Latest Fieldnotes

Do you think that the nearest place to this is Capel Curig rather than Llanrwst?
The main A5 road from Bethesda to Capel Curig cuts through this valley.

The Gwynedd Archeological Trust call this the Afon Bedol Standing stone but recognise that it was probably part of a stone circle surrounding the Cairn.

cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk/arch/gat/english/gat_interface.html
(type afon bedol in the search for box, one click on the results box, below the map, will indicate it’s position. 2 clicks will bring up notes)

I have found a much less soggy and strenuous walk and still with the outstanding views Postman speaks of.

If you are driving along the main A5 from Bethesda you will see a farm campsite on the opposite side of the road about 5 1/2 miles from Bethesda,
Just before you come to the Public FP marked on both sides of the road there is track with a gate and stile on the left hand side of the road. at approx SH 68806030.
This belongs to Welsh Water. If you park carefully close to the wall you will not be blocking the entrance.
Climb over the Stile and follow the tarmaced track up to the leat. At the leat there is a farm gate. Don’t go through this but instead climb the stile on the right and follow the track around the edge of the leat.
You will have to cross over several very small stiles but the leat will lead you right round to the valley in which the stone sits.
Once you go around an obvious bend follow the leat to the weir/dam with the little hut beside it.

There is an obvious track leading down from here to the bottom of the dry stone wall. Here you’ll find the stone and Cairn.

In Postmans 3rd picture he points out the dry stone wall but you can also see the line of the leat leading round the side of the hill.

I would suggest that if you are coming down the A499 from the Caernarfon direction you will see the huge gates for the Glynllifon park on your left. Just after this is are the metal gates of the Park Newydd house. The next left is the road to Pen y Groes.

Take this turning. Immediately on your left are the metal gates of a gatehouse. Park by the roadside here.

You can see the stone in the field from these gates. I asked the owner of this house and she was happy to let me go into the field to look at the stone.

I loved this Stone. Lovely textures and colours. A huge Stone with real presence. It felt majestic.

A layer of calcined bone mixed with charred wood and fragments of a burial urn (early Bronze Age) was found 1m east of the stone.

As can be found out by checking Canmore’s notes these cairns have caused much confusion. This cairn is definitely east of the RSC and it has been badly treated.

It is some 10 meters wide and 0.3 meters high. Some cairn material remains but most of it has long gone thanks to being hollowed out. There is no sign of the kerb.

However this was a worthwhile visit, two cairns, one RSC so nothing to complain about.

Visited 10/07/2011.

Walk in a south westerly direction from the stone circle and this very rough cairn can be found. There has been a ‘Unexplained, Uneasy feeling’ forum and today was a good example. The rain had by-passed monsoon and the thunder and lightning led to some eerie moments. Every now and again the woods would light up to give a very uneasy feeling but that might have been because I was drenched and frozen.

The cairn is 8 meters north to south, 6 meters east to west and almost 2 meters high. Most of the cairn material is made up of large rocks with no kerb or ring.

Anyway I was soaked so I went to the eastern cairn. These cairns have caused no end of confusion even to Canmore, OS, Phillips and myself. (just ask the TMA Ed)

Visited 10/07/2011.

Visited 9.7.11

The second, and final, site of the day took us for a re-visit of the excellent Harold’s Stones.
We again parked in the free public car park next to the church hall and took the footpath through the field (opposite Court Farm) which leads to the field in which the stones stand.
(Be careful crossing the road as it can be surprisingly busy).
I had to carry both Dafydd and Sophie as they were still asleep and that was no mean feat – particularly as I had to wade through nettles and brambles!
When we got to the stones (10 minutes walk) it brought a smile to my face.
I have been to a lot of sites since my last visit and that has only helped confirm that this is a special place. The stones are substantial yet slender and elegant (for a stone!)
Why here?, why in a line?, pointing / leading to what? – so many questions.
When visiting this wonderful site you are sure to leave with more questions than answers.
If you get the chance please visit – you won’t be disappointed.

