Latest Fieldnotes

PLEASE HELP SAVE THE BULLRING HENGE . . .

I visit at least every 2 weeks. The henge is currently devoid of rubbish and if there is anything then I pick it up and recycle/dump it properly.
I have started a campaign to protect this mighty henge. I am getting support from all over the world.
If you can help in any way (even just a message of support) then please please contact me.
I can no longer accept the gradual destruction of this sacred space.

SAVE OUR HENGE !!

Keep rocking in the free world dudes,

Blingo_von_T
[email protected]

Visited 1.2.11
Another site I have only just become aware of (thanks to Megalithic)
Marked on the O/S map as Tumulus and situated in the middle of a residential area.
We were heading home from the ‘delights’ of Barry Island and I persuaded the lovely Karen that we should have a quick look to see if we could spot the Barrow.
Well, credit to her, we turned into the large residential area and like a homing pigeon she drove us straight there!
The Barrow can be found at the junction of Trem Mapgoll and Heol Fioled.
It was surprisingly well preserved, being about 10 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high – appeared to be a near perfect circle. The Barrow is in a grassed area which has a small railing around it. Presumably the house builders were not allowed to build on this little patch of ground! If it wasn’t for the houses there would be a reasonable view over the Bristol Channel.

Visited 1.2.11
I recently became aware of this site after seeing it mentioned on Megalithic. (Listed at Barry Island Cairns but I think that sounds a bit ‘tacky’)
As it was Dafydd’s birthday and we were treating him to a day at Barry Island it was an ideal opportunity to have a quick look. I have walked out to Friar’s Point many times over the years and have never noticed anything ‘prehistoric’ before – although to be fair I was never looking!
Luckily the weather was very mild for the time of year and the wind was light. Karen stayed in a café with Sophie enjoying a cuppa whilst myself and Dafydd headed across the beach towards Friar’s Point. Although I find the ‘Pleasure Park’ awful, there is no denying the quality of Whitmore Bay beach.
Once you walk past the lifeguard station there is a path which takes you from the beach up to the rocky headland (there is a path which runs behind the lifeguard if you don’t want to get your shoes full of sand!).
The O/S map shows two cairns:
The first I spotted (I think) behind the 2nd single bench you come to overlooking the sea on your left. It was about 10 metres in diameter and 0.3 metres high. I assume this was the cairn as it was in the right spot but the ground is very undulating so it is difficult to be sure 100%. It would be very hard to spot in the summer when the grass is high.
The second cairn is further along the headland, to the right where the path forks. It is smaller, about 5 metres wide and 0.5 metres high and appeared to have had the centre dug into at some point in the past.
The cairns are not much to look at but it is a pleasant walk out to Friar’s Point on a nice day. It only takes about 10 minutes from the beach.

Visited 5.2.11
Painswick Beacon is signposted from both the B4073 and the A46 heading north out of Painswick. Take the relevant turning and you will soon come to a large parking area at the top of the hill. Park here and take one of the many paths which lead up to the Hillfort.
I was surprised to find that a golf course has covered most of the site (I hadn’t read the previous fieldnotes) but don’t let that put you off visiting.
The ramparts of the Hillfort are easily seen and well preserved. I found this a complicated site to work out as there are between 2 and 4 ditches / ramparts on various sides of the Hillfort. The ramparts are high – easily above head height when standing in the ditch. It is a 10 minute walk to circumnavigate the interior of the site and only a 5 minute walk from the car park.
There is a Trig point on the highest rampart, with one of those signs on top showing you what you can see in the distance. Unfortunately the weather was closing in so viewing was limited although you would be able to see for miles on a clear day.
Speaking of the weather, it was near gale force winds on top and (believe it or not) I had to hold on to the trig point to stop myself getting blown off my feet! In fact, I was blown off the ramparts into the ditch on the way back to the car!
(Karen has the sense to stay in the car with the children)
Well worth a visit when in the area – particularly if the weather is nice!

