Latest Fieldnotes

A confused set of fences and gates at the edge of access land appears to bear no relationship to what the map is showing me and I emerge into an area of limestone outcrops and broken pavement, in which somewhere – so the map tells me – are two cairns, the first stop of the day. Rather overshadowing everything is the panoramic view to the northeast, sweeping across the reservoir to the central Beacons peaks.

I wander around amongst the limestone for a while, not really looking in the right place and finding nothing cairn-ish. Eventually I come across the northern cairn, a turfed-over mound with limestone blocks protruding here and there. The centre of the cairn has been scooped inevitably, but not recently if the covering turf is any indication. Treasure seekers rather than walkers have disturbed this one, it seems. The view of Pen y Fan is obscured by a small stand of trees, but would otherwise be the perfect backdrop. I fail to find the other cairn and eventually decide that bigger and better sites await.

Visited on the 20th November 2011
We found this one by accident. Driving out of Castletownbere we saw it signposted and followed up the lane. You can pull in and park in a wide gateway, more or less opposite the circle. There is a gateway with information board, leading into the field containing the circle.
The circle has a diameter of 7.8 metres and has 8 stones still standing out of an original 13/15. One of the portal stones lies broken and a further 3 have fallen.
There are fine views to Bear Island

Visited on the 19th of November 2011
From Bantry direction take the left turning to Dromore from the R586. Go over the bridge and into the village and you will see the stone in the school yard to your left. There are plenty of places to park here.
Rather disappointingly set in the corner of the school yard. This monolith is nearly 3 metres in height.

Visited on the 17th December 2011
Also known locally as The Fingers or 5 Fingers
The row can be seen on the hill, from the school car park. For access drive towards Castletownshend and there is a farm on the bend on your left just before the Castletownshend sign. The farmer is the owner of the land, he was very friendly and helpful and will give you permission and tell you the easiest way up to the stones.
He told us to go back towards the school but to pull in on the left by the gate to Knockdrum fort and park there, as he wouldn’t be using the gate today. Cross the road go through the gate and head straight up and over a stone wall. Its only a five minute walk and you are at the stones. They appear as you reach the summit. Three tall stones standing sentinel over the whole of West Cork. With views stretching into County Kerry.
The stones themselves are as impressive as the setting. Three stones are still standing on a South West – North East axis ranging in height from nearly 8ft, to over 13’. There is a fallen stone at the North Eastern end. An original 5th stone was removed and now stands in a garden in Castletownshend.
As I arrived at the stones, a Merlin flew from a nearby bush.
It is a beautiful and peaceful place, I could have sat here for hours, soaking it all in.

Visited 9th December 2011
Situated further along the road from Derrynafinchin Circle. There is a pull in opposite the forestry. Just climb over the gate and head up to the stone.
Set on the hillside at the North Western foot of Conigar, overlooking the Borlin Valley this stone is over 6ft tall

Visited on the 9th December 2011.
From Bantry,take the N71 past Ballylicky and take a right turning at Dromkeal. Follow the Coomhola valley up through Courloom, Curramore and Derrynafinchin. As you come out of Derrynafinchin there is a left turning to the Borlin Valley and the circle is by the roadside on the right. There is a pull off where you can park, a few yards further on.
Standing at the roadside, the views here are stunning though the circle itself is looking like it has been treated more as a nuisance than a treasure. Seven stones are still standing but a fence runs right through it cutting off two of the stones which are in the field. One end of the circle has been turned into a mass rock used during the penal times.
The setting for this circle couldn’t be more perfect, Hemmed in on three sides by mountains, with Conigar to the West, to the East , the Coomhola & Borlin Valleys and beyond them the highest Mountain in County Cork – Knockboy.To the North is Carran. There is a standing stone, not marked on the OS map,just to the North, between the two roads in the middle of the field.

Visited on the 8th December 2011
As you enter Clonakilty from Skibbereen direction go straight over the first roundabout. Then take a left (sign posted Enniskean). Carry on up this road until you see a right turn for Shannon Vale. Carry on until the junction by the shrine. You should be able to pull in by the shrine. Walk down the road 50 yds and you will see the circle in the field to your left. You may have to clamber over the bank, though there are apparently, some steps in the bank to help you, but I couldn’t for the life of me find them !
The circle itself has 4 stones still standing and at least one fallen. There is a central stone of quartz, though I am not too sure about the antiquity of this.
I thought that the site was a little disappointing, looking rather neglected and forlorn, especially as brambles have started to take over around one of the stones.
The entire dog population of the neighbourhood seemed to all be barking in unison when I was there !