Visited 9.7.11

Karen wasn’t feeling too well this weekend so I agreed to take the children out for a few hours to give her a break. The question was of course – where to take them? Somewhere not too far, easy to access and something of interest for all of us?
I read about an English Civil War re-enactment at Caldicot Castle, which would also give me the chance to re-visit two prehistoric sites in the vicinity – sorted!
After a couple of enjoyable hours at the castle (re-enactments certainly help to bring a site to life) we headed north to Gaer Llwyd.
Now, every time I had previously visited/passed by this site there has always been Shetland ponies in the field so I though the children would like to see them. Unfortunately on this occasion the field was empty. Which is probably just as well as the children were both fast asleep! I didn’t fancy waking them up to get up close to the tomb so I settled for a good view from the field fence. The tomb was bathed in sunlight and looked quite contented next to the hedge, despite its capstone fallen.
This is a very easy site to access and well worth a look when in the area.

This was found about six years ago I never posted as the rock art was hardly enthralling ,but good view of Atholl .

canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/282885/details/old+faskally/

“A large stone and earth tumulus ” , is all that is to be found on Canmore . A dreich November day didn’t do justice to the monument that looks like it was situated to be seen from the west ,lower down near the river Garry and terraces opposite at Ardtulichan .

Walking the section of the South West Coast Path between Praa Sands and Porthleven (16.6.2011) produced an unexpected treat. Many Cornish cliff top barrows are just low mounds or are lost in the vegetation, so we headed to Trewavas Cliff without any expectations, especially as I haven’t found any mention of the barrow in any of the regional guidebooks I have.

As it turns out, it’s a bit of a lost gem. Rather overwhelmed by summer grasses and clifftop vegetation, it boasts a clear chamber, with one very thick roofing cap still in place on its supporting side slabs and two other stones displaced either side. Almost like a Scillonian type entrance grave, but not shown as such. It’s a wild and windswept spot, with views to The Lizard and back towards West Penwith. The low remains of an ancient Cornish granite hedge snake past to the tip of the headland, compounding the timeless feel of the location.

[Post-visit check of Pastscape suggests that an “official” visit would be beneficial, as only Glyn Daniel’s 1950 notes bear any relation to what can be seen. One of the records from the 1910s suggests the barrow’s stones have been broken up and thrown down leaving nothing to see!]

In Llanfechell look for the tall white 12 century church. It can be seen from all around. It has a distinctive old beehive shaped tower which has been white washed and has a metal cross on the top.

In front of the church is a war memorial with a small clock tower. The church yard is a walled and seems almost circular. The road that the church is on is called Brynddu Road.

Making sure the church and wall of the church yard are on your right follow this road up the hill take the second road on the left.

There is a rather large modern house on the left. In front of this house is a small layby type parking area.

The footpath is on the opposite side of the road just past the 3rd house. It is clearly marked from here. The 3 stones can be seen from here, and are about 10 mins walk.

The Loch Of Leys is just to the north of the busy Deeside town of Banchory (various cists and cairns in the town still to find but they will be found!) to east of the A980 or west of a minor road. It is a very beautiful place but a death trap waiting to happen. I parked on the eastern minor road at former car park now blocked by large rocks. The locals still use the area for walks.

The loch has been drained but not properly as water can still be seen in what could be called a boggy mess. Walking to crannog is impossible. I tried to walk on one of fishing ramps but had a lucky escape as the contraption fell to bits. Luckily I managed to jump to dry land before being trapped in silted and reedy conditions. My long legs coming to my rescue. These things should be pulled up as none of them looked safe to me.

On the plus side the crannog can be seen clearly. Ancient canoes have been found along with various finds. As usual the crannog was used later as a castle in medieval times and is linked to the Frasers and, more famously, the Burnett family of Banchory. One of the pubs, a good one to, in the town is called Burnetts.

So a very nice walk basically round a bog. Shame as it must have been a beautiful place.

Visited 5/07/2011.

From the Dardanus Standing Stone simply look west and climb to the crest of the hill. Not much is left of what must have been an impressive site. Maybe it rivaled it’s near neighbour the magnificent Long Cairn in amongst the nearby woods.

