Latest Fieldnotes

Our first stop was east of Penrith at Winderwath, to check out the 2 stones on the road to Winderwath Gardens. The first stone is unmissable, lying on the roadside and what a fine piece of stone it is. Sturdy and magnificent, it sits proudly on the side of the road, emerging from the hedge as you approach. However, had Fitz not mentioned the 2nd stone lying in the field behind we would never have realised it was there, so thick was the hedgerow! We tried and tried to find a place to peek through and see it clearly but in the end I had to crawl through some nettles and brambles, poke my camera through the fence, point it in the general direction and just hope something came out! Luckily it did, but we couldn’t see enough of this 2nd stone to tell how similar (or otherwise) it may have been to the one still standing. However, the weather had cleared, the sun was shining and we were starting to get stone-fever, so we continued on to the next site.

Visited 13.8.11

I saw this marked on the O/S map so just had to visit.

The Barrow is situated in a wood on the south side of a minor road to the west of Stow – On – The – Wold.

The Barrow is completely overgrown with trees / bushes and head height brambles. It was impossible to get close to the Barrow or make out any features. It is literally now a large mound of brambles amongst dense undergrowth near the road.
It would be easy to miss it completely unless you were looking for it.

Definitely not worth a battle with the undergrowth for!

Visited 13.8.11

Another site I spotted on the O/S map and therefore another site to visit!

There are certainly a lot of sites in this part of the world so there must have been a lot going on in days of old. Probably more than is going on in the area today?

This site was one of the trickiest to visit today. The Barrow could be seen from the road but I was unable to find a way into the field through the high hedgerow.
The Barrow was approximately 1 metre high x 20 metres across – covered in long grass.

Not a lot to see although there must be access for a closer look from somewhere.

‘Visited’ 13.8.11

Saw these 2 Barrows marked on the O/S map and an entry on Megalithic.
I also found an entry in the excellent Prehistoric England book by Nicholas Thomas – Page 125. Thomas states that 4 burials were found here containing adults, a child and even a dog! Thomas gives one of the Barrow’s dimensions as 110 ft x 45ft.

Given this information I was keen to pay a visit.
However, things don’t always go according to plan!
What I should have done is enquired at Eyford Hill Farm to ask for permission to visit the Barrows (I assume they own the land?). Instead I opted for a ‘sneak’ visit from the minor road to the north.

I crossed over the drystone wall and electric fence and made my way uphill. Then up and over a wooden fence (and another electric fence) and eventually I was just about able to make out the Barrow marked on the O/S map slightly north of the Long Barrows (SP143258). This is now no more than a very low ploughed out mound which has a fence running across the top of it. I would say approximately 0.5 metres high x 20 metres across.

I then started to look for the Long Barrows. I never felt comfortable during this ‘sneak’ visit. The land is very open and I am sure I could have been spotted from far off. I could see the farm house in the distance. There was also a tarmac road running across the fields which I was afraid someone would come driving along at any time.
To make matters worse I became quite disorientated and I was unable to work out which way I should be heading – it all looks so easy when looking on the map!

Given what I had seen elsewhere in the vicinity today I imagine that the Barrows are no more than small ploughed out mounds? I certainly didn’t see anything obvious although as I said I may have been looking in the wrong place!
The nerves got the better of me and I headed back to the car.

As I was heading back across the fields 3 bi-planes flew overhead – now, that’s something you don’t see every day!

All in all there is nothing that I saw that would merit a visit unless of course the Long Barrows are in a reasonable condition?
(Best ask at the farm first!)

Visited 13.8.11

Not far from Sezincote Barrow, to the east of a minor road off the A424.

There are two Barrows here, both the same size (1.5 metres high x 5metres across) and about 20 metres apart. They do not appear to have been dug into.

Access is easy. From the side of the road climb over a small wall, through some trees and walk up the short but steep incline. As the ground flattens out the Barrows are obvious. Covered in long grass in the middle of a field.

Certainly worth a quick look when visiting the other sites in the area.

Visited 13.8.11

Saw this site marked on the O/S map, north of Longborough village, just off the A424.
A rough track signposted ‘unsuitable for motor vehicles’ (once the Fosse Way Roman road) runs right past the Barrow. The Barrow being in the trees to the north of the track.

The Barrow is in good condition, covered in trees, approximately 3 metres high x 10 metres across. There were lots of loose stones on top of the Barrow.

An easy site to visit and worth a look when in the area.

Visited 13.8.11

Marked on the O/S map as Long Barrow and mentioned on Megalithic.