Visited 5.2.11
What a pretty village Painswick is – well worth a visit in its own right.
The church deserves a visit with its 99 yew trees in the church yard!
(Dafydd insisted we visit the church – he has a ‘thing’ for old churches – good lad!)
Anyway, down to business:
Heading north through the centre of Painswick, turn right at the church (Victorian Square) and follow the narrow lanes to Tibbiwell Lane. As you head down the steep, narrow lane you will see a white garden gate on your left with a sign on it showing ‘Tabitha’s Well’. The well itself is on the lane, by the steps which lead up the garden gate. Parking is best achieved at the bottom of the hill – only a short walk.
The well is small, with water coming out of a stone spout into a ‘basin’ about 2 feet square. The water looked very clean although I didn’t risk a taste.

Although they say theres no such thing as the wrong weather only the wrong clothes, even with all the waterproofing at my disopsal the phrase didnt really feel like it carried much weight here today.
I started up the track heading for the turbines natural abode “the hilltop” . But it was so very windy I ended up walking half of it backwards, I had to push against the wind with all my weight at times it stopped me completely especially on the uphill bits. That said it was so invigorating that when I was walking under one of the turbines, its massive blades whoooshing just metres above my head, I clear forgot to navigate through the maze of tracks all about the place, and was hopelesly not where I should be. I climbed the steps that lead to the upper door into the turbine, to get a better view, corrected and with a better understanding of where I went wrong, soon back on target I arrive at the fallen standing stone Careg llwyd. (Whooosh whooosh whooosh)
Its a large stone maybe three metres long and one metre high thinner at the end with the small wind whipped pool, indicating which end went into the ground and also maybe how big it would have stood.
There is a fortuitous alignment of half a dozen big stones right next to the fallen megalith, but they are the last remnants of an old field wall.
From here it is just a hop skip and a wind assisted juuuump to the two ring cairns and then the big cairn on the hilltop

Whilst not an alignment these two rings can be found between the fallen menhir Careg llwyd and the big cairn Tyr Gwyn Mawr, it’s closer to and visible from the megalith, even the last remnants of an old field wall try to get in on the alignment.
It’s not the only time this morning but both rings are in danger of being swallowed up by the thick green grass that I dont know the name of, only the biggest stones on the cairns outer rim give away theyre position.
Although more delapidated and smaller and down one they reminded me heartily of the tripple cairn of Ravens Tor in the old Peak district, only with much more whooshing sounds from the wind turbines.
From these two rings the big Cairn on the hill glowers down at me suggesting perhaps that I leave alone the poor folk and come up and see the big man..... so I do.

We had a bit of trouble finding this for some reason, even though we’d read here and had a map and know the road... Looking in a false location my hubby and son managed to get coated in cow dung hee hee (I can laugh, it wasn’t me!).

For others trying to find it the best advice I can give is... As previously mentioned it’s about 3/4 – 1 mile along the A839 driving from the A9 at The Mound. Count gateways / laybys on the right-hand / North side of the road... You’ll pass two almost-layby’s which are clearly actually gateways – park in the *first proper no other use but as a layby* on that side.

You can then either walk back along the road verge on the same side of the road, and enter the field through the gate (just a few metres around the bend of the road) *or* climb the small wire field fence to the side of the layby, follow the fence and there’s a spot to ford the burn. You’ll come out into the next field just below the circle.

We visited in Winter, so there was very little bracken, which was great for actually seeing what’s there. It also, I imagine, afforded us a much better view across the surrounding landscape, which has quite a lot of deciduous tree cover.

There are seven obvious stones in the circle, which is just a few meters across. Two upright a couple of meters high, another two smaller upright stones / boulders, one fallen which would have been as tall as the larger stones, and two more visible low in the scrubby ground cover, partly covered.

Another sizable stone lies a few meters down the slope where it appears to have tumbled. There’s a gap in the circle directly above, so seems likely it belonged in the circle rather than being an outlying stone.

If this stone is from the circle that would make 8, and there would then be an obvious gap for a missing 9th.

