I remember seeing this in that book by Geraldine Stout on the Ely O’Caroll area and it was described as a barrow. The OS map describes it as a barrow but then when you go to the Norht Tipp Arch inventory it is described as a ringfort.
What can I say except it is just outside of Templemore and easily viewable from the road. The ditch of the barrow is easily discernible.
This is a low bowl barrow adjacent to the A37 Dorchester to Yeovil road. The barrow itself not substantial – Grinsell gives its dimensions as 20 yards in diameter and 2 1/2 feet high, as measured by the RCHM in the 1950’s. It does not look to have changed much since then. He also describes it as a Cairn or stone heap, which is reasonably unusual in this part of the world.
The monument is as Rhiannon says on the reverse slope of an escarpment overlooking the small town of Maiden Newton, south in the valley below, the barrow faces north.
Whilst the barrow itself is fairly bog standard and possibly quite uninteresting, the area in which it stands is of national significance. The barrow is on private farmland, but the 80 odd acres surrounding it are within the Hog Cliff Hill National Nature Reserve (NNR). This is an area of proven antiquity as it has been extensively investgated in the past.
Excavated in 1959 by Phillip Rahtz (Ellison and Rahtz 1987) it was shown be late Bronze Age in origin, rather than Iron Age and is an early example of a permanent nucleated settlment. It comprised 3 round houses surrounded by a bank and ditch which enclosed an area of 13+ acres.
Its use carried on into the Iron Age and probably beyond and some of the earthworks of the field boundaries can still be seen in the NNR.
This is a rare survival or rarely looked at type of site and I think the date of the dig is of some significance – these sites don’t last long with modern deep ploughing techniques – and the low banks and post holes etc. are soon scoured away.
I have recently seen aerial photos of the neolithic complex at Hambledon hill, the first photo from 1924 shows extant banks ,ditches and pits etc, whilst a later shot from 1968 shows little more than crop marks, a site of early human activity destroyed by agriculture.
This stone circle is only a few miles from where I grew up and yet the first time I visited was only last sunday.
I knew about it since I got interested in megaliths but from the few pictures I had seen, it didnt seem worth visiting. However after seeing it in the stone I think I was very wrong.
I dont know if the picture does it justice but the circle could be very easily made out in the snow conditions showing the east west axis of the circle.
Its tricky enough to find in the plantation but for me that was half of the fun. Its weird but the tree plantation around it gave the circle a sense of otherworld-ness.
Visited 8.1.11
Travelling south from Yatton to Congresbury along to B3133 you will see a brown tourist sign to the left stating ‘Cadbury’. Follow the sign and you will come to a fairly large free car park on your right. Park here and take the mud ‘path’ across the grass and up towards the trees. (There is an information board in the car park telling you all about Cadbury wildlife reserve – although the only wildlife I saw was several dogs being walked!) As the ‘path’ climbs you go through a wood kissing gate which has a small information board giving brief details of the Hillfort. Then up a short but steep section and you arrive in the centre of the Hillfort.
I walked the perimeter of the entire Hillfort which only took 15 minutes. There are decent views to be had when peering through the trees – especially to the north. It makes you realise that you don’t need to that high to see for miles in this largely flat countryside. There wasn’t a great deal to be seen of the ramparts/ditches – much eroded. There was however a lot of stonework sticking out of the ground so perhaps these were part of the original defences?
In the centre of the site was a large raised ‘platform’ of stones which must have belonged to some building or other in the past? (The site was also used during the ‘Dark Ages’) Also in the centre of the Hillfort was an unofficial ‘BBQ type’ area with a fair bit of rubbish left around – bottles / cans etc. I now carry a bag with me for such occasions so I spent a few minutes bagging up the rubbish to take back down with me to deposit in the bins in the car park.
It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the car park to the Hillfort.
Not a lot to see really but a fairly easy site to access when in the area.
The two Low Longrigg stone circles are in the worst ‘nick’ of the five upon Burnmoor. In many respects, however, this is of little consequence... for as IronMan says, the view to be had here really IS everything. Particularly when looking south-east across the plateau to the other monuments, mist swirling all around to add that essential ‘edge’. To remind the viewer that this is not make believe... oh no, it is cold, wet and.... hell... a joy to be alive and experience something so wild, uncompromising and... real. Yeah, suddenly everything appears to make sense. Or at least as much sense as this ‘hobby’ ever will do, I guess?
Both ‘circles enclose cairns, the north-eastern site possessing a pair, the other ‘circle one. According to Burl – who should know since he excavated one in 1947 – a further grouping of cairns to the south-east are Bronze Age clearance cairns. Seems quite a lot was going on upon this now deserted moor millennia ago.