My 100th new site added!

Travelling west along the A44 out of Bourton on the Hill, turn left after the pub and park up on the verge outside the houses.
A public footpath sign points both east and west.
Take the path west but instead of following it to the right through some trees, continue straight ahead along the house drive way. The Long Barrow is soon easily seen on your left.

The Long Barrow itself is surrounded by a dry stone wall and covered in trees. It is about 2 metres high and 25 metres across.
There are good views to be had to the south.

Worth a visit when in the area as long as you don’t mind walking up someone’s drive?

Visited 13.8.11

Saw this site mentioned on Megalithic.
Not shown on my O/S map.

I guess one of the ‘occupational hazards’ of doing what we do is that you occasionally get caught by the land owner being somewhere you shouldn’t be! Well, it happened to me on this occasion – although funnily enough it was the smallest amount of trespassing I had done all day – and it was also my last site of the day!

I parked on the grass verge on the A424 outside the impressive entrance to Banks Fee.
Directly opposite is the field where the Long Barrow is.
I duly strode across the road, into the field to look for said Barrow.
All that remains is a low long mound, no more than 0.3 metres high and about 20 metres long. The eastern end of the Long Barrow is cut through by the road.
At this point I was ‘napped’ by an estate worker who drove his 4x4 into the field to find out what I was doing? (The field was not in crop as it had been harvested)
Fortunately, once I explained what I was doing he came around a lot and was very pleasant. He said he knew about the Barrow but agreed there was little to see. He then went to his car and got his map out to show me of another Barrow he knew of – Notgrove!

He went on to explain that he liked to do metal detectoring once the crops had been harvested although all he had ever found was a couple of Roman coins. He said he had found nothing in the field in which the Long Barrow resides.
He wished me well and was soon on his way.
Karen was not impressed at this ‘incident’!!

Visited 13.8.11

A very easy site to access.

Park in the hamlet of Lower Swell (near the Whittlestone), climb over the wooden field gate and follow the grass path straight to the Long Barrow – 5 minute walk.
The part of the field where the Barrow lives is not cultivated and is completely covered in trees / bushes and chest high nettles.
In fact the nettles prevented me from actually getting onto the Long Barrow so a settled for a view from the edge of the field.
This is a good sized Long Barrow – one of the best sites I visited today.

Well worth a visit after enjoying a cream tea in Stow On The Wold!

Visited 13.8.11

An easier site to access than I was expecting.
Just west of the delightful town of Stow On The Wold there is plenty of room to park on the verge (where the trees end). There was a convenient gap in the wall and a 5 minute walk around the side of the field takes you to the Barrow.

The Barrow is covered with trees although I was able to see several largish stones lying scattered on top. The top of the Barrow has a hollow where no doubt someone has dug into it in the past looking for treasure!
The Barrow itself is oval shaped, approximately 1 metre high x 15 metres x 20 metres.

Worth a look when in the area.

Visited 13.8.11

I parked on the minor road to the south and walked up the bank and onto the edge of the field where the Long Barrow lies. Unfortunately the field was still full of crop (wheat) and as I didn’t want to cause any crop damage I viewed from afar.
All I could see was the raised hump of the Long Barrow which was covered in scraggy long grass.

A short distance to the west of the Long Barrow are two Round Barrows (marked on O/S map – SP132263).
I had the same problem regarding the crops, so again I viewed from the edge of the field. The two Barrows were easy enough to spot, covered in trees and bushes.

A post harvest visit is definitely required!

Visited 13.8.11

Another easy site to access.

Park on the minor road to the east and a short walk brings you to the Barrow.
The Barrow has 4 mature trees and 4 saplings growing out of the top of it.
The whole Barrow has nettles growing all over it although I was able to make out a shallow hollow dug into the top and side of the Barrow. No doubt dug into it at some point in the past?

As I said, an easy site to visit although not a huge amount to see.

From Aboyne take the B968 over the River Dee (past The Boat Inn, excellent pub!!!) and turn east on the B976 until the Bridge Of Ess on a very sharp corner. I parked at the tower near the bridge and walked east along the minor road. Many years ago when wee boys my brother and I along with our dad and his pal Dod Coville often walked these paths. Dod was the factor at the Glentanar Estate so these roads brought long forgotten memories back. Fortunately the stunning scenery is still stunning with hardly any development of any kind.