There is a ridge a few meters above the circle, with a further, possibly ‘placed’ (rather than natural) stone on it – just visible from the circle with the low Winter ground cover. It *could* possibly be a tumbled boulder from the craggy hillside above, but it seems to be of a similar shape and alignment to one of the larger stones in the actual circle. From this point, even though very close to the circle, the view completely opens up, and through the tree coverage you are able to see out to Loch Fleet.

Taken from Coflein......
A large cairn, placed at an altitude of about 1,560 feet above Ordnance datum; it has been opened, and very completely destroyed in the process. Welsh historians of three generations ago were wont to associate the carneddau on the high land between Carno and Llanbrynmair, and especially the carnedd known as Twr Gwyn Mawr, with the conflicts mentioned in the Welsh chronicle called Brut y Tywysogion under the years 948 and 1080 A.D. In Archaeologia Cambrensis, 1853, II, iv, 8, the conjectures relative to the battle between Gruffudd ap Cynan (and Rhys ap Tewdwr) and Trahaiarn ap Caradog in the year 1080 are said to have been strengthened by the discovery of “javelin heads, battle-axes, and the infantry bills of that period” near the site of Twr Gwyn Mawr. In 1855 the cairn was opened by the Rev. David Davies, then vicar of Dylife. The remains of what appear to have been two separate interments were met with. In one, which was beneath three flagstones laid “on a level with the soil, a small leaf of bronze, about the size of a crown piece, but much thinner,” was found. In another part of the cairn a cist 6 feet by 2 feet was unearthed, the floor “covered with black charcoal and ashes, intermixed with a profusion of small stones”; two flint arrow heads and a flint knife, having clear connection with this interment, were also discovered. The cairn is said to have measured 60 feet in diameter before the excavation. During that undertaking the interior was practically wholly removed, the stones being carelessly thrown out all round. Visited,12th July, 1910.”

From the two ring cairns this huge and famous cairn can be seen lurking in the thin mist waiting patiently for it’s turn. In good weather it would be seen from anywhere on the moor, alas for some good weather.
Like coflein states the interior is wholly destroyed, a right mess indeed, though I think I found at least one of the cist stones poking out of the rubble. But in this fowl weather I took some comfort in it’s disemboweled interior, I had to lie down almost to get out of the wind, from inside, the wind started howling alarmingly I sat upright and it stopped, lied down and it came back got out and it went away, just normal wind noise and the constant whooosh whooosh whooosh.
I picked a careful route to the nearest turbine and climbed it’s steps to take a view from twenty feet up, on a nice day this would have been a good place to survey the whole area, Three cairns (1 huge) two ring cairns a fallen menhir and an enclosure (of unknown date)
but only on a good day the wind that brings these giant whoooshing monsters almost threatens to fell them, as two of them creaked alarmingly as I walked under their whoooshing blades, that was more unnerving than the super strong wind that had such hampered getting up their in the first place.
Time now to get out of the wind a bit and detect those two small cairns down hill a bit to the east.

From the massive bulk of Tyr Gwyn Mawr I reckoned I could find the two smaller cairns away to the east, just follow the path, how hard can it be ?
With the ferocious wind blocked by the hillside, it should have been even easier than I’d anticipated as its got five wooden posts around it, but no, I shunned these obvious markers of something and made for the hilltop, it wasnt there. But from my vantage point I could map read enough to tell it must at least be near those obvious markers of something. (Whooosh whooosh whooosh)
I staggered and stumbled back down to the five wooden posts dodging the stuff that bears have the decency to hide in the woods and the occasional boggy hole, and well bless my soul they put a cairn in the middle of these five posts. That should have made it easy to find, dont you think.
Though half hidden by my favourite of grasses it still looks a good kerb cairn, reminding me of one or two examples over the hills at Llyn Brenig, and if not for the extreme weather it would enjoy good views down the valley to the east.

I couldnt very well leave it out could I ? After the self imposed all weather yomp and after finding everything eventually I couldnt leave out the least of this hillsides occupants.
Only enough remains to solidly state that this is a ruined cairn, like coflein says only the platform the cairn was grown on remains.
After wandering sometimes aimlessly across this moor (whooosh whooosh whooosh) ive gotten my bearings now so its a straight line downhill hill free walk to the waiting embrace of my car.

