Latest Fieldnotes

“If you would like to visit the stones, please contact us at [email protected], as we are the new owners and are happy for people to visit, but do occasionaly have animals grazing there, so would appreciate being contacted first. many thanks.”

Visited 18.3.12

After spending an enjoyable afternoon in the lovely village of Bourton-On-The-Water, it seemed only right to have a look at the remains of the Salmonsbury earthworks.

Salmonsbury is in the north of the village and there is room to park at the top of Moors Lane which is a private road leading to Moors Farm. We didn’t spot the ‘Private Road – no public access’ sign – honest! There is however a public right of way to walk up the lane.

At the top of the lane is a stile which takes you into the fields where earthworks are said to be. In all honesty (to my untrained eye) I couldn’t make anything out which was obviously man made. These are certainly undulating fields but it all looked natural to me! No doubt someone who knows what they were talking about would tell you different!

Visited 18.3.12

This was a lot easier to access than I was expecting.

Directions: Take the A436 west out of Bourton-On-The-Water. You will shortly come to a public footpath sign (Gloucestershire Way) on your left with room to park one car. The trees on top of the Barrow can be seen from the field gate. To get a closer look at the Long Barrow just jump over the gate and head towards the trees – 5 minute stroll.

The Long Barrow is approximately 25 long x 2m high. There are lots of small stones scattered all over the Long Barrow and I had a jump when a startled pheasant flew out from under a bush. I could see no obvious sign that the Long Barrow had been dug into – although no doubt it had!

As the surrounding landscape is fairly flat the Long Barrow is actually at a prominent position – something you don’t appreciate until you reach the site.

Well worth a look when in the area.

I was quite awestruck by this place – I wasn’t expecting it to be so spectacular! I thought it’d be another grassy bump, but it’s like a mini Nympsfield (in Gloucestershire) with fewer people and better views. Possibly my enthusiasm is heightened by the fact that this is the only ancient site I have ever reached entirely on foot, so it felt like a proper adventure. (I like adventures!)

The horned forecourt is still visible and the entrance is aligned dead straight with the distinctive peak of Harboro’ Rocks – surely this can’t be a coincidence? Other sites which can be seen from the barrow or very near it include the edge containing the Bonsall Lane rock shelter, Aleck Low and Minninglow (surprise surprise). There are probably loads more too which I just don’t know of/recognise from a distance.

I did wonder about the stone with the hole in it which is part of the separation between passage and chamber. Was it chosen on purpose, maybe to let the spirits out? I don’t usually go in for spirits or ritual or lands of the living and dead etc, so maybe they chose it purely because it’s interesting and the right shape.

Visited Early Aug 2011

A pair of undisturbed and so, undated bowl barrows. These barrows sit beside the old coach road that once linked Salisbury with Marlborough. This section of the coach road may well be prehistoric as it runs between numerous ancient sites. The barrows are now protected by a border of stakes as is the nearby milestone. The barrows are listed as a Scheduled Monument number WI10181 and are listed on the Wiltshire SMR as SU24NW600 and SU24NW601. The milestone is also listed as SU24NW527.
Although these barrows are hardly impressive and nothing really worth seeing, they are an important landmark when travelling on this area of the plain, especially when calculating your position with the O.S. map. The coach road is also a dedicated public byway and regardless of other military traffic running around the area, should always be open to dedicated antiquarians.

Visited 5th March 2012

A very urban standing stone, this menhir must stand a good 10’ tall. We passed it as we were heading down the A31 on our way to Castletown. I was a bit taken aback by the size of it, and how closely it stood across from the houses on Beach Road in Port St. Mary.

Parking in a small residential cul-de sac opposite the site we spotted two gates into the field, one of which, in the corner of the field between the A31/A5 junction, stood wide open, invitingly beckoning us into the field.

This huge stone is lovely, we sheltered in the lea of it from the unrelentingly bitter wind that seems to have blown incessantly across Man since we arrived.

It was nice to take a bit of time to stand with the stone, the huge empty field streching off before us. I was possibly expecting some curtain twitching from across the road, but either everyone was out or else they are just unperturbed by a couple of old hippy stonehuggers. The dark band on the stone described by Kammer had faded down to be barely noticable, but since the stone’s beard of moss only seemed to cling to its upper half I’m sure cattle still enjoy using the stone to scratch their itches.