What is left is behind an equally ruined barbed wire fence with some cairn material poking thru. Probably some field clearence has been dumped here as well. Canmore says it was 40 meters in length so it must have been an impressive monument. Sadly a turf covered cairn is all that remains. Still it is situated in superb countryside with plenty of ancient sites surrounding it.

Visited 5/07/2011.

Western Greyhound (the green buses) run a bus service from St Ives to Penzance that stops off at New Mill, then it’s only a mile to the village along a winding country lane. We visited on a sunshine ‘n’ showers day (15.6.2011). Our previous visit was in 2002 and since then the custodian’s hut has become a rather swisher shop thing (I remembered to bring the guidebook from the last visit).

This is a great site, terrifically well-preserved houses of a type known as “courtyard” houses that are pretty much unique to West Cornwall and date from the Iron Age or perhaps into the Romano-British period. It’s worth getting a guidebook – which also covers nearby Carn Euny village, as it contains plenty of detailed plans and info about what to look for in each house.

Despite the rain, there were plenty of hardy souls mooching about in waterproofs, and even more when the sun came out a bit later. So don’t necessarily expect a quiet visit (and note the limited opening hours, so evenings are out).

In amongst the bustle, you can enter one of the courtyards and immediately shut out the 21st century. It’s the little details that I liked best, the things that really reinforce the domestic reality of the place. The small hearths in many of the round rooms, the “stones with holes” that either supported roof beams or, according to another theory, were querns. The water channels running across the courtyards to provide a source of water for both people and animals.

The general pattern of construction involves a massively thick drystone outer wall (usually in a rough oval) and within that, compartmental rooms and an open courtyard. There tends to be a “long room” on the right of the entrance, a “round room” opposite the entrance – probably the main living space – and then a bay on the left of the entrance for livestock or stabling. The entrances are principally east facing and the longer axis is east-west (House 9 is the exception to this). Some of the houses have additional smaller rooms as well.

The stonework is beautiful too, outstanding examples of drystone walling often built up from larger blocks at the base, in a way that can still be found in the Cornish granite hedges in this part of the country. There was obviously a bit of home improvement going on over the occupation period as well, for example House 7 started life with a typical eastern entrance passage, then replaced it with a different entrance to the north. House 3 is built in a semi-detached arrangement, perhaps occupied by two parts of an extended family (or maybe early suburbia!).

You need to allow a fair bit of time to do a proper “tour” of each house, and we easily filled a couple of hours here without trying, despite the weather.

Away to the south of the site is the only real disappointment, in the form of the blocked fogou. Apparently blocked for health and safety reasons, due to an unstable roof slab, this is a bit of a mess. A much better example can be seen at Carn Euny.

A fantastic site, on a fantastic day, combined with two or three other sites on the moors. 2 – 3 hours walk in all but well worth it. Easy access to the stones from the small car park at the road side and then on to 9 maidens (via ding dong mine – interesting), mulfra quoit and Men Scryfa.

Think the stones visible in the hollow on top of the barrow are in fact the remains of a lime kiln.

Visited 2.7.11

How this huge stone hasn’t been recorded on TMA before know I don’t know?

The country lanes around Carmarthanshire are particularly narrow and parking is more of a problem than usual. Looking at the O/S map it appeared that I would need to ask permission at the farm house as there is no public right of access and the location of the stone seemed to make a ‘sneak’ visit unlikely. So we duely parked at the farm and politely asked if it was ok to visit the stone.
Despite the farmer looking slightly bemused (it’s a West Wales thing) he was friendly enough and pointed me in the right direction. Dafydd and myself headed across the fields behind the farm house while Sophie and Karen stayed in the car.
We crossed the first field and upon climbing over the next field gate we instantly saw this fine stone – it is huge. Approximately 12ft high x 4ft wide x 1.5ft thick. Even Dafydd was impressed by its size!
There are lovely views from here and perhaps that is why the stone was errected in this spot in the first place?
The sun was shinning, grasshoppers chirped, butterflies fluttered all around and birds sang in the distance. Dafydd played happily in the field, fully at home in the countryside – something I am very glad to see. A beautiful summers day; the type of summers day we all seem to remember we used to have when we were young. Hopefully Dafydd will have the same memories.
This is a cracker of a stone and highly recommended.
If visiting, I suggest asking permission from the farm as it would make a visit far easier.