Today, however, all is (mostly) quiet, the atmosphere overwhelming, the only sounds that of the wind and the skylark. Come to think of it, the latter is a pretty noisy little sod – very close to irritating, in fact – but since he lives here... and I don’t.... his exuberance is not an issue. Sure, I’ve no compulsion to blast him out of the sky, unlike some ‘educated’ morons I might mention. I stay for several hours, simply looking and taking it all in, until the mist descends to finally envelope the plateau once again in mystery....
Back at the car in Boot I find 8 hours have elapsed since parking up this morning. Well, there you are. Despite being so ethereal and silent, Burnmoor clearly has quite a bit to say to those who may wish to listen. If you get what I mean?
Set a little to the north-west of the wonderful Brat’s Hill stone circle enclosing its myriad cairns, the paired stone circles upon White Moss would need to be very special indeed to sustain the drama – I think that’s the correct word – and maintain the feeling of evocative abandon experienced by this wide-eyed traveller up here upon this wild moor. Fortunately, they are.... Oh yes! With bells on. In fact I have to admit these two are arguably my finest monuments in Lakeland for sheer atmospheric vibe, affecting me no end. In fact you could say to the nth degree. No, really. Although I was never any good at algebra or trigonometry at school, Thom might well have approved of the analogy. Perhaps, perhaps not.
That other great stone circle luminary, Aubrey Burl, cites the circles as being ‘ruinous’. Maybe, but when you’re used to tiny Welsh upland ‘circles as I am, these are nothing less than ‘substantial’ in comparison. Mist swirls evocatively – evocatively as long as it doesn’t head this way, that is – across and around the long summit crest of Illgill Head to the north, the far flank of which plunges precipitously, albeit unseen, to the depths of Wast Water. To the north-east Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, is itself cloaked in a mantle of grey vapour. So what’s new? Well, viewing it from inside an enigmatic stone circle, for starters. I swear if you was to look up ‘evocative’, or, say, ‘ethereal’ in the Oxford English Dictionary there would be an image of White Moss. Ok, ok, there isn’t. But there bloody well should be.
Both circles have ‘just’ the single cairn, placed centrally. It is more than enough, but Burnmoor doesn’t let the visitor off the emotional hook that easily. No, look further to the north-east and two more stone circles are visible upon Low Longrigg. Go on. You know you must. You have no choice in the matter.
themodernantiquarian.com/post/93174/fieldnotes/low_longrigg.html
This is one of Limericks “Megabarrows” along with Rathanny, Coolalough and Ballinscaula. The barrow must be about 10-15m in diameter.
Finding it is quiet easy it just north (2 1/2km) of the town of Hospital and right on the side of a small boreen.
From the North Tipp Arch Inventory
“Kerb Circle (Possible) Situated on a poorly drained E facing slope in an upland area overlooking the Nenagh river valley to the SE. The site consists of a circular area (diam 9.1n N-s; 10.3m E-W) defined by 10 low orthostats with a possible entrance gap (Wth 1.9m) at N where two of the largest stones survive. The stones range 0.4-0.9m L 0.10-0.15m and 0.2-0.7m H. The grass covered interior has evidence of several slabs barely protruding above the surface”
This was my second time looking for this site. I followed the GPS this to the grid ref in the Inventory and did a good scout around the area.
It really doesnt look like much, there are a few stones barely protruding above the surface in a very marshy area.
It may save someone going looking for it, on the other hand maybe the Grid Ref is wrong.
It’s difficult for me to relate a visit to the five – count ‘em – stone circles located upon this remote Cumbrian moorland plateau without descending into trite cliche. You know the sort of thing.... evoking Wagner’s Tannhauser or something similar? But then again, just how do you adequately describe something so intangible – and yet, paradoxically, so real – that the medium of language, perhaps even in the peerless hands of a Shakespeare, cannot hope to convey? I guess there are just too many mutually dependant factors involved in forming the ‘moment’, complexities maybe a whisky blender or perfumer may be equipped to handle. But not I......
A heavily overcast dawn at Chapel Stile, Great Langdale precedes a never-less-than... er.... ‘interesting’ drive over the Wrynose and Hardknott Passes, the descent into Eskdale, past the Roman fortress of Mediobogdvm, not for the faint hearted. Or those with dodgy brakes. Probably safe to say that this Imperial outpost was not the most favoured of postings for your wannabe Roman citizen? But, hey, that was only yesterday. Well, two millennia ago... but I’ve even older ‘things’ on my mind.