One of the finest standing stones on Man, nicely accessible, it’s a lovely stone, and we didn’t feel unwelcome entering the field. This one is a must visit if you are near Port St. Mary.

Visited 5th March 2012

When is a burial chamber not a burial chamber? Arguably when it’s been dug up, partially destroyed and re-erected in a different location opposite a church without any of its previous context.

I don’t want to sound too harsh to the poor Ballaharra stones, as I’m generally in favour of restoration/reconstruction of ancient sites. But the four remaining stones here seem to have been reconstructed almost as a garden feature, by the same token if I collected some stones from a cairn on a windswept moor and piled them up at home would I have a megalithic site in my garden? The stones may come from the monument but the monument itself is long gone.

Still the stones themselves are pleasant enough, with two small trees bookending the site, although the proximity to the busy (for the Isle of Man) road spoils things a bit, as does the litter accumulating near the garden wall. Due to the reconstruction it is difficult to tell how the burial chamber would have been structured, since two of the stones were destroyed during its ‘excavation’ but it looked as if one of the stones was possibly cupmarked.

The information board, with its Stonehengesque delusions of grandeur, is still there but looking a bit faded now. We took a few photos and retired to the very good Tynwald Hill cafe for a drink in front of their lovely open fire.

16/03/2012 – Good parking in Lamington at NS 97833091. We walked along road to Baitlaws then took track west to Lamington Hill. After a visit to the summit with it’s single earthen bank enclosure we had a look at the two cairns situated on the west ridge of the hill. Cairn 1 is at NS 9929 3041. Cairn 2 is at NS 9942 3043. Cairn 1 is 10m in diameter and the pick of the two. Great view of Tinto from here. Very wet day.

16/03/2012 – Parked at Halmyre Mains hall (NT 17444919). Walked NE on road and took the track around the nursery. Headed SE on track up hill. Nice walk past cultivation terraces on the NW face of the hill marked 358 on OS map. Through now felled wood and we made the final climb to cairn on summit of Wether Law. The cairn is nothing to write home about but good view to the Pentland Hills from here. It rained on and off.

Bit of an enigma, this.... apparently only (re)discovered upon its hilltop during 1993 [in retrospect the question must be, in this day and age .... how come?!?] I only became aware of this chambered tomb’s existance thanks to the local archaeological trust, CPAT. Cheers, people. Consequently my frame of mind was, to be honest, more that a little ‘yeah, right... we’ll see’ as, facing down the local farm yard dog at Ty-croes, having parked at the road’s terminus [rough, but no problem here], I follow the continuing hard track, then grassy path uphill toward Bwlch Sych to the north-west. Here the fence line literally leads the traveller across the bisected remains of a Bronze Age round cairn (Carnedd Cerrig – reports of grave goods confirming authenticity) set overlooking the Afon Barog, another such monument apparently set below to the north (I can’t locate it, however). The positionning is excellent, with fine views... a bonus site always more than welcome.

From Carnedd Cerrig I follow the fenceline westwards to its junction with a north-south boundary. Here, a keen, ‘clued-up’ eye should discern the chambered cairn surmounting the left hand crest of the green hillside rising upon the western skyline. Unfortunately my vision possesses neither criterion, so I assume the cluster of stones perched above the deep gulley formed by the Afon Y Dolau Gwynion represents the shattered remnants of the monument. Yeah, should’ve gone to Specsavers, then. Struggling across the aforementioned watercourse, two prostrate stones, looking remarkably like capstones, apparently confirm my assumption. Oh well. Lovely spot, worth the effort... and more, or less, what I’d expected. Time for lunch, methinks. WRONG!

Thankfully, however, the usual Gladman ‘I’ll just go for a wander to see what’s over there’ kicks in to save the day. Well, it’d be rude not to, would it not?... barbed wire fences... or no barbed wire fences. And there it is. To be frank, a rather obvious chambered cairn, sitting in a fine spot crowning the crest to the approx south. Granted, the capstones are missing – what price they sit upon the ‘field clearance’ I’ve just vacated? – but numerous orthostats remain, the whole monument pleasingly substantial, particularly so for such an obscure, Mid Walian site.