visited on the 5th December 2011 after looking in on the Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones.
Walk up the lane from the car parking spot by the stones,and you will come to a gate on your right (there’s a no unauthorised people beyond this point type sign !). Go through the gate and follow the track to the barn. The farmer was here, and he gave me permission and the best route to get to the circle.
Go through the gate to the left of the barn and follow the track down and to the right. There was a bull in here, which the farmer assured me was “docile”. Go through another gate and into the field. The circle is up on the hill. It’s a bit wet underfoot, but the worst of it is easily avoided.
This circle is in a lovely peaceful setting, with Dunmanus Bay to the North, Mount Corrin to the East and Mount Gabriel to the South.
It is the only stone circle on the Mizen peninsula. Out of eleven stones six are still standing and five lay flat with a central slab.
There was enough time to take some photographs and admire the setting, before the rain started, quickly turning into hale...... so I beat a hasty retreat back the way I had come. The bull watching my every move, but too busy eating to be bothered with me.

Rawlsbury is magnificent and affords spectacular views is all directions from it’s highest point.

This place isn’t just about the views though, the earthworks still retain their power and would have made any unwelcome visitors have to work extremely hard if they wanted to gain access, not least because of the climb up, which is approaching vertical in places.

Today it’s windy, very windy, especially here on the exposed height of Rawlsbury. My view is of the farmland below, the Stour, hundreds of sheep, field after field after field, squared off with fences and walls and small tracks and roads. Once inside the enclosure it feels much calmer, away from the howling wind, much more sheltered from the elements.

From here the other hills are neighbours, permanent fixtures on the horizon, everything else is far below, moving in a different time zone, a different world entirely.

The walk to King Down barrows from the Blandford Road, the B3082, makes the arrival here all the more special. Badbury Rings can be a very busy site to visit, it’s well used in all senses from dog walking to ritual activity and (it would seem) everything in between.
If you take the bridle way past the rings you will find yourself walking on an old Roman road as well as an ancient green road as you walk around this beautiful and comparatively remote countryside. Along the way you will be offered different perspectives of Badbury Rings, pass 700 year old Oak trees and leave all sounds of traffic far behind you.

The Barrows themselves are just of the bridleway on the crest of a hill within a freshly planted field. They are well visible at different points in the landscape. When up close with them they are found to be in good condition considering there is no trace at all of the other barrows that once shared this space.

I would recommend putting a day aside to walk these green lanes and to follow the Roman road, get lost in it all, eventually you’ll find your way back to Badbury rings as we did but feeling much more connected to the place and with a greater understanding of the positioning of it in the landscape away from the national Trust car park and country roads.

I had previously only seen Aldbourne barrows from a distance while walking uphill on a footpath towards Upper Upham. Today I visited for the first time, walking the ancient Albourne Trackway (see post by Chance) uphill out of the village of Aldbourne. It was a bright, windy afternoon; the track did indeed ‘feel’ ancient becoming a green path after about 300 metres out of Aldbourne. The landscape was Wiltshire through and through, though being further north and relatively close to the M4 motorway it is less familiar that the Marlborough Downs.

The four Bronze Age round barrows are large and undamaged with the exception of the third one which seems to have its top missing. What is remarkable about this site is its alignments. A disc barrow is immediately below in the next field, not visible from the barrows but just a short walk downhill. Looking directly south, at approximately the same height at the four barrows, the Giant’s Grave long barrow can be seen on the horizon.

22/01/2012 – Woke up to snow this morning. Not deep but didn’t fancy driving so we had a walk up Tyrebagger Hill and onto the stone circle. Many ways to get there but if you have time, it’s nice to combine it with a walk up to Tappie tower on top of Tyrebagger as well. Great views, all the way to the Cairngorms. Bennachie was all white in the distance as we reached the top but a few hours later it was just on the summit. I had hoped for a bit more snow at the circle but it was all melting fast. Still the sun was out and there was a nice blue sky. This is one of my favourites.

Whitelow is easy to find and despite living only a 15 min walk away it has taken me ages to visit here. I will definitely be going back. It is a good sight with good views over to the west and the cairn is in decent condition. It also looks like there might be the remnants of a stone circle around the cairn too but I am not 100% sure.

Visited 20th August 2010

Parking up next to a couple of camper vans we set off to find our third recumbent of the day. After a bit of poking about in the woods (at least I’ve got the O.S. map with me today!) we found what we were looking for and what a cracker it is!

On first sight I missed the recumbent, and thought this was a ‘traditional’ style stone circle, which would have been unusual for Aberdeenshire, but soon the dumpy recumbent boulder with one erect and one fallen flanker became apparent.