A couple of miles further west is a welcome addition, the Braeleoine Visitor Centre. Went in to have a look and was quite impressed tho the assistant didn’t have a clue about cairns. From here head up the hill on the tarred road until it ends, this is pretty steep going. Move onto the track at the gateposts going past the sign to Belrorie until a crossroads is reached. From here head west until the cottage at Hillhead. The cairn is north of Hillhead but I headed slightly further west, jumped the gate, and followed the fence line, jumping a burn at the back of Hillhead. This takes you to the edge of the forest, simply follow the fence (don’t touch electric, a new high jump record has now been set in these parts) and you’ll walk straight to the cairn.

This cairn has tremendous views especially over to Morven with Loch Kinord sparkling in front. South is the Glentanar estate, aboyne east and Ballater west. Although the cairn has been excavated the centre is still intact and sits at 15 meters wide, 2 meters high, no kerbs remain. Maybe there hadn’t been any in the first place. Other cairns nearby have long gone, however some of the walls mentioned in Canmore remain. A wonderful place and a wonderful walk, Deeside is a treasure trove of sites.

Visited 11/08/2011.

At Crathie go onto the South Deeside, the B976, past the entance to Balmoral Castle and head back east until Mains Of Abergeldie, just after the first minor road heading south. I parked here and walked on to track opposite the farm. There is a crossroads of tracks, head west and keep going west onto the grass track, the stone is slightly to the south up a small hill.

To the north is Abergeldie Castle and the River Dee. This well shaped stone must have had good views which are now blocked by the trees. Still a pretty place tho.

Visited 11/08/2011.

Finally got to visit this one and to be honest I wouldn’t recommend it.

First off while it’s just off the old A1 and there is parking close by the woodland between the barrow and the road is jungle like with no clear paths – not an easy 100m to get through.

Second when you get there, there is very little to see. A semi-circle has been cut in the woods and the records show this as the site of the barrow but there is nothing obvious there – through there is a clear ring of bracken growth so the soil is obviously different. You’d need a full day with an industrial strimmer to see any features.

Thirdly the site is close to the A1 so there is lots of noise and very little atmosphere.

All that being said there are some points of note:

1) This barrow hasn’t been built to be seen from a distance. It’s not prominent at all and seems to have been located here either because it was close to water (stream nearby) or close to an ancient trackway. It does lie on raised (slightly) ground.

2) There might be a second barrow in the field between the trees and the A1 (or the original position might have been out and this is the barrow). This looks like an over-ploughed feature on top of a raised area of land – roughly 50m from the marked site.

Both can be seen from the A1 if you are passing but don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

On the way back through the trees I came across what looked like a large piece of worked stone – 1m or so in all directions, roughly rectangular and looked like it had split at some time. Not sure what this is/was but it stands out as an “erratic” in that it’s very large and has no obvious context. It’s on the north edge of the woods near the stream as you work back from the barrow to the old A1. Photos attached.

Visited 4th May 2011

On the islet of Er-Lannic in the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany, lie the remains of two cromlechs. Originally they would have stood on a small hillock on the mainland, but as sea levels have been steadily rising for the past 7,000 years they have now become partly submerged, Er-Lannic having been cut off from the mainland since Roman times.

The northern site is a flattened circle, which would have been comprised of up to 60 stones, the stones standing almost contiguous with each other, similar to a kerb circle, but being much larger stones than are typically seen in that type of monument, ranging in height from 6’ up to 17’ 4”. There were also two tall outliers to the east and west of the northern circle, in line with the tallest stone in the ring, both of which are now submerged.

The southern site is horseshoe shaped, and is now completely submerged, it has a diameter of around 200 feet, with an opening to the east. It was first discovered in 1872 when Closmadeuc, an archaeologist from Vannes, visited the north ring at very low tide and noticed the tips of some more stones exposed above the sea. At the southern tip of the submerged cromlech there would have been a gigantic stone pillar, called ‘men-ar-gou’ or ‘La Roche du Forgeron’, meaning ‘the blacksmith’s stone’ by fishermen.

Le Rouzic excavating in the 1920’s found around each stone a cist containing charcoal, animal bones, worked flints, pottery, and a lot of polished axes. Two stones are carved with axes and a yoke, and one of the uprights’ packing stones has nine cupmarks (according to Le Rouzic, arranged to form the outline of the constellation Ursa Major). A plan was also made of the submerged site, documenting the layout of the southern horseshoe, and detailing a possible three sided and unroofed Cove within the submerged south-eastern section of the north ring.