Needless to say this chambered cairn possesses just about the perfect, windswept vibe. Hell, I’d be gob-smacked if anyone – save a CPAT dude – has ever intentionally ventured here during the past two or three-odd millennia, such is the ‘feeling’ hanging in the air. I mean, I only arrived at the correct location by chance... or – to be fair – thanks to an overly inquisitive nature. Thanks mum. What a gift, an inquisitive nature! Reclining within the roofless chamber it seems very odd, indeed, that this monument could have been ‘lost’ – to the point of oblivion – for so long. Granted, these bare, high hills sandwiched between the heather-clad Y Berwyn to the east and the mighty Aran ridge, are not exactly the most popular of hillwalking destinations, despite their proximity to Llyn Efyrnwy, so beloved of tourists. But nevertheless.....

So, feeling jaded by visits to too may well known sites? Happen to be in the upper regions of Mid Wales? I have an antidote, my friends. You won’t find this on your satnav. I assume, not having one of the bloody things. Or even on the OS map. But nevertheless it is here. I promise you that.

Visited 3rd August 2011

The Kivik bonus site! In English Penningagraven means ‘Coin Barrow’, as there was supposed to be treasure buried within it. It’s a very fine site within the larger grave field of Ängakåsen, and it’s amazing how much of this Bronze Age cemetery remains, and how little visited it seems considering its proximity to the Kungagraven.

The kerb circle itself is comprised of nice chunky boulders and the battered central standing stone, which was once broken into three pieces, has been neatly stuck back together (no ugly iron banding here!). Two cult houses (’kulthus’ in Swedish), smaller kerbed burial cairns, stand just to west of the monument, whilst another can be found actually inside the Penningagraven itself.

Without the trees which screen the site there once would have been views from Penningagraven out across the Baltic to the north.

It’s lovely and peaceful here, and this is an amazing place. As I sit on the stones in the blazing sun I can just catch a glimpse of the shimmering blue Baltic through the trees, butterflies flutter around me and I’m lost for words in the magical atmosphere here. It’s like being a kid in a megalithic sweetshop! Even the cows across the other side of the field are placid and chilled out by the atmosphere!

15/03/2012 – After visiting East Cairn Hill we walked the short distance here. West Cairn is not quite in the same league as East Cairn. Still pretty big but grassed over with drystone dykes and a trigpoint on top. Easy to combine a visit to both cairns on a walk from either side of the hills. We finished our walk by going over Byrehope Mount back to the car at NT 12635461.

15/03/2012 – Last time I visited the Pentland Hills it was sunny with blue skies all day. Today it was cloudy, cold and windy. The weather did pick up towards the end of the day though. Parked at cattle grid (NT 12635461) just before Baddinsgill Farm. Headed east up Mount Maw then followed ridge to East Cairn Hill and it’s cairn, west of summit. This is twinned in a way with the cairn of West Cairn Hill, 2 kms away. East Cairn is a big round cairn. Pretty impressive and well worth a visit. Very good view from it as well. If you have aversion to modern cairn ‘improvements’ don’t look in the top. It now has a path up the cairn and the centre has stone seating in it. Not good. After something to eat we headed off to West Cairn Hill.

14/03/2012 – Howburn Digger is right, this place is a cracker. In an area covered in hillforts, if you were wondering where to go, you could do worse than start with this one. Very good access and the location of the fort is fantastic, over looking where Biggar Water and Holms Water meet the River Tweed. The fort itself is protected by a chevaux de frise and just north is the remains of a settlement. A very good site indeed. Easy to lose a few hours here.

14/03/2012 – Good walkers car park in Broughton at NT 11973745. We headed NE along path to col between Clover Law and Broomy Side then north along ridge to the cairn on summit Pyked Stane Hill. Nice cairn this. It was a bit cloudy today and windy but the views from it were still good. Looped back to car via Penvalla and Trahenna Hil. Good area for walking.

About 350 metres down the road from it’s big brother ! This one is an oblong shape just over a metre high.

Watched this ring cairn/robbed cairn slowly become overgrown over the last 10years.

If it’s a ring cairn it’s a good one. And if it’s a robbed out cairn then it was a big cairn.

The National Monument Survey has this one down as a single Standing Stone, but it’s obviously a pair. The bigger of the two is a massive seven and a half feet tall and around three and a half feet wide and deep. The second stone is a mere stump.
There used to be another standing stone on the other side of the road and is still marked on the OS map but was removed a while ago.

13/03/2012 – After a coffee in Biggar we set off for Tinto in the hope that the cloudbase had risen by the afternoon. As we got to the car park, north of Tinto (NS 96423741), we could see that it had and the cairn was quite visible. Good path all the way up the north side of hill to top. We were accompanied some of the way by a little white dog from a nearby house. It seemed quite happy roaming the hill path on it’s own. The cairn is big and it’s anyone’s guess how long it must have taken to build. Tinto is a special hill, a must visit.