Upon arrival at the tiny village of Boot, the label ‘chocolate box’ is so apt it has me reaching for a certain confectionary item lying temptingly upon the front seat. Go on, you know you want me. To be fair, despite the tourist tearooms, the charm isn’t altogether illusory here, the cascading Whillan Beck crossed by a fine stone bridge. Beyond this, a wooden gate gives access to a VERY steep bridleway ascending the fell to the right, along what appears to be a dry stream bed. Probably rains a lot, then. Ha! The angle begins to ease as I approach some old stone buildings and emerge onto the moorland plateau beyond.
The first monument to emerge from the gloom is the Brat’s Hill stone circle. Although somewhat – hell, marvellously – dishevelled, this is a gem and well worth the climb in itself in my opinion. The largest monument upon the moor and overlooked by a prominent rocky outcrop, Brat’s Hill is particularly notable for the five kerbed cairns which occupy its interior, four clustered to the west and one standing isolated, aloof from the others, in the eastern sector. According to Burl – yes, himself – these cairns were excavated in 1827, the eastern cairn’s kerb – now gone but like the others then comprised of fourteen orthostats – being described as a ‘parallelogram of stones similar to that in the Keswick circle’... in other words, that’ll be the enigmatic, still surviving ‘enclosure’ within Castlerigg, then.
So that’s what the Castlerigg feature was/is. The kerb of a burial cairn. Or was it? Bearing in mind Thom thought the two circles very similar in design, I think I’d go with that, all things considered.... Yeah, suffice to say Brat’s Hill sets the mind in flux, never a bad thing, I find. The weather’s on the move, too, so I take a compass bearing and head towards the next of Burnmoor’s linear treasures visible to the north-west.... the paired White Moss stone circles.
themodernantiquarian.com/post/93173/fieldnotes/white_moss.html
Visited 8.1.11
Really easy to visit this one!
Just off junction 19 of the M5 is the village of Portbury with the pretty church of St Mary the Virgin (this is the church you see when travelling up/down the motorway) As you enter the village look for Church Lane on your right. The stone is easily spotted, next to the church, at the bottom of the dead end. Lots of parking places.
There is an interesting plaque on the stone which states the stone is though to date to 2000BC and quaried from Conygar Hill. It was recovered from a dew pond on 27.9.87 where it had lain since the 1950’s (what it was doing in the pond in the first place is another question!)
The stone was re-errected by the Portbury Historical Society and with help from the villagers – good on you all.
The stone is about 6ft high, 2.5ft wide and about 1ft deep.
As I said, really easy to get to and well worth a visit when in the area. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to look around the church – maybe next time?
This hillfort is a couple of miles from Castlerea in Roscommon. The “fort” has 4 ditches and has two mounds within it. They are thought to be bronze age burial mounds and as such Rathra is thought to be a ritual monument. The is another huge mound to the east (which for some reason I didnt take a photo of) which is a possible passage mound.
It is a highly impressive monument and difficult to photograph but well worth a visit. There is a sign into the field where it stands and a stile so there doesnt seem to be any problem with access.
I also saw a very unusual stone within the complex. This stone looked to me like a cross between a sile na gig and a bullaun stone. What is even of more interest was the unusual fossil in one “leg” of it. I wonder was this some kind of inaugeration stone and if anyone has any more information on it.
Some links to further info on Rathra.
I visited this site and Proleek Dolmen after a wedding in Ballymascalon Hotel (the Dolmen is actually to the rear of the golf course of the hotel).
I remember having read about it in an edition of Archaeology Ireland and decided to have a quick look the morning after the wedding.
I wish I had done a bit more research on it as after reading Fourwinds fine fieldnotes on the site, I missed out on a possible basin stone of a passage tomb.
megalithomania.com/show/image/3055
Since Fourwinds visit in 2003, they have put up an bit of an information board which gives the various actions of the “pattern” that are to be performed.
There is one double bullaun know as the “Knee stone” and one shallow single bullaun know at the “Head stone”.
The shrine itself is just off the M1 motorway and has a fine big car-park.
Five years ago ,almost to the day , I came across this deserted settlement which was not recorded on Canmore or even noted on the 6 inch to the mile 1867 map of the area ,apart from that what was striking was a couple of possible standing stones , 7 metres apart , aligned a few degrees off due east to west , One was pointed and the other wide topped and sloping . The interesting bit is that all these characteristics are of of a group of monuments , the “Perthshire pairs ” , like all stones that appear to be standing stones unless they are found to have some association that dates them it’s down to speculation what period they were erected in but the similarities with a recognised typology give them a wee bit of credence .
There are two hut circles near the Slacks burial cairn. Unfortunately the site at NJ84311420 has taken a bit of a battering by forest agriculture and nature – fallen trees.