Sitting in a sylvan glade this lovely little circle has a fantastic atmosphere, although close to the road, and with several campervans about, it still feels remote and separate, although the remains of a campfire in the circle suggest that it is well visited.

After earlier showers the sun is shining again, the light lancing through the trees and dappling the circle with shadows. I prop myself up on the recumbent to write up my fieldnotes, with only the sounds of woodpeckers from the surrounding forest for company.

The recumbent seems to have the same south-easterly alignment as other RSC’s but as has been mentioned this site doesn’t seem to fit the standard pattern of the Aberdeenshire circles!

Out of all the recumbent circles we’ve seen this week, this one has the best atmosphere, the whole setting of the place is like a scene from a fantasy story, the creaking of the nearby trees like the whispering of Ents. Such a beautiful circle, though hopefully we will get the chance to see a couple more before we have to return to Muggleland (the midlands) tomorrow.

Heading downhill from Corringdon Ball stone row (30.8.2010), East Glaze Brook proves to be narrower and faster flowing than its western namesake, the water forced into a little fall by the granite rocks on its sides. Luckily it’s not wide enough to cause any real obstacle to progress. The long barrow, a skyline landmark for some time, has now disappeared beyond the brow of the hill.

There is apparently another stone row between brook and barrow, but my cursory look doesn’t reveal it and by now I am quite tired and hot, and still not quite at the furthest point out of the day, so I don’t press the point as much as perhaps I should.

Cresting the ridge, the slumped shape of the long barrow comes back into view. A real rarity on Dartmoor, this wrecked chambered long mound would readily recognise its Cotswold cousins, the principal difference being the much harder granite of its construction. Unfortunately, like many of its family it has been trashed. The chamber is now reduced to a collection of scattered stones, leaning and fallen uprights and a dismounted slab that was presumably the capstone. Cattle clearly trample around the remains, probably making rubbing stones from the uprights. The earth around the stones is being very badly eroded by these visitations. The mound itself is low and stands to a height of less than a metre. An even more trashed and reduced round barrow, cut across by a wall, sits quietly to the southeast. Despite all of this, the long barrow remains surprisingly impressive, partly due to its positioning against the skyline when seen from both east and west. The endless skies of Dartmoor and the solitude of this spot, far away from roads or houses, contribute to a strong sense of timeless place that many barrows in better states of preservation elsewhere lack. As ever on Dartmoor, I find it very difficult to imagine a woodland landscape in place of the wide open spaces of the moor. What change this mound has seen over the ages!

I spend a while here, in silence and solitude, but it’s a long, hot walk ahead and at length I return over East Glaze Brook to collect G/F. We head back to the old tramway bed at Glasscombe Ball, which as part of the Two Moors Way will take us all the way back to Ivybridge. It’s been a terrific day out, the Neolithic survivors at Cuckoo Ball, Butterdon Hill and Corringdon Ball, although less celebrated and visited than the numerous Bronze Age sites, remain an important and rewarding collection of Dartmoor sites to visit.

(30.8.2010) After leaving Glasscombe Corner stone row, with its ruined terminal cairn, we take a trackless route northeast, roughly following the alignment of the row. The hillside slopes downwards, towards the little valley of West Glaze Brook.

Even in this hot, dry weather the approach to the brook is muddy and damp – in winter this is probably a quagmire. The brook itself runs clear and quick, crossing it is a balancing act across uneven, slippery stones. Luckily it’s narrow and we make it across without incident. The hillside then climbs again, to a broad neck of land separating West Glaze Brook from its eastern counterpart. Over to the ESE is the rounded bulk of Corringdon Ball hill, while the slumped lines of the attendant long barrow, our ultimate goal for the day, are now silhouetted against the skyline to the east.

On this neck of land is Corringdon Ball stone row, one of the more well-known of the rows of Dartmoor on account of the multiplicity of its rows. It lies amongst scattered clumps of gorse, vibrantly flowered with yellow at this time of year, and the stones are very small, easily hidden in the short grass. In truth I find myself rather underwhelmed by this site, for reasons I’m not really sure of. Perhaps it’s the diminutive size of the stones, or the fact that the overall pattern is quite difficult to ascertain amongst the grass. Maybe it’s simply the heat of the Bank Holiday sun overhead. The terminal cairn circle at the eastern end seems strangely resistant to easy plotting by eye, with only an arc of stones cutting across the end of the rows to mark its existence at all.

From this end of the rows, the contours drop steeply again to East Glaze Brook and G/F decides she doesn’t want to make the final crossing, electing to stay under the welcome shade of some trees near to the row while I go on to visit Corringdon Ball long barrow.