Burl suggests there are possible alignments within the monument to astronomical events, (p. 256 ‘Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland & Brittany’ – Aubrey Burl 1995) and that lunar alignments with the major northern moonrise and moonset could be drawn along the South-East to North West axis, which aligns directly between the tallest stone in the northern ring, and the submerged cove.

When Aubrey Burl said this one was ‘very private’ he wasn’t joking! Although I don’t like making fieldnotes unless I’m actually in the site, with Er-Lannic this is as close as I’m likely to get without my own boat. Taking the last trip of the day to Gavr’inis was a lovely end to a day of megalith hunting, the last boat trip to that amazing cairn also comes in close to Er-Lannic. It seems so strange to see the stones protruding from the sea like a sunken ruin, you can only imagine what the scale of the monument as a whole would have been like when it was intact.

I first caught sight of the huge pillar in the northern ring when we were on Gavr’inis waiting to enter the cairn, and Er-Lannic seemed tantalisingly close across the immensely fast flowing current separating the two islands. As we came in closer more stones in the cromlech became apparent, all seemingly providing handy perches for the resident sea birds. Ellen took photos as I struggled to keep the video camera steady, and avoid too many of our fellow boat passengers getting in the way of the shots!

Although it’s now a bird sanctuary I’d still love to set foot on the island and stand amongst the stones, their power seems undiminished despite the advance of the sea. Although bobbing nearby in a motor launch full of tourists is not the best way to soak up the atmosphere of a site, on Er-Lannic it reaches out to you and is irrepressible, a partly sad, partly foreboding feeling of an isolated place, the cormorants perched atop the stones like shadowy guardians warning away visitors to this sacred enclosure.

Finally got a chance to visit here – put up some photos. Field notes follow.

I’d put this one down as one to visit mostly due to the lack of any scenery or sense of place until you get nearer the site, then the wonderful views to the west when you get to the site.

Very easy site to get to, park on the old A1 at the edge of the woods and walk in. Best to park north of the pathway shown on the OS maps as the road is very narrow here and there’s nowhere to pull in.

Easy walk in through woodland but no obvious paths so some trail making required. As you follow the rising ground up towards the site it’s easy to see that is wasn’t built to impress when coming from the East. For a start there is much higher ground to the east. You’ll see this as pass the 15th century tower. This is higher than the main site but much smaller in area. Had a look up here (hard going) and no obvious ditches or platforms.

As you pass the tower the ground flattens and you can see the end of the tree line in the West. While the site has been over planted with trees these are far apart and don’t interfere with viewing the site.

Main features of the site are as follows:

1) Double ditch with bank between, very easy to see at the Eastern end, less obvious at the west end where there seems to be one larger bank and single deeper ditch. Bank around 1.5m high at the highest point near the western entrance.

2) Round/Oval in form, around 100m across at the widest point.

3) Number of features inside the ditches, bumps, hollows, etc. What looks like two well features – rectangular holes with iron railings over them.
Had a look round the web and this isn’t a well feature but the entrance to an underground shelter that would have been used by the British resistance forces if the Germans had invaded in WW2 – link at coleshillhouse.com/heiferlaw-auxiliary-zero-station.php

That’s a first for me!

4) What looks like two entrance gaps in the main bank, one to the East (South East), with the most obvious one at the western end.

5) Obviously built with a “western aspect” in mind. When you get to the Western entrance its obvious that the site would have been most impressive and most visible from the west where it would have been approached up a steep slope from the valley. Views from the site to the west go off to other sites such as Jenny’s Lantern, White House Farm, Hunterheugh and the edges of Beanley Moor.

6) As with many “forts” in the area the site doen’t look like it was mainly built for defence. From the East there is both higher ground and a wide area of flat land outside the ditches and the ditches here look the least impressive.

7) Possible “mound” feature inside the western entrance, but this also has the entrance to the underground shelter in it so could well be WW2 in date to hide the entrance.

8) Worked stone in the western wall – see photo – probably much later in date.

The views to the west are stunning and my photos don’t do them justice – well worth the short walk from the car.

You can drive directly to the Bogcoup junction, taking the estate road from NJ627422. I found Drewbhoy’s description confusing, perhaps because there is now a sizeable plantation of young conifirs screening the mature forest.

I followed the track (on foot) northwards, just past the edge of the field and through a gate on the left. This led to a tunnel of debranched trees that followed the field edge northwestwards. At the end of the tunnel, follow the field edge for a short distance (southwest) and, after just 50 metres or so, look out for a small plantation of much younger trees in a clearing to your right. Walk straight through the plantation for a couple of minutes until you arrive at a fence, with the wide forestry road beyond.