The hut circle in the photos is no more than a few steps away from the cairn. It is almost 9 meters wide, the bank width is 1.5 meters with a height of 0.5 meters. All sections are grass grown with the light covering of snow making it look like a cake with icing sugar. How I missed this on my first visit seems bizarre but miss it I did.
Normally the road to the Slacks car park is fine but today it was a skating rink. The paths to and fro hardly used except for some hardy souls and their dogs.
Visited 8/01/2011.
Taking the Brandsbutt road out of Inverurie I walked to Conglas farm. There I walked through the farm and underneath the railway. The stone looks like it is aligned to the Miter Tap but is in Prehistoric central. Balhalgardy is on top of the hill in front, Balquhain is to the valley heading west, Dilly Hill behind, Barra Hill east along with many circles and standing stones all with a view of Bennachie. Today the walk was pleasant as the ground was frozen, if not this would be a mud bath. Probably about 2 miles walk, there and back.
As night came down a crescent moon parked itself above the stone. The atmosphere of the place changed, the silence beautiful, time seemed to stand still. Perhaps all of these years ago it did.
Visited 8/01/2011.
I visited this site as part of a Field Surveying course I was taking at Lancaster University.
We carried out a very brief survey of the site, which consists of a large elliptical bank and ditch earthwork (approx 100m x 50m) with the remains of 3 large sets of stones, now scattered. There appear to be 2 entrances at the top (W) and bottom (E) of the bank, measuring 4m & 12m, although the Easterly one is somewhat degraded. Current thinking is that the bank/ditch is probably late Neolithic and the stones are the possible remains of Bronze Age cairns. I believe the site will be fully surveyed this year. Unusually, it sits on sloping grassland and faces towards the Langdales.
6th January 2011
A rejuvenating hill/woodland walk around the Slad area in the Cotswolds.
Mid afternoon, still quite light as we headed towards The Camp village. Friend parked in a layby along the Calfway – don’t be mislead by the name, this is a fast road. From the road the tumuli and long barrow looked uninviting set as it is in a smallish triangular field, surrounded by a stone wall with an electric fence running along it. At first I thought I would be content to just have a look from the grass verge – until I spotted a couple of tantalising old stones atop the long barrow. We gained entry to the field via a gap in the hedge, across a tumbled down, mossed covered wall and under the electric wire – no problem. Access also possible by climbing a rusty old gate near the layby, which was the way we left. Something of an enigma – the long barrow is much ruined from excavation though the chamber stones seem to still be where they should be. Alongside the barrow is a large tumuli which I didn’t know quite what to make of – possibly another long barrow but somehow didn’t feel like one.
Still walking in your footsteps tsc
If you access this site from the castle cafe and shop then the walk is pretty gentle and it’s very easy to find. You walk past the front of the castle (at a distance) which is a handsome building and decend to the stones, all through open ground with some wonderful sea views.
Parking at the cafe /shops is very limited, and the excellent cafe (WELL worth a visit!) is popular with vistors and locals alike, so if you intend to do this try not to go over the main lunch period.
Just a couple of words of warning / advice...
When we visited at Easter 2010 there was a large bull being kept in the Druids field so we obviously didn’t dare enter – but there also wasn’t any warning he was there so we could have got caught out!
Also a note on actually finding Druid Field / the circle – once you are parked up in the signposted spot next to the road, head across the field in front of you following the white painted boulders, but when they lead you to the field fence you follow it along on the *same side* which will lead you through a gate and along the side of the Druids Field to another gate leading into that area. We could see what appeared to us to be more painted boulders in the next field and ended up crossing field boundaries and getting very lost!
Also at that time of year the field was *extremely* wet and thick with very sticky, deep mud – enough to go over the tops of childrens wellies and take off even a heavy adults boot with suction. We ended up having to criss cross the field finding the driest path to make it passable at all (also beware the slippery boards over ditches) – so go prepared folks!
Has it really been nearly four years since my last wander around this no-mans land, yes, yes it has. I was hoping for more snow but in it’s place i’ll take a rain free day. I say no-mans land because all the times Iv’e been here iv’e never seen another soul. Nice
My new super goretex boots and waterproofs might have come in handy if it was wet but everything was frozen solid and the new parts of the path made it all too easy. No compass, no GPS, I didnt even look at the map, so sure I was of the route, no problems at all.
The stones seemed smaller than I remembered, perhaps it’s the bigness of the whole place that tainted my memories.
Amongst the stones we found two letters written by children adressed to the fairies, one was asking how they liked the snow, and whether they were Welsh fairies, the other saying how much they liked their trip into the hills, proof of fairies existence if ever I saw it.
