asking ‘why?’, only to see the farmer (I presume) disappearing down the road in his tractor. Perhaps it is as well...

The possible cup mark(s) on the standing stone to the south of the four poster are natural .

When the Stronach Ridge was clear of the present forestry the rock art site provided a fine view of some of the hills from Beinn Nuis to Goatfell , what had gone unnoticed was that the from the panels the sun would set over the summit of Beinn Nuis at the Summer solstice ,not in itself that noteworthy but there would also have been an eleven minute “Sun roll “ down to the bealach between Beinn Nuis and Beinn Tarsuinn . Unlike other sites where sun rolls can be seen from rock art panels the Stronach Ridge markings have quite a few radials which , if in the correct orientation , could provide an argument for evidence of intentionality and a possible recognition of the phenomena by the engravers , sadly the radials were grouped around 250 -280 with one at 290 degrees when 304 was what was required . This is in itself typical of radials in that they usually follow the slope the rock .

Although I approached from the Chittaford cist, in retrospect Doug’s nailed directions to this exquisite cist. Located immediately beside the western footings of the Roundy Park settlement – I assume the modern dry stone wall, apparently a fraction of the original thickness, incorporates a substantial volume of what stood before – the site is confusingly marked as merely ‘cairn’ upon my 1:25K OS map. Suffice to say that is a massive understatement. Indeed, not much of the ‘cairn’ survives, but a great deal of what it (presumably?) covered most certainly does... a very substantial, heavily built cist topped by two capstones. Albeit somewhat wonky ones.

The only disappointment is that I’m too much of a big lump to squeeze my frame inside... well, not without a serious risk of remaining within, nightfall fast approaching. Not a very good idea upon this wildly brutal Dartmoor hillside, it has to be said. As mentioned, the ancient enclosure stands immediately to the east, the later occupants clearly content to leave such reminders of times past intact within their Brave New World. Whether that was the result of genuine respect or downright fear of supernatural retribution is, of course, a moot point. Can’t exactly ask them, can we?

Wish I had more time here. But there you are. However now I must leave and quickly find somewhere to camp before nightfall... or else the wonder engendered within the traveller by this stark, windswept landscape will quickly dissipate!

Needless to say I was looking for the substantial Roundy Park cist... and assumed the ‘cairn and cist’ indicated upon the 1:25K OS map was one and the same. Wrong! But a fortuitous ‘wrong’, you might say. Don’t mind those in the least.

Although lacking capstone, I nevertheless think this is a great little monument, occupying a fine, if typically bleak location overlooking the East Dart River. Sitting inside to (partially) alleviate the adverse effects of the inclement Dartmoor weather – OK, just a few spots of rain, but the wind is up and it’s bloody freezing, clad in just my ‘lowland gear’ – I suddenly see the farmer approaching upon his quad bike (with trailer). ‘Here we go’, thinks I. But no.... the gentleman just wants to enquire if I need assistance. Receiving a ‘thumbs up’ he flashes a smile in return and proceeds to career beyond Roundy Park, engaged in ‘farmerly things’, moving sheep and such like.

I check the map.... the skyline rising above is home to the wondrous Assycombe stone row, not to mention the equally great Grey Wethers paired stone circles... and that’s just for starters. Yeah, I’ve been too long away from Dartmoor. However there is so much to see within these Isles. Another ‘cairn’ beside the Roundy Park enclosure catches my eye. Is that my original quest? As always, there’s only one way to find out. [Incidentally, it is, so combine the two for a nice little excursion].

As Mr Hamhead says, the solitary tree is the key to finding this obscure site. Head for that, trend a little to the right and, with a little perseverance, an audience should be yours.

I had always thought that the rock art site of Carr Brae near Glen Shiel took a bit of beating for a “ view “ but it certainly has some competition here . At the foot of the hill on the coast is one of Hutton’s unconformities .
The grid ref is as noted , 140 metres south of the Canmore one . The four “possible “ cup marks are almost certainly actual .
canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/293550/details/isle+of+arran+lochranza+creag+ghlas/

Access: Easy to find from the map on TMA, and signposted once you get fairly close. There’s a layby right next to it & it’s only a few paces across grass.

