Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 10.10.10
Directions: Take the minor road north east out of Maenclochog until you reach two metal field gates opposite each other. Park here and jump over the field gate on the left. From here you can see the top of the stone. A 2 minute walk across the field will take you to the stone.
The stone is about 7ft high, triangular with a square foot. There is a large square flat stone at the foot of the standing stone (just peeing out of the ground) plus 2 large boulders. I may have been seeing things but one of the boulders had what appeared to be a triangular shape carved into it with a tiny cross inside.
As I said, I may have been seeing things?!

Visited 10.10.10
I parked in the hamlet of Pant-Y-Caws and walked the 10 minutes it takes to get to the field in which the stone stands. As with every other site in this area, the field hedgerows are very tall and you need to go to the field gate in order to get a reasonable view of the stone. The stone is at the far end of the field and the two holes in the stone are evident. The stone itself is wide but fairly thin.
Be warned – the further up the farm track you walk the muddier it gets!

Follow the directions for the nearby Ardler Wood cairn and from there look in a north westerly direction. The cairn is on the crest of the hill. Unfortunately a lot of damage has been done here by quads, especially on the eastern side. Pity because this must have some place. As usual the scenery all round is stunning. What is left is a grass covered mound sitting at 13 meters wide, with the highest point at half a meter.

The last time I ventured here I was faced with whiteout conditions and was up to my waist in snow. This time nature was happy enough with a fairly warm breeze.

Visited 14/10/2010.

Follow the directions for the Trancie cairn but this time head south from Mill Of Culfork farm. Follow the track until the trees stop then turn east. Somehow get over the Long Burn, there are stones and head to the top of the hill. This is quite a brute of a climb, if I’d looked more closely at the map I’d have found another easier route from the farm. However the scenery more than makes up for this. Simply stunning the top of Cardlunchart looks across to Trancie and beyond. Good all round views.

The cairn itself is fairly small and is on the south eastern slopes of the hill. It sits at just over 6 meters high and 0.3 high. The grass covering this time helps as it is easily found in the heather.

With that it was back down the hill, the legs had survived so it was on to the next destination.

Visited 14/10/2010.

I love this place, the scenery, a decent climb and generally some excellent feelings here. The weather being fairly warm and pleasant helped plus it was in much better condition than what I’d seen at Pitcandlich and High Cairn.

I’ll let Canmore tell you all the details with a link but they don’t describe how to get there. I left the A97 at Glenkindie and turned towards Towie, the standing stone is near the junction. Go thru the small village and keep going until Newton farm. Take the minor road opposite and stop at the Mill Of Culfork. Carlunchart Cairn is nearby as well.

I walked down, east, the road until a quarry opposite which a bridge crosses the Long Burn. Keep going north on a fairly steep climb. The grass covered ditch cairn is at the top of the hill. This is ancient central with cairns, cup marked rocks, standing stones and ancient villages on most of the surrounding hills. I’ve walked many times in this area and this place is now one of favourites.

Visited 14/10/2010.

The remains of these three hut circles are a tragedy and have suffered a similar fate as the nearby cairn. All of them are about 9 meters wide with various bank sizes. Nj43521512 is the best preserved as the northern bank is still there although it is now mostly covered in ferns.

Visited 14/10/2010.

Go thru the village of Glenkindie on A97 heading south and take the first minor road to the right. Head up the hill and take the next right as well. The first farm to the left is Pitcandlich. Luckily the farmer gave me permission to park the car. Unluckily he didn’t know about the cairns or the hut circles up the hill.

Head north up the hill till the trees and make for deer fence. Follow this east until a rusty gate is seen Next to this a gap has been left above the barbed wire fence to climb thru.

Unfortunately the cairn is largely ruined as farm work, forestry and pheasant rearing have battered it. On its west curve quads have flattened it. In a very sad state it remains. On the plus side is the scenery and nearby ancient village. Grass covers the cairn which is some 10 meters wide and 0.5 meters tall.

Visited 14/10/2010.