Time was short, so I opted for the scenic/anonymous route avoiding two large houses. I abandoned the car in an out of the way place walked ten yards up the lane towards the houses, then quite comically darted off into the undergrowth following the river(Cwm Calch). The high river bank concealed my movements untill it was time to pop up on the farm radar, at which point I walked briskly and nonchalontly around the feild edge untill I reached a zig zag path through the thinning wood to the hilltop.
It all looked so different down by the car, straight forward up to the top then back down, on the hill itself was another matter, I thought I had further to go when suddenly the standing stone was right before me.
In most parts of the country the stone would be termed small or even tiny, they say that in Wales too, it is very small. Just a couple of feet away is a cairn, it too is small, if I didnt know it was there under all that thick green stuff, youd pass them both by with no more than a second glance at the stone maybe.
But...........
Even if all the monuments were twice as big or twice again they would still have taken the back seat to the extreme weather I had endured all morning, the stingy face rain had died down somewhat but the wind was like physical hands pushing me down like a straw man.
From the stone I tip toed through the squelch to a nearby pointy peak of this hill top from there I should have been able to see Cerrig Caerau and Lled Croen yr ych stone circles to the north west,
but the wind is so strong I cant keep my eyes open long enough to focus they tear up in two seconds, I ignore the views and enjoy the feeling of flying and stand at forty five degrees into the wind.
But not for long, then its back down to the other nearby peak but the wind has other ideas it lets me know that I cant go up another hilltop but I can get taken straight to the other Ystradfawr cairn. It’s no more than a grassy circular bump with a dimple in the top, but its relation to the other cairn and its stone can be seen, unlike the other cairn which I dont have time to fool around with, time and the weather have beaten us in the end, only my coat is less waterproofed than I hoped.

Any directions would only be a hinderance as its a right maze of tiny lanes, just have a map and head north west out of Trefeglwys
The last port of call today is this little shapely stone, disguised as just another stone amongst a jumble of boulders, farmer hid the stone qiute well without actually obscuring it completely or damaging it at all.
At barely three feet tall it’s only worth a look if your in the immediate vicinity, or like me you just cant ignore a map when it says “standing stone”.
The views arent that terrific either .

Quite a big cairn ,15 m diameter and 3.5m high on a spur of Auld Darkney ( 545m ) one of the hills that mark the Highland Boundary Fault above Strathmore , despite the modest height , views are good across the strath and out the North Sea .
Never been excavated and it was there in 1744 . Canmore doesn’t consider it prehistoric and I won’t disagree .

Go south from the village of Auchleven (parish of Premnay) and stop at the Towmill track on the B992. This part of the road is known as the Brindy and marks the western end of the Bennachie range. There is a small car park here for people who walk the Gordon Way. On the other side of the road there are wooden steps on to the Gordon Way.

Two days ago this area had been under 2 inches of snow and I’d been chased back down the first hill, The Brindy, by a blizzard. However most of the snow had gone for todays visit. The climb is quite steep. Fortunately a frost had saved the area from being a mudbath so underfoot conditions were fine. At the top of the Brindy Hill keep going straight as turning right leads eventually to Auchleven.

At one side is a mature forest on the other Christmas trees grow. Sadly one Christmas tree, complete with tag and price, had been left lying on the ground. Keep going until the deer fence and turn north following the fence. If you stick to the path eventually you will reach the cairn at Knock Saul.

The cairn is situated on the peak of Satter Hill with fantastic views all round. Unfortunately most of the stones have been removed to make dry stane dykes but some original material is still there. On top of this stones have been built to make a wind break. This cairn I estimate would have been about 8 meters wide, how high would have to be guess work. Also there are many rocks possibly one, I saw, with cup marks. The next time Tiompan is up in the area I will lead him to this place.

But a very beautiful and thoughtful place. It was great to be back in the hills.

Visited 5/2/2011.

I’m surprised there are no pics for this site .Coles had them as stone circles and for Burl they were kerb cairns . Quite a bit of damage done in the late 80’s . I slept here ,in a bivvy bag about 40 years ago , people did that then .