This week I’m a refugee from some building work in my home; on Monday I visited Avebury on a bright and frosty morning. Sort fell in love with the place again after a period of disenchantment. Today, still on the run from building dust, I headed back out there with a walking companion. My friend parked in the West Kennet lay-by and we headed up towards the White Horse Trail in search of the Harestone Down stone circle. I first read about this site many years ago in Terence Meaden’s book ‘The Secret’s of the Avebury Stones’ (this was also the first book I bought about Avebury) but had never got around to visiting.

We headed towards East Kennet and took the green track up to some fields where East Kennet long barrow was visible. Following the White Horse Trail uphill we came to an area of rough grass on a hillock – climbed over what looked like a wooden horse jump to get up to a scatter of large sarsen stones – at first glance there did not seem to be any particular circle like structure, though we noticed one deeply grooved stone. What deeply impressed me, however, was the absolutely astonishing panoramic view. Stretched out before us was not only a great view of East Kennet long barrow but also clear views of West Kennet long barrow, Silbury, Avebury, and in the distance Windmill Hill. This must be one of the best views in the whole of Wiltshire.

Unfortunately, I discovered the battery in my camera was flat and I had left my spare charging so only managed to get a couple of pics before my camera turned itself off. It didn’t matter though, the clouds made the sky and landscape majestic – no photo of mine could ever do it justice.

From Harestone Down we headed to Langdean stone circle (also mentioned in Terence Meaden’s book). I looked back at Harestone as we walked away heading south and have to say a stone circle did seem to take shape around the tussocky mound. We stopped for a bit in a field with three or four sarsen clusters in it. Something about this field reminded me of Piggledene though the stones were not scattered as they are there.

I’m no archaeologist nor do I have any aspirations in that direction – I can only report on my impressions when visiting ancient sites/landscapes. My impression of Langdean is that it is a sarsen drift as there is a scatter of stones clustered in a valley bottom. It is true that one of these groupings of stones was circle like.

We followed a track back to East Kennet village, gifted with some superb views of East Kennet long barrow for most of our walk. Perched on the horizon with its resident trees shorn of leaves, it is a magnificent barrow – seen from the Harestone Down perspective it seemed to be very much in the foreground of this spectacular landscape.

A very misty morning certainly helps to add atmosphere to any site. Having said that I found Buzbury Rings to contain an incredible amount of atmosphere even after the mist had lifted, revealing views for miles in most directions, apart from looking North West where the line of trees obscure any view towards where Blandford Forum sits today.

The banks here are very shallow to be defensive, especially when compared to the nearby Badbury Rings, although if you imagine away the road, the golf club across the road and the fences surrounding the site, this is a high point in the landscape. If you travel from Blandford this in the highest point so far after leaving the town, climbing all the way. Heading in the same direction toward Wimborne Minster you will dip right down immediately after Buzbury Rings before ascending again towards the grander spectacle of Badbury Rings. The road being modern itself of course, so maybe this is still based on a modern viewpoint. Interesting though.

Another interesting feature here is the combination of a large outer bank followed by a second smaller bank, a ditch and then the inner bank to the central enclosure. Useful for keeping animals within perhaps but it does feel create a unique sense of space in this landscape.
These days it is left to the Birds, Badgers, Rabbits, Hares and judging from the litter in the lay by other human visitors, exploring this site.

Although Buzbury Rings is definitely less immediately spectacular than Badbury Rings, what Badbury Rings has in grandeur and scale, Buzbury rings has in it’s lack of sign posts, car parks, and a true sense of mystery alive and well.

The last time I was in this part of the world was 30 years ago as a young trainee at RAF Halton. Often we would go on runs through these woods. Not once did I realise there was a hillfort there, to be honest though after running up that hill it was probably the last thing on our minds. Nice to return and see the fort though. I followed the fitness trail which takes all the way around the outside of the site. Some great views as well.

[visited 27/11/2011] Relatively high effort to reward ratio this one, but worth it in my opinion. The stone is located within 5 paces off the bridleway and easy to spot. It is quite small and most of the cups are easy to work out despite being small themselves. Some would probably be classified as microcups if such a classifiaction were made.

It seems in a weird location, with nothing else within a mile or so apart from the Picking rods, though who knows what else is hidden on this high and barren place. Certainly there are walls which look very old up here (SK007907 ish for example), so I wouldn’t be surprised if this plateau was farmed in the Bronze Age. The high grounds containing nearby barrows (Ludworth Intakes & Cown Edge) are visible, though I couldn’t make out the barrows.