COFLEIN describes the site thus:
‘A standing stone, 3.5m high, 1.1m wide and 0.4m thick, whose form is suggestive of facing’.

Visited 2.7.11

I am amazed that this mighty stone has not previously been recorded on TMA!

Directions: Head west along the M4 until it ends at junction 49 (Pont Abraham). Take the A483 north and then take the turning right onto the B4297. There is just enough room to park up at the second turning on the left, which leads to Bryn-y-Rhyd Farm.
Karen and Sophie sat in the car whilst myself and Dafydd walked along the concrete farm drive towards the stone.
It is only a short 5 minute walk and the stone is very easy to spot being on the left of the drive. Entrance to the field is through a wooden field gate.
The stone is approx 9ft high x 6ft wide x 1ft deep. The stone had ‘texture’ which reminded me a bit of bark on a tree.
In the field next to the stone was a pen full of calves. Dafydd enjoyed these more than the stone! I preferred the stone although the calves were cute.
At this point I had a text from Karen saying that a woman had come out of the house where we had parked next to (plenty of room) and that we were not allowed to park there! The woman said it was her son’s house and that we would need his permission. Karen gave the woman as good as she got and recommended she go get her son then. Needless to say he never appeared! Nice one Karen.
Don’t be put off by this (there is always ‘one’ everywhere you go), the stone is a cracker, easy to access and well worth a visit.

COFLEIN describes the stone thus:
‘A massive, unshaped erect monolith, c2.4m high and 1.9m wide’.

Having spent a good portion of the previous day completely – and I mean completely – lost within Speyside forestry whilst attempting to locate the Granish clava, perhaps undertaking another, more substantial forestry trek wasn’t the most inviting prospect in the world. But then it is said that you need to get straight back on the horse after a fall.... or else you might never ride again. So, armed with a brand new 1:25K OS map, eyes focussed upon every twist and turn of the track represented upon it, off we go. Into the trees. Yeah, The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ isn’t exactly the most helpful song to have upon the brain at such a time... but I guess it’s appropriate.

In retrospect the walk is not as difficult as I fear. From the large car park at Glen Aldie, a little south-west of Tain, a waymarked ‘Burnside walk’ (blue colour-coded posts) will get the traveller as far as a footbridge beside a ford, a little downstream from a small weir. Cross this (the bridge, that is.. assuming you don’t want wet feet) and follow a dry stone wall for a short distance before veering right, then left, to gain a main forestry track heading approx north. Take the next left, then fork right and, ignoring any turnoffs, keep heading west towards (eventually) a deep gulley cradling the Allt Clachach, the route marked by occasional ‘green-coded’ posts. Nearing this – note a post bearing a green cycle motif – a green track (lots of green in these woods, as you might expect) veers steeply downhill, curving around to the left (east). Passing a couple of drystone enclosures on the right, advance uphill to your left and – hopefully – the long cairn, set within its forest clearing, will be all yours. And time will stand still. Or at least seem to.

Now I’ve been wanting to come to this obscure spot, deep within Morangie Forest, ever since seeing Strathspey’s images last October. It just looked ‘right’, you know? Perhaps the most surprising aspect is the steep angle of the hillside upon which the long cairn is located in an approx north-west/south-east alignment... no doubt this accounts for the somewhat unstable nature of the fabric compared to other such monuments. However, despite numerous indentations – and the traces of a building noted by Strathspey – the long cairn appears more or less intact. Canmore gives current dimensions as: ‘35.0m long, 14.0m wide at the NE end and 8.0m wide at the SW end... (with a).. maximum height of 2.0m near the NE end’.

With no trace of chambers/original internal features, there is not much more to add in terms of physical description. The vibe, however, has to be experienced first hand to be believed. With only a small section of hillside across the valley rising clear of forestry, views are very limited, the atmosphere that of a ‘lost world’, a ‘secret garden’ filled with bird song. Not exactly ‘silence’, then, the feeling that of stumbling upon a private act of the natural world humans once understood – and interacted with, connected with – but now, sadly, no longer do. Or even know how to?