Visited Thursday 12 April 2012
Lovely, lovely, lovely – especially in the sun today instead of the pissing rain a few years ago!

The site seems to have been tidied up a bit & a shrub/tree that had been growing through the east-side seems to have been removed (though I only noticed this when I saw the photos from last time).

Nice glimpses of the sea through the trees.

NMRS record no. HY31NW 38 at HY32321741 in an area also known as Noltland. From Noltland ‘cattle land’ Hedges suggests that the original name comes from Nolt+Clettr ‘cattle rock’.but is unable to come up with anything in the vicinity that would have given rise to this name. I would suggest that perhaps the Vikings saw the broch mound as having been ‘calved’ by the burn. At the end of a long walk I wasn’t up to making my way to the broch but made observations from various places. To see the interior good views can be had from the Howe road that runs beside the Harray Manse. Going back onto the main road I first saw the broch by looking straight across from the site of the Knowe of Brinnanea where the burn meets the road. I find it difficult to realise that I must have been looking directly at it several times previously. Eye unaided I would have seen it as simply a fieldwall of white stones like shiny pearl teeth. Admittedly there is such a wall beside it, but with camera and binoculars the stone is truly monumental, much bigger in size and more regular in shape.

Visited 6th August 2011

Trollasten, the ‘Troll Stones’ is a small but perfectly formed dolmen. We initially tried to visit earlier in the week, stopping off at the village of Stora Koping to have a look at the carved rune stone in the churchyard.

Parking up at the church and after admiring the runestone we had a wander to the edge of the village to look for the dolmen. One difference you really notice in the Swedish countryside is the lack of hedges dividing up fields, and the dolmen was easily visible in a vast expanse of field stretching away in front of us. However if we wanted to visit it two problems then became apparent. Firstly we would have to dash across a train track with no obvious crossing, and secondly a huge combine harvester type machine was currently working the field. Not wishing to be crushed either by a passing express or some agricultural machinery we decided to try again another day.

Today though we drove through the village, spotted a level crossing on the edge of town, and seeing the crop had now been harvested, we parked up on the correct side of the railway track at the edge of the unfenced field and trekked towards the stones.

The site is in a bucolic paradise, hares played in the sunshine of the field, whilst buzzards circled overhead, and as we neared the dolmen rather than finding Trolls inside we instead disturbed two small deer who were sheltering from the heat of the day, startling us probably more than them as they raced away from the dolmen.

I squeezed inside the chamber, where it’s lovely cool and comfortable, I could stay here for ages. Trollasten reminds me of a slightly more diminuative version of the Spinsters Rock, and the airy inner chamber provides similar feelings of warmth and welcome. I’m really pleased we managed to actually get here rather than just viewing it afar from the wrong side of the tracks!

This Bronze Age field system/settlement is worth a look if you’re in the area.
Covering around 900 square metres there is plenty to see in the form of field boundaries, cairns and an enclosure containing some kinda 3/4 stone alignment.
March 2004 when I visited the remains were pretty clear of heather and moorland grass; wouldn’t know if that’s the case now.

Follow the track to the SE from the Bar Dyke, SK246946, for about a quarter of a mile until you are directly above the Agden Side Road.

15/04/2011 – Parked at the Loch Turret Dam and headed NE uphill to track then north along track to Cairn Choinneachan. I really like this one and the view is pretty brilliant. Good weather, touch windy. Carried on walking with a loop of the loch via Auchnafree Hill, Ben Chonzie and Carn Chois. A good day out.

14/04/2012 – If you happen to be in the area, look out for this erratic boulder reputed to be one of Fingal’s Putting Stones. It is near the top of Meall Clachach, north of Uamh Bheag and cannot really be missed.

14/04/2012 – Good car park (NN 71111608) opposite church in Glen Artney. We headed south up Beinn nan Eun then west over Beinn Odhar to the cairn and trigpoint near the summit of Uamh Bheag. The cairn is grassed over but the chamber is still visible. Headed back to the car via Am Beannan. Good weather if a little cold. The views from the cairn are very good.