I’ve asked for this standing stone to be included on the database on the basis that the Edderton Stone (a near-ish neighbour, as the crow flies) has been included (listed at themodernantiquarian.com/site/5248/edderton.html). Both stones are generally thought to be Pictish or later carved stones, however both could conceivably be earlier standing stones which have been later inscribed and reused.

St Demhan’s Cross stands not far south of the A949 Clashmore (Dornoch) to Bonar Bridge road in a field which slopes down toward the Dornoch Firth. The site is marked with a brown tourist sign, which you’ll spot just to the side of the Creich burial ground. There is a layby outside the burial ground gate, which you can park in. A stile and some steps take you down to the stone, at the East end of the graveyard boundary wall.

The stone is listed on the HER database (linked) as being “Early Medieval – 561 AD to 1057 AD” and is generally considered to be a Pictish carved symbol stone.

It is included in the Highland Council’s Pictish Trail tourist information leaflet, which states…
“A rough, unhewn standing stone, bearing an incised Celtic cross. Like the Clach Biorach at Edderton this could be a reused Bronze Age standing stone. The carving probably dates to the 9th or 10th century AD. This may have been used as a preaching cross rather than a grave-marker. The fair of St Devenic (or Demhan) was still held here in 1630. ”

The carved (north facing) face of the stone is rather smoother and flatter than the other sides. Which would obviously have been convenient if the carving was made later.

To me, compared to some of the other Pictish carved stones in the area, the carving looks rather crude and shallow – which makes me feel it’s more likely to be a reused stone, carved in situ (perhaps where the carver would find it more challenging to work and produce a finessed and elaborate piece of carving). I imagine if a more modern graveyard was sited next to an ancient standing stone then the best way to absorb it into the Christian site would be to make it into a cross. If the stone was already being used as a marker for a meeting place, this would also cause less confusion than taking it down altogether perhaps? But that’s just personal conjecture!

Not to be confused with the seemingly far more famous Clach a Charra near Ballachulush – listed in this saite at themodernantiquarian.com/site/4792/clachacharra.html

The Clach a’Charra is situated right beside the A949, which links the A9 trunk road at Clashmore (near Dornoch) with Bonar Bridge. The stone is quite impressive at around 11ft tall, but surprisingly easy to miss as you travel past by car – it can easily be mistaken for a tree trunk in the verge.

The road / field boundary wall has been built around the stone in a u-shape, rather than the stone being absorbed into the wall as often happens. The stone has obviously at some point been knocked down / fallen – there is a clear repair line a few inches from the ground, and I have added a link to the Dornoch Historylinks museum archieve, which shows the stone being resited in 1968 in some detail (and the stone previous to this in two halves). The stone has roughly four faces, becoming slightly pointed near the top.

On the furthest face from the road (facing roughly south) is one ‘hole’ – too deep to be called a cup mark. It seems to have more of a functional purpose than be decorative. The hole is almost a couple of inches deep, and placed and about 5ft up from the ground.

The Highland Council Archaeological Unit comment…
“Local tradition says the stone marks the grave of a ‘Danish’ chief; and Joass calls the hole a staple-hole and notes an associated ‘swinging chafe’ as if a ‘jougs’ or iron collar had hung from it.” It seems a bit odd however that the criminal would be chained on the side of the stone facing away from the road? Surely such punishment would involve the accused being as easily visible as possible? Unless the route of the road has changed, or we are missing some other part of the jigsaw?

There seems to be some interesting stuff going on in fields immediately either side of the road and stone – recorded on the HER are cremations and urns, evidence of stone working, crop marks, a shell midden…

If visiting there isn’t really an obvious spot to stop in any where near by, and the nearest disused gateway is chained off. Best to plan to park further away where you can (safely) and incorporate the stone into a little walk.

I was asking a Gaelic speaking friend about the name – Clach a’ Charra – and to the best of our figuring it means ‘stone of stone’! She did suggest charra may have a similar root to Carnac – or even cairn, but she’s promised to do some research for me with the senior Gaelic speakers in her family...