Visited 10.10.10
Heading north out of Glandy Cross along the A478 you quickly come to a metal field gate on your left hand side just past a house (there is another metal field gate directly opposite). Park here as best you can but be careful, the A478 is surprising busy.
Climb over the gate and follow the hedgerow back along the roadside, towards the house. Keep following the hedgerow and you will end up behind the house garden. In about another 50 metres climb up onto the hedgerow as best you can – the Cairn is just the other side of the hedgerow. This is not easy due to the height of the bank / the brambles and of course the customary barbed wire. (What is it about this part of the world that all the hedges in the area are so high and overgrown yet they still insist on have a barbed wires fence on each side?)
I counted 9 stones, all ‘higgly piggly’ in a pile next to the aforementioned hedgerow.
The cairn is basically wrecked, now no more than a jumble of stones. Sad.
As per my last visit to the Glandy Cross area I managed to cut myself on the barbed wire! One thing I did notice is that the house you park near has a large stone on the drive which looks remarkably similar to the cairn stones. Hmmm………….

Visited 10.10.10
I parked next to the reservoir entrance on the busy A478 as previously advised.
The Burial Chamber lies on the other side of the high hedgerow opposite. It was difficult to climb the hedgerow due to the steepness plus the brambles and nettles. Luckily I spotted a section of fence where the barbed wire was broken. Once I scrambled to the top I could immediately see the remains of the Burial Chamber just inside the field. There was another barbed wire fence on the other side of the bank which I was going to climb over but it was so rickety that I doubt I would have been able to get back over. With this is mind I settled for a view from the top of the bank – so close, yet so far.
There is a large capstone with several other stones sticking up out of the grass. There was an alignment of 3 larger stones. There were good views to the hills in the distance.

Visited 10.10.10 – 10.10am!
I parked outside Ysgol Beca Efailwen (school) and walked along the minor road which runs along the south of the school. A short way along the road the stone can be seen in the middle of the field near a telegraph pole, to your left. You will need to climb up the bank to get a look. There is no public access to the field and I didn’t fancy trying to get through the hedge and over the fence. I therefore settled for a view from a distance with the binoculars. The stone appears squarish in shape and about 1 metre high.

Visited 10.10.10
An O/S map is required when visiting this site to navigate the maze of lanes.
I parked near Dolau Maen Isaf farm house and walked about 50 metres further up the lane until I came to a metal gate on my left. I walked down the rough track going through another couple of gates. As you approach the house you will see a public footpath sign pointing to the left. Don’t go left, keep on the track a little bit longer and you will see a metal gate on the far side of the field to your left. The top of the stones are visible from this gate. Across the field to the next gate and you will come face to face with the stones. The walk from the road takes 10 minutes.
One stone is about 6 ½ ft high and roundish, the other is about 7ft high and sleek – like a spear point. Both stones are about 7 paces apart.
To the north there is a rocky outcrop which dominates the area. I feel sure that this must have a bearing on why the stones were erected here in the first place?
Whilst walking back up the track to the road I was stopped by the owner of the house who was returning home, and he asked me what I was doing? When I explained he said that there was no public right of way to the stones (this I knew) but once he was satisfied I meant no harm he became a bit friendlier. I would recommend you ask permission from the house before visiting the stones. To be fair I would have done this myself but there was no one in.

Visited 10.10.10
Directions: Taking the minor road east out of Tufton heading towards Maenclochog, you come to the entrance to Budloy farm (on the left). There is space to park one car here. After reading previous visit notes I decided to walk up the farm drive and link up with the public footpath at the top, near the houses. Luckily I managed to do this without being challenged. I then followed the path around to the right which quickly deteriorates to a ‘non path’. I passed several scrapped cars and even a boat! The nettles at this point were waist high and despite the warm weather I was so glad I wasn’t wearing shorts! Once past the nettles the stone comes into view to your left in the adjacent field. The stone is approximately 7ft high and was covered in insects and litchen. The stone felt warm to the touch in the unseasonably hot weather.
The walk from the road to the stone takes about 10 minutes.