Access was ok, but very muddy and required me to cross 2 stiles. I parked near Pistol farm and headed along the tracks via Far Slack farm to the Bridle path which the stone is just off. A word of warning, I annoyed two “fierce” labradors at Far Slack farm who decided to chase me off their territory. As there was no owner in sight, I legged it to the stile at the bridle path. I’m sure they wouldn’t have attacked, but caution seemed prudent. On the way back to the car I took the more direct footpath which was more uneven but quicker.

[visited 27/11/2011] Mangled and abused but still standing defiant in the corner of a field (or 3). Someone, presumably the combination of treasure hunters and excavators in the 18th century, have removed the centre of the cairn, but you can still get a sense of quite how large this beast was. The views to the North are worth the effort even if you didn’t fancy seeing a cairn. Nice to know this lies on a boundary even now. Chisworth is probably visible if you had someone stood near it to pick it out.

Access is on a footpath from the nearest road to the South past Brown low and is over a stile or two. You’ll also need to navigate a field of long horned cattle.

[visited 27/11/2011] I had conflicted thoughts about this one. On the one hand its a sad site, unvisitable as it’s enclosed in a walled copse of trees, on the other, its well protected from the modern world and is unlike to suffer damage at any point except for tree roots. I walked as much of the wall as I was legally able, but there was no obvious way in for a sneak and I couldn’t work out which house / farm I should approach to ask permission to visit. Maybe I’ll be back for a closer look one day.

Access is from the other side of a barbed wire fence and wall and via a stile from the nearest road.

Visited the site today. A huge fort in its day commanding views along the Thames towards Reading. The only earthworks still remaining were on the western side of the camp, but you could make out the eastern edge quite easily by the crop marks on the slight ridge cutting across the field towards the small wood. A big fort in a lovely part of the world, and it’s not everyday you get to see Alpacas on a hill fort.

Killin is a lovely place to visit and the Falls of Dochart are simply wonderful. This is one of my favourite places in Britain and one I visit as often as I can – which in reality is once every couple of years!

However, until today, I didn’t realise that this is also the site of a prehistoric enclosure!

There is a large free public car park and it is only a short walk to the old stone bridge which crosses the River Dochart. In the middle of the bridge is a metal gate which is locked. The key is available from the folklore Centre. This gives access to the island in the middle of river which is the burial ground of the Clan MacNab.

Although I have been meaning to have a look around the burial ground I have never got around to it but I am sure it would be interesting to have a look at the old headstones. The island is covered in trees.

It also turns out that this island was originally a prehistoric site.
CANMORE states: ‘On Innis Bhuidhe, a long, narrow, island in the river Dochart, are the remains of a small promontory fort and an enclosure. The fort is formed by a ditch, with an inner rampart, cut across the island approximately 70m from its NE end. A modern path cuts across the centre of the ditch and has obliterated any traces of an entrance. The enclosure is roughly rectangular and measures80m x 26m. It is formed by an earthen bank best preserved at its NE and SW ends and has a maximum height of 2.2m’ – 20.8.1969

‘The monument comprises of the remains of two forts of prehistoric date surviving as a series of earthworks and occupies a long, narrow island in the River Dochart at around 110m OD to the Falls of Dochart’ – 26.11.1996

On my next visit to Killin I will make a point of visiting this site.

There is one obvious question to ask – how exactly did they get on and off the island in prehistoric times? The river currents are very strong these days, perhaps they were different then? Or perhaps some sort of wooden walk way was constructed?

Visited 14.1.12

There are 3 Barrows here and I am pleased to say that they are (just about) still visible.

I parked at the entrance to Channel View Farm and walked down the lane to try and find the Barrow closest to the road. I eventually was just about able to make out a very minor ‘mound’ in a grass field the over side of the hedgerow. Had my visit been in the summer I would never have been able to see through the hedge – it was hard enough with no leaves!

I then went in search of the other two Barrows.

I walked back up the lane and looked for a way through the impenetrable hedgerow. I was just about to give up when I saw a small gap where I could push myself past a thorn bush. (The public footpath showing on the O/S map simply doesn’t exist on the ground). This point of access will not be here for long as it was clear a barbed wire fence was in the process of being erected all around the field.

The first Barrow you come to is in the field to your left. This had been ploughed and it was just about possible to make out the tell tale sign of a low mound. This Barrow will not be with us much longer.

The second Barrow is faring much better. It is easy to spot and is directly in front of you. It is about 30 metres across and 1 metre high – grass covered. It is fairly close to farm buildings and as there doesn’t appear to be any public right of way I didn’t hang around too long.