Cross the fence and follow the road leftward for 100 metres. The road now turns sharply left at right angles, following the plantation boundary. Continue for another 100 metres, and you will see the remains of Frendraught Stone Circle on the very edge of the forest on your right hand side.

An alternative path starts in the village of Forgue. Take the road signposted to Forgue School and park in the village hall car park. Walk up to the school where the road continues as a forest track. After 2 km, this track takes you to the same gate as mentioned above.

One bonus of this route is that you can make a short diversion along the way to visit Raich Stone Circle.

Reached the Ness of Brodgar around dinner-time, in between the guided tours, so decided not to ask to look at the finds. Re Brodgar Boy what in one view did look idol-like (despite that lop-sided third ‘eye’) in another was distinctly a broken-off top with a short ‘stem’ at the bottom. Now that the rest has been found the object is two-and-a-half times as long and looks like a mini-staff (a symbol of authority and/or for ceremonies, or a representation of one ?). Including the ‘neck’ and that stem there are three circumferential grooves that might have been for rope – you can easily imagine it with tassels ! In digging the midden of Structure Eight they have found a stone incised with an earth sign [Pars Fortuna]. . Structure One has so far produced several dozen incised stones, the last what what they take for a representation of a comet (but a circle with three trailing lines has other meanings). But the most common symbol is what they are calling a double-triangle and associating with a bee, though these also been ‘read’ elsewhere as butterflies (over at Banks Chambered Tomb there are vees/chevrons, which are seen as birds). Pre C14 dating one at Stonehenge was wrongly identified with the Cretan labrys (double-axe). Much has been made of Stenness infuence on the Avebury area, so is this another indicator ? Finally on site the Neolithic roof tiles were removed, only for more to be revealed at the same place after further digging – the imp of the perverse wonders if this is a dump rather than collapse in sensu strictu.
Despite the very strong wind the first thing that I did was go up the viewing platform. The lighting being distinctly flat all structures tended to merge – in these conditions what is needed for photographing features is a little light rain I recall. First new item to ‘pop out’ the monumental hearth in Structure Ten. ImmediatelyI thought of the one in the Stones of Stenness circle, though I think comparisons will instead be made with Barnhouse ‘village’. Next I saw a long slab with ends framed by angle topped orthostats. This must be the probable Structure Ten entrance they have found – having been caught out before by dodgy contexts they are holding back judgement until they can be certain it does not belong to another period or structure (I saw what could be another rectangular feature [or part of a passage/’street’] directly in front of it). Coming down again it did not surprise me that nothing further has happened to the NE corner that took my fancy when I came here with Orkney Blide Trust the previous week (not realising we would stay for the whole 90 minute tour I’d had to come back for The Work photography) as it is at the very edge of the dig. The day I came seemed to be dedicated to cleaning and recording several parts of the site so I tried to avoid getting in their way. Nothing major looks to have appeared in the sides overlooked by the spoil heaps – I would dearly love to find out where that drain goes to in the piece by the western edge. Filling the appended SW corner Structure Twelve still sits in splendid isolation from the rest of the buildings as far as I can tell. Either that will change in future seasons or it is telling us something. Going round the final side and that massive squat standing stone still has pride of place in the SE corner. Does it extend much below what we see now or will it prove as shallow rooted as the red orthostat they have recently removed ?
Last year they lterally got to the bottom of the Lesser Wall of Brodgar, only to find that it stood on paving and possibly earlier structures. This year geophysics has confirmed that it bridges the ness and it is back to being part of a wall circuit encompassing the site they are investigating (could the paving be an extended base ??). The Kockna-Cumming chambered mound still lies outside the whole and the Brodgar Standing Stone Pair straddle the wall. Are the stones from a prior age or were they put there later than the wall, either much later to show where it was or immediately after to mark it out ? Don’t be misled by its narrowness in comparison to the Great Wall as only a ditch seperated the 4m thick Great Wall from one ouside of it ‘only’ 2m thick. Still thicker though – might there be a presently unlocated other Great Wall in parts still virgin to excavation ?? If the remains below the Lesser Wall are from an earlier period then might we re-interpret the putatative structures and likely hearth found in testing outside the Great Wall as coming from that time too instead of post-dating the wall as originally theorised? Certainly the public perception of the wall’s primacy needs revising. Indeed it is my opinion the that the Great Wall (and possibly the circuit) comes yet later in the scheme of things than first thought.

Never noticed before but the stone is aligned exactly east west.