Without doubt the highlight of the day – what a cracker of a site!
Directions: Taking the minor road east out of Tufton you come to an electricity sub power station on the left. Just beyond this are two metal field gates also on the left – park here. Go over the left hand side locked gate (or under it as I did as the track was so eroded) and follow the track straight up to the stones – 5 minutes walk.
Be warned – the track becomes increasingly muddy – particularly at the top of the track near the stones where there are animal pens and more gates to cross.
This really is a lovely setting to sit, rest and contemplate the meaning of life!
The views are fab, the hills to one side, the tumbling waters of the reservoir in the distance.
As for the cairn itself, I counted 9 large standing stones, with many fallen all around of different sizes. The stones which catch the eye are the ‘rippled’ ones. I have never seen stones like this before, very unusual and quite pretty in their own way.
I would highly recommend a visit to this site but I would suggest you take your wellies!

This cairn , like so many of the chambered cairns in this area is low lying and close to the present road(s) /obvious route avoiding the bog and hills , which with the exception of Ben More Assynt are not very high but nevertheless impressive .

There is not much I can add to Chance’s thorough fieldnote about this hill; last Sunday (10/10/2010) out walking on Pewsey Hill and into the landscape. It hard to photograph a hill when you are actually walking on it so no photographs of the White Horse. The chilly mist lifted and the day became one of those perfect elemental Wiltshire days – a crystal clear sky and a light wind which refreshed rather than chilled. Picked Hill came into view as we made our way to Swanborough Tump (an interesting and historic spot). The most striking thing about Picked Hill is its similarity to Silbury ... or vice versa. Chance has listed all the surrounding hills so I won’t repeat them here other than to say that however you want to define the word mystical on that particular autumn day, Wiltshire was it.

As usual I left this monument with more questions than answers!

After a tremendous 5 mile walk through Forestry Commission tracks and some easy OS navigation, this Scheduled Cairn was one that I’ve wanted to visit for a while.

Lying on an elevated platform in the Morangie Forest, its certainly in a quiet and peaceful spot. A wee bit of a climb from the track through fairly open pine woods leads to this impressive Long Cairn opening out nicely as you puff and pant upwards.

The extant of this monument is fairly impressive. It maintains a regular height/length/breadth throughout. The body of the Cairn is interspersed with at least 15 large,deep and uniform (robber?) holes.

There is also the remains of a very old building wall disecting part of the cairn about midway down its length. Strangely (from my limited knowledge) there is no evidence of this building anywhere else on the cairn. The cairn maintains its shape throughout. What kind of building it could have been on such an elevated slope is a mystery – Although there are the remains of 2 Historic townships and field systems on the floor of the Glen not very far away.

But the strangest mystery to me was a little bunch of (very old) artificial flowers sitting in a little oasis atop the highest part of the monument – it was one of those “what the.......? moments. So totally out of place, I’m still wondering who would have put them there and why.

Forestry Commission plantations seem almost timeless and its easy to forget that up until fairly recently land-use in many of these remote Glens was totally different. These Glens were once the home and workplaces of many families.

But there is something about this cairn that seems to cross the ages. Difficult for me to put into words, but my impression of this Cairn was that it meant something to people until fairly recently.

With every Cairn I visit, I feel I learn a little more, BUT, I also feel there is even more I dont understand!!

Yesterday turned out a good day for new finds .I wouldn’t normally post pics of single cup marks but there were three different rocks with almost basin sized cups within a 150 m of each other .Then a bit further on it was much smaller cups than usual . One pic of a find from a couple of years ago too.

Visited 10.10.10
Taking the minor road east out of Maenclochog, take the turning to the right when the road forks just past Temple Druid (remembering to visit the standing stone first of course!). You will shortly see Llandilo Isaf farm on your left – park here. There is a public right of way which runs through the farm’s garden. It’s a very odd feeling walking through someone’s garden even with permission, unlike walking across a field without permission! The remains of the church are just behind the farm building on the right..
There is an old wooden gate which gives access to the overgrown and sad looking graveyard. All that can be seen are headstones sticking out above the weeds and leaning against the walls. Most of the site is covered with impenetrable head high brambles. You can however make out the curving shape of the grave yard perimeter wall.
I like to visit old churches and it is sad to see when they have come to such a state. There are loved ones still buried here and clearly no one to keep things in shape or I guess, anyone to care any more? Just think how much was spent on head stones etc? Probably money the relatives could barely afford at the time? Makes you think. Despite the lovely weather I found this a rather sad place to visit.