13/03/2012 – Good place to park south of Goseland Hill at NT 07203440. Short, steepish walk up to trigpoint then 500m NE to cairn. The cairn is pretty small but has a nice vantage point, looking NE to Broughton Heights. Quite overcast this morning. Headed back over Goseland Hill to car and a coffee shop in Biggar.

Visited 10.3.12

Directions:
Take the A4151 west from Elton towards Cinderford. Then take the minor road north signposted Pope’s Hill. When you arrive at Pope’s Hill go west past the impressive Flaxley Abbey (why is there an Abbey stuck out here on its own?) and keep an eye out for the public footpath sign on your left. This is opposite a small farm outbuilding and has a convenient parking space for one car next to it.

Karen, Sophie, Dafydd and little Ella-May (granddaughter) stayed in the car whilst I trudged up the path towards the Hillfort. The ‘path’ is popular with horse riders judging by the amount of muck and mud and it was with some difficulty I skirted around the worse of it. However, the higher up the path I got the less mud/muck I encountered.

The ‘path’ skirts around the north / west of the Hillfort I was looking for a way to come off the path and strike out for the summit. This was proving to be very difficult due to the dense undergrowth. Luckily enough I found an area of brown, collapsed ferns which looked like my best bet (this would also have been difficult to access if I had come in the middle of summer).

I made my way up the steep sided hill with the warm spring sunshine on my back. Now, either I am getting older or these hills are getting steeper? Either way the sweat was soon dripping off my forehead and it was time to take the top off – steady girls!

As I said it was a steep old climb but when I got to the top it was worth the effort. I only had time to explore the northern defences which consisted of a single ditch / rampart still a stunning 5 metres high in places! Had it not been for the trees it would be a tremendous view from this commanding of positions.

On the way back down to the car I noticed a slow worm sunning itself on the dry bracken. I had a quick look but didn’t want to disturb it.

All in all worth the effort although this site would only be accessible to those who are mobile and fairly fit.

This piece of rock art literally fell out of the gap in the wall behind it in 2008, having been placed with the carved face inwards when the wall was being built. Several such pieces have been discovered this way in the Carlow area over the past couple of decades.

The walls here are very substantial, piled four feet high or more and almost as thick. They cross the hillsides for miles around. Who knows how many more pieces are hidden within them.

This could be a great little circle. All five stones are there... still standing. But, as with a lot of sites, it’s been rather neglected. Filled with stones from field clearance and overgrown with brambles.
Trawlebane Standing Stone lays about 250 metres to the SW

12/03/2012 – Parked on outskirts of Peebles (NT 25953922). Followed old drove road SE to Kirkhope Law then south to Birkscairn Hill. Easy going under foot and the sun popped out now and again to say hello. Cairn is at summit. Big but very low to the ground (apart from modern cairn). It looked like it was made up of giant skimming stones. Great 360 view. Odd place to have a cairn but good view of it from the settlements on Dead Side. We carried on to Dun Rig then looped back via Hundleshope Heights to the car. Nice walk, bit cloudy.

Phew ! so much variety in such a small area !
The five stone circle has been incorporated into a field hedge and filled with rubble,but its still in good condition. It’s aligned NE-SW for the Winter Solstice. To the NE in the field above sits a standing stone, unfortunately now fallen !
In the field to the North West there is a Cillin and a Ring Fort. Then to cap it all off, about 200 metres t the West there are a variety of Standing Stones, a ruined Radial Cairn and a wonderful Quartz Boulder Burial. The cairn was probably damaged when the site was Christianised and became a focus for St Colman, who incidentally, the Townland is named after. There were two holy wells here on site and pilgrimages were held annually at beltaine, when Pilgrims would walk the penitential rounds.
Access is quite easy. From Cullomane Crossroads on the R586 turn left (if coming from Bantry), then take the first left (at a small crossroads) and the first right. This will take you up to a farm. Ask permission here to access the site. Then just follow the track. The Circle is in the first field. Then just carry on West. The gate on your right takes you to the single standing stone. The same gate, but then through the gate left for the cillin and ring fort. The gate ahead of you for the other stones, cairn and boulder burial.
Well worth the effort !