Yeah, despite the threatened rain finally arriving at approx 2.30, I’m glad I came and penetrated the fastness of the forest shrouding this monument from casual onlookers. As Vinny Jones once said, ‘It has been emotional, Carn Liath’. Well, perhaps not the last bit.

This is a lovely standing stone that none of the locals know about, I asked 3 but would have been better asking for directions to the moon. I’d left my detective work at home so I phoned Tiompan who gave me very accurate directions.

In my best Angus accent he said go down from the buildings at Berrysloch and a wall will appear on the right hand side. When this ends look left and a forestry track will appear. The stone is a short distance up the hill between the track and road. What he didn’t know is the stone is set in a small dip. No problem except I’d my mother, nipping my head about driving to fast, and her partner Jim Kerr (no not that one!) were in the car spotting invisible standing stones. But I spied the real one.

Still I found the stone and it stands at almost 7 feet tall and three feet wide. In amongst the greenery it looks like it’s impersonating a panda. After that it was back to the lug nipping. What a dutiful son I am.

Visited 5/07/2011.

On the road west of Banchory, the A93, look south or for the house name The Beeches when entering Inchmarlo. The house isn’t being lived in at the moment going by the state of the guttering. So I walked straight in.

This was once part of a circle, if they were all this size it must have been impressive, according to old Fred Coles and others. It stands at 8 feet high, 3 feet wide and has a strange oblong shape cut out (during the 1860s). The other rock on display is a lump of diorite. Locals still call it the Druid’s Stone. So good to see local legend alive and kicking.

Visited5/07/2011.

The substantial Granish lies a little under a mile to the south of the wondrous Avielochan clava cairn; as such it ‘should’ be a relatively easy matter to combine a visit to both these fine monuments. I say ‘should’ because I unfortunately made a complete and utter hash of my – albeit ultimately successful – attempt. Jeez, what a muppet! Give me an open hillside and compass and I’ll (more often than not) find the proverbial needle.... however add forestry tracks to the equation and I usually end up just ‘getting’ the needle. However it doesn’t have to be that way... it really is quite simples, in fact. If you pay attention, that is. Stop talking at the back, Gladman.

From Avielochan... cross the railway bridge and follow the path to the right, passing Recharr farm before proceeding through a gate – again, to the right – labelled ‘Speyside Way’. Now this is the crucial part, assuming you wish to avoid wandering around for a couple of extra miles in the pouring rain upon the aforementioned Speyside Way. Nice as it is, not the place to be when totally lost and unable to fix your position. Therefore take the next (unsignposted) right, marked with a post bearing an acorn image, and ignore all subsequent deviations. This will eventually lead you to Loch nan Carraigean, where you will locate the monument overlooking its far (southern) shore. Hey, even I did in the end, so my thanks to the unnamed Scot who, albeit inadvertently, was responsible for me stumbling upon a signpost marked ‘Loch nan Carraigean 1.5 miles’. It’s only funny in retrospect, believe me.

So was it worth it? Well, as Meg Ryan (I think) exclaims in that dodgy 80’s film... “Yes!, Yes!, Yes!” Only difference is I’m not faking it. Yeah, despite the driving rain, despite the remaining couple of large circle stones of this Clava ring cairn lying prostrate upon the ground... and despite the debris from ‘happy campers’ littering the environs... this site is awesome. No, really. It is. Canmore (Henshall 1963) reckons the cairn is 56ft in diameter, and it’s clearly pretty well preserved, too. This is big by any standards. Add perhaps the most substantial retaining kerb – upon the southern arc, anyway – I’ve seen this side of Beltany and the conditions are more or less immaterial. Apart from forcing me to put away the DSLR and grab a few images on me Dad’s compact, that is.

The cairn is topped by a ‘double-trunked’ tree. Which seems appropriate, somehow. Everything is substantial about this ring cairn. Even the weather. Not to mention the walk to get here. But it doesn’t have to be like that..... if you can read a map!