But the reason for this trip was to ascend the big mountain Moel Ysfarnogod, not all the way up mind, just enough to look down on the stone circle/cairn. It was a real treat for the eyes, we started off on the far northern flank and skipped and stumbled across the mountain side as far as Llyn Eiddew Bach, continuously stopping for a breather and to take zooming pictures of the stones with the mountains in the background. Amazingly fantastic. (we also tried to fake a UFO photo using thrown ice chunks, not so fantastic)
I dare say i’ll find an excuse to go back up there but hopefully not waiting for four years, in fact I already have, Y Gyrn cairns look and sound quite impressive and less than a klick from B C F.
Nice one Vic
This cairn is the last visible one before you reach the crown of thorns, it’s not got much in the way of interest but the dark aspect of Moel Ysfarnogod keeps the visitor from being underwhelmed.
Aubrey Burl says only this about Llyn Eiddew Bach...... The ‘Little ivy lake” is an incomplete ring of seven stones one fallen, with a diameter of 42 feet. Originally thirteen of fourteen stones the tallest two and a half feet tall.....
On the ground it’s a little more than that,one can just make out a circular form to it but on the northern side there are a lot of small pointy stones, reminiscent of those hillfort defences I saw at Pen y Gaer themodernantiquarian.com/site/8406/penygaer.html
On the western side of the circle is a small ring cairn with hollowed out interior, all in all a strange little site, a ring inside a ring that frankly looks a bit of a mess .
It’s a long walk from the car to Bryn Cader Faner, so to alleviate the boredom (Ha, boring? north wales? never) there are a few cairns along the way. This is the first one, on the right hand side of the path, coflein says there is a hut circle settlement nearby on the other side of the path, but we couldnt see it.
About fifty yards south of the cairn is a significant rock outcrop that seems to mirror the cairn, and possibly inspired it’s positioning.
With the dark mass of Moel Ysfarnogod looking over the whole place its a mean and moody place not to be entered upon lightly.
The first time I came here I got in some right bother with the farmer, we parked in the wrong place, didnt use the footpath, climbed over a gate and to cap it all I’m just another crap townie from England, this time I vowed would be different, it was too.
Firstly I didn’t take any wrong turns, I pinpointed the exact place I parked last time then reversed back till we saw the green rusty gate that leads onto the footpath. I parked as contientously as possible well off the road. The footpath is almost hidden from the farm, three minutes from car to stones.
The dolmen looks completely different now the wall has been peeled away, you can actually tell what type it is, it’s a portal dolmen, and in extremely good nick too. To be honest it’s been so long since my first visit I couldnt really remember what it looked like as all my photos of back then are none digital, but I was hoping that more of the walling was gone, and was a bit dissapointed to see it still joined at the behind.
But the longer I stayed the more I appreciated the place, like the big stone still trapped in the wall, like the small stone with a big smooth bowl like cupmark on it, and the fact that the capstone is resting not just on the chambers uprights but also on the stones of the wall, if they were removed it might slip straight off, the capstone is as precariously angled as Trethevy quoit in Cornwall though not as big. The three front stones are identical to those at Cist Cerrig a couple of weeks ago, and Howth near Dublin a couple of months ago, but thats a portal dolmen for you.
We made it back to the car unhindered and chalked up a win for the stupid townie, How would you like it if I turned up on your property and wandered about at will, why I’d be gald of the company of course, but theres nowt much of interest in my pokey little back yard.
We north drove all the way up the small road that ends at Sylfaen farm, all was quiet so we discreetly parked the car out of the way, and made a dash for the hillside.
From the farm go through one gate, turn left and follow the path over the brow of the hill and the three big stones come into view, from car to stones was less than ten minutes.
I knew this circle wasnt going to blow me away, but I was unprepared for the majestic mountains decorating the whole southern vista, Cadair Idris is they’re highest point, ascended by me and the day vole in typical Welsh weather some years ago, but today the clouds were above the mountain peaks all over Snowdonia, and the scant remains of last months snow highlighted and picked out details on the mountain side that were at other times invisible. I like mountains.
Kammer, bless his heart thought the two big stones were an odd arrangement in the circles centre, and that was how i thought it was untill we walked up to the top corner of the field in order to look down upon this less than mighty work of old, it was obvious to my mountain buddy Day vole and myself that the two big stones stand on the south west edge of a slight embankment with several very small stones poking through. Reminding me highly of the loupin stones way up north of two borders, the two big stones being portal stones perhaps framing a significant mountain peak or a celestial moment. This is the second whiff of Scotland ive had in North Wales this last couple of years, maybe i’m onto something, but the wifes been saying that for years.