Visited 10.10.10
My last site visited on a long but very rewarding day in the wonderful countryside of west Wales. We were promised an ‘Indian summer’ weekend and we certainly got it today, although with the sun starting to set it did get a bit nippy in the shade with the wind whistling all around as I made my way up to the cairn.
Directions: head north along the B4329 past the New Inn crossroads and you will shortly come to a parking area on your right hand side. Note – this is not the first one you come to, keep going for another couple of hundred yards and you will see a larger parking area. From here, the path heading up to the cairn is obvious, directly across the road. It takes about 15 minutes to climb to the top.
As you may expect there are cracking views from the top although it was very hazy when I was there. There is also one of those maps showing you how to spot things in the distance.
The cairn itself is about 3 metres high and about 5 metres in diameter. The standing stones are easy to spot and a boggy path takes you to them. The rocky outcrop a bit further over also gives cracking views.
Well worth a visit when in the area although you need to be reasonably fit to make the climb. When I visited I saw a couple of (wild?) horses and disturbed a bird of prey feeding amongst the tall grass.

25/9/2010 approx 19:00
I reached this circle shortly before sunset. Overgrown with thistles and nettles on a field margin, it wasn’t easy to find, but a delight when I finally did. The stones are small wih pieces of flint embedded in them. Great views out to sea combined with the sunset made this a very atmospheric place.

A very round cairn mostly grassed over. There are a few indentations in the centre that could be the result of collapsed cists.

The stone in the foreground could be an outlier.

Cadw lists it as being religious, ritual and funerary, but also tells us that it known locally as ‘The Cock Pit’, could this be a later development/use of a convenient small round enclosure?

Going south from Turriff (fine place!) on the A947 leave the road at Birkenhills turning left following the directions to Lendrum. Take the first right, then the first left stopping at the West Brownhills farm. I’d only found about this cairn after a conversation with an old farmer who spoke about various ancient monuments I’d never heard about. (a cist at another Brownhill being another near one to check on.)

Originally this cairn must have been massive and still looks impressive even if a lot of damage has been done to it. Some ploughing damage, pile of rotting wood etc etc but still it survives. I’d guess that it is still over 20 meters wide, 1.5 meters high and mainly grass covered.

Today the North East was a murky damp place to be with underfoot conditions best described as very sodden. From the farm look south to the bottom of the valley. However it would be lovely on a sunny day, I think.

Visited 9/10/2010.

First Cairn hunting trip in a while and well worth it too. There are 3 Cairns in this area that I want to see and this looked the easiest to reach in the time available today
Situated on an elevated, relatively flat area on the SE slopes of Bearn a Chlaidheimh amongst dense 20-25 year old pines, its a bit difficult to find until you are right on it. Unfortunately the closest Forestry track is a good walk from the monument and is badly overgrown. Scotsburn East Chambered Cairn is about 2 miles along the same slope to the West.

First impression is wow! A very tall monument siiting on a flat area which Canmore describes as being constructed atop a natural mound. Must say I disagree. The “mound” is completely out of character in the surrounding hillside and is the same shape/form you would expect from a large Long or even Chambered Cairn.

The cairn/mound is aligned about 30 – 40m in a NNE/SSW direction – a bit vague I know, but difficult to tell given the dense tree growth and no compass. All 4 heather-clad sides are of a uniform slope maybe less steep on the NE side.

Exposed stones are only visible on the top of the Cairn. Interestingly I think that the stones look as if they have collapsed inwards into the jumble now visible, rather than be a pile of disorganised rubble left after robbing for its stone. There is a definate general shallow depression in the exposed stones running along the axis of the Cairn. There is also lots of space visible beneath all the exposed stonework. It just doesnt look like the top of a Long Cairn such as at Boath where the stones are tightly packed together. I’m probably totally wrong!!

Because of its setting and the uniformity of its structure and appearance, this was a very satisfying monument to visit (tempered with lots of questions as to its construction and other peoples interpretation thereof – I’d love to have talked to Audrey Henshall about it!)

I wouldn’t swear to it but I think this barrow has been lost to the Grange Mill Quarry.......I couldn’t find it after a long time festering around the area along the edge of the quarry.

Even more plough damaged than Slipper Low and no real reason to make a visit. Never been excavated....strange seen as Bateman was so close to it in the mid 19th Century.