I visited this site a couple of years ago on the way home, in the pouring rain as I remember. I parked at the field gate on the minor road to the south of the Hillfort and took the short uphill walk through the field (not public right of way).
I remember the whole site being heavily wooded.
However, the main thing I remember is when coming down back to the car, jogging as you do to try to stay on your feet on the wet grass, my foot got caught in a piece of wire sticking out of the ground. How I managed to stay on my feet I don’t know! I think a re-visit is in order – on a dry day!

Sadly nothing now remains of the henge as it has been ‘ploughed out’ over the years. But it’s location was prehistoric central. Bennachie can be seen, Dilly Hill cairn and standing stones opposite, Blairbowie standing stone is a 1/2 mile away whilst Balquhain and Easter Aquhorthies RSC’s are nearby as is the Whitecross cairn. Now a darker brown patch indicates it’s position and as Tiompan suggests there is nothing much to see but as for location it is spot on. A shame as a lot is going on but agriculture, as normal in this corner, had the final say.

Visited 3/2/2011.

Visited 15.1.11
Taking the A433 north east out of Tetbury you soon come to a cross roads near Broadfield Farm. Take the left turning (signposted Cherrington Lane) and park where you can. The Barrow is in the field on your left. I found it easier to view the Barrow from the A433. The Barrow is approximately 10 metres wide and 2 metres high and has a fence around it. Although covered in long grass there are no trees / bushes growing out of the Barrow.
There was a gate which gives access to the field in which the Barrow stands but Sophie was waking up and crying every time the car stopped so I didn’t think it fair to leave her with Karen and Dafydd while I went ‘exploring’ so I settle for a roadside view.

Visited 15.1.11
Taking a minor road south out of Leighterton (very pretty village and worth a visit in its own right) you pass a very posh entrance to Whitley Stud Park Wood Farm on your right hand side – you can’t miss it. There is space to park at the entrance.
The Barrow can be easily seen as a grass covered low mound in the field on your left
There didn’t appear to be any easy way to get closer to the Barrow so I settled for a view from the Farm entrance – which did the job just fine.
I would say the barrow was about 10 metres in diameter and 1 metre high – largely ploughed out no doubt.

This stone is not easy to find as a field hedge has been planted around it. Just off the busy Swindon to Highworth road past the turning for the Honda car factory. The village of Stanton Fitzwarren is situated behind Stanton Park – as you go into the village (by foot) follow the footpath sign to Sevenhampton.
A single sarsen standing stone on the edge of a field, possibly an ancient boundary marker, it stands 5’4” high.
Edit:
Acknowledgements: Terence Meaden (archaeologist/author) and PeteG for mentioning on a forum about three years ago. Also my walking friend MC who spotted it on a walk about a month ago and kindly helped me find it again last weekend.

Visited 23.1.11
Just west of Trecastle, along the A40 heading towards Llandovery, you come to the turning for Llywel on your right. Take this turning and follow the sign for Nantgwared Farm. Heading up the narrow and fairly steep lane you will come to a rough track and a bridleway sign on the right. Park here, near the field entrance. DO NOT attempt to drive up the track unless you happen to be in a tractor!
A 10 minute uphill walk will bring you to an old rusty metal field gate on the right. Climb over the gate and head towards another metal gate in the top right hand corner of the field. You will come across the Cairn as you approach the second gate. The Cairn is not visible from the first gate you have just climbed over. The Cairn is oval in shape, approximately 10 metres x 5 metres x 0.3 metres high. The centre of the Cairn has been dug into and it now looks like a giant doughnut! Decent views to be had to the south east.

Visited 23.1.11
Taking the minor road west out of Trecastle (heading towards Y Pigwrn stone circles) you first pass a turning on the left which leads to Penrhiw Farm. Keep on the road towards the stone circles and you shortly come to two metal field gates on your left hand side. Stop at the first gate and climb over the metal fence opposite – no barbed wire for a change! Walk up the small embankment and you will see the cairn, only a short walk away. The Cairn is approximately 10 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high.
Note – the Cairn is not visible from the road.