Surrounded by spoil heaps and yet another chimney, the setting is still stunning. The hills of Bartinne and Chapel Carn Brea are the dominant features inland, while Land’s End and the Longships beyond form the seaward backdrop. It’s almost exactly ten years since my first visit here and I had forgotten what a brilliant monument this is. It’s been heavily messed about with, exposing central spaces that were not originally there (the space between the collar and central mound). But it remains magnificent, huge and beautifully sited.

The entrance grave, set into the southern wall of the outer collar, is partially hidden by summer vegetation giving it a cool, leafy feel. It would be impressive in its own right, but here it simply serves to enhance the much larger mound above. Climbing over the outer collar, the well-preserved southern cist is set into the inside of the wall at almost the same position as the entrance grave is in the outside (see plan from info board). It is the only one of several original cists that retains its capstone, as the others went “missing” after Copeland Borlase excavated and exposed the inner workings of the mound. The circular space between the outer collar and the inner mound is not an original feature, having been inserted by Copeland Borlase to allow visitors to see the interior more easily. Walking around this narrow passage gives a great sense of the scale of construction, as the drystone walls are at head height on either side. Foxgloves grow in the light soil. At the northeastern part of this passage, a second cist can be seen, sadly now lacking its capstone. There is also an unexplained “pit” set into the outer collar on the east side. A climb over the wall of the inner mound gives access to the central chamber, with a deeper pit – a grave? – at its northern end. There were further cists here, but they have also gone now. Even without a roof, it’s an intimate, enclosed feeling place, hidden away from view from outside.

We sit and enjoy the quiet for a while, as clouds form overhead. Eventually, we leave, heading back to nearby St Just along Carn Gloose Road. First fix of the holiday greatly enjoyed!

Kenidjack Castle is one of several Iron Age cliff castles making use of the natural granite fastnesses of West Penwith. For some reason we have never been here before, despite walking this stretch of the coast path a decade ago. A small stile gives access to the headland itself, and then the rocky “spine” looms ahead. Approaching from the northeast, the most impressive part of the fort’s defences is readily visible.

The neck of the headland was protected by a triple row of ramparts, dropping steeply from the spine before terminating abruptly at the edge of a near vertical cliff, above crashing seas. On the northern side, this triple rampart is very well preserved. The outer and middle ramparts are covered in vegetation, but protruding stones indicate that the construction uses granite blocks rather than earthen embankments. This is writ even clearer in the exposed inner rampart, the stones of which have been scattered into a fan shape. I pick my way down to get a closer look, discovering quickly that the footing is somewhat treacherous, as the grasses and succulent plants hide the position of potentially ankle-twisting stone blocks beneath.

At the bottom end of the ramparts, the drop off the cliff-edge is somewhat vertigo-inducing and I don’t get too close. Heading further seawards, the remains of hut circles have been found, but I don’t see anything of these in the area I cover. Instead I head back up onto the central rocky spine, where an easy scramble gives access to the sloping tip of the headland, facing westwards down to the sea below. This is a brilliant place, wild and desolate. Most of the visitors are of the avian variety. There is a real feeling of being at the edge of everything, especially as this really was the edge of everything for the Iron Age people who inhabited the headland.

We had seen this barrow across the field on an autumn walk a couple of years back, but never got any closer. It’s not the most impressive of barrows, low and ploughed down. But it has the inevitable scooped depression in its top, indicating that excavation took place at some point.

This wonderful circle remains an absolute favourite, no matter how many other places I get to between our visits here. Its location offers a feeling of space and solitude, with views stretching away to the unmistakable Carn Kenidjack outcrop to the north. We rarely see anyone else here, although it’s easy enough to get to. Tregeseal has somehow escaped the tourist trail that takes in Men-an-Tol, Lanyon Quoit and Merry Maidens.

The summer bracken is much lower than usual and the stones are surrounded by large numbers of (thankfully dry) cow pats. The cows themselves are not in evidence. I can’t really say whether any of the stones are leaning more than in previous years. Although it’s nice to see the stones without the depth of bracken, it still seems that other ways of achieving this are available. I desperately hope that sense is seen and that a solution can be found to the issues presented by the longhorn grazing. This place is far too special to be mired in controversy or surrounded by barbed wire.