I have to concur with Carl on this one, it really was a trial to find. This was however confounded by a really thick mist that had been hanging around the peninsular for two days (in late July!) and I think if I hadn’t had an OS map I might never have found it. Starting from the car park at Zennor I crossed the main road near the telephone box and took the footpath that runs along the bottom of the hill and I remember wondering at the time whether there were any snakes around? We’d already seen a number of very small lizards on the cliff path to Gurnards Head when just in time I stopped myself from stepping on an Adder at the side of the path! Usually when I’ve encountered them in the past they slither off as soon as they know they’ve been spotted, but this one stood its ground and even allowed me to get relatively close to take its portrait! Having jumped over it I carried on along the path when, blow me, I encountered another which, thankfully, disappeared into the undergrowth. Passing the farm buildings I then started to make my way up the hill towards the Logan Stone but having reached the top, encountering yet another adder, I found myself completely disorientated because I couldn’t work out where the sun was due to the mist and wandered around for about half an hour becoming increasingly panicky. Then, just as I was about to despair and make my way back down, there was a very brief break in the mist across the moorland and I could just about discern what must surely be Zennor Quoit about 300m away. Rechecking the map as the mist rolled relentlessly back in I made a mad dash to get there and felt a huge relief as it came into view just the other side of a low stone wall through the ferns and gorse. My first reaction on coming up close to it was its sheer size, it had looked quite insubstantial from a distance, but this really is a whopper and quite beautifully constructed. I didn’t realise the significance of the 5 pillars alongside it at the time so I was quite intrigued by them and also the tiny holes which appear all over the structure. I think the combination of it being hidden in the swirling mist and having had to really struggle to find it gave it a special kind of significance for me and it presented itself as a reward if you see what I mean. Well worth visiting but I would advise anyone attempting to find it in adverse weather conditions to have a map and a compass...... oh, and look out for snakes.

Visited 11th June 2011

Another Derbyshire daytrip on another sunny day. We’re visiting a couple of standing stones just outside Ashbourne, some of the closest ancient sites to where we live, but I never even knew they existed until recently. The Stoup was refreshingly easy to find, visible from the road, standing proud in its field, although leaning at such a dangerous angle it look as if it’s about to keel over at any minute!

Cupmarks are clearly visible on one side of the stone, they look a little too regular to me to be natural, which only reinforces my belief that this is a Neolithic, rather than Saxon monument. Also interesting is the way that the incised cross is carved on the same side as the cupmarks, maybe the cupmarks were seen as having pagan symbolism even in Saxon times, and this was an attempt to ameliorate this?

There is a lovely view out to the west, with the lean of the stone pointing towards the distant hills, and the meadow the stone stands in is dotted with flowers. A nice spot to sit and contemplate, if only the wind weren’t so fierce, so time to press on to the pub in Cromford I think!

From the main road about one field west of the Stenness Kirk junction you can see that the profile of the Ness of Brodgar follows that of the Black Hill of Warbister in view behind it, or rather the sub-hill which the Bookan Tomb presides over.

The standing stone at St Maire’s burial ground has obviously lasted much longer than the chapel that also stood here. All that is a left on the knoll is an enclosure shaped place with the remnants of a dry stane dyke. It has stunning views of the Dee valley west and east, being surrounded by the Grampians. Yesterday this road was under several feet of water as the road was closed due to the Dee bursting it’s banks.

It has an upside down boot shape and is 1.4 meters tall. Head west from Ballater on the A93 (Royal Deeside road), past the Coilacreich pub and park at entrance to Lebhal farm, plenty of room. The standing stone is about 300 meters back east up a small slope on the north side of the road. Jump the small stream, torrent today, and your there. This place reeks history.

On the hill on the other side of the Dee, to the south west Creag nam Ban, the last witch on Deeside was burnt. (cheers Thelonius) The standing stone at St Manire’s would have made a gruesome vantage point.

Visited 11/08/2011.

Visited 10.8.11

Directions: A short distance west of the hamlet of Walford on the A4113.

I saw this on the O/S map marked as ‘tumulus’ and decided to check it out whilst visiting the nearby Hillfort of Brandon Camp.
Parking is very difficult on this stretch of busy road and I couldn’t find anywhere near to where I needed to be. In the end a settled for a slow ‘drive by’ and could make the Barrow out through the hedgerow.
It appeared to be about 1 metre high and 10 metres across – with the top of the Barrow levelled off.
As I say, this wasn’t the best of ways to see the Barrow so my estimations may not be as accurate as they could be.