Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 24.9.10
Despite the fierce wind (and it starting to pour down half way across the field – no coat!) I stuck at it and after a 15 minute walk I was ‘rewarded’ with a patch of ground chest high in grass. I could just about make out a small mound but certainly not worth getting soaked for. The rest of the field had been ploughed. There is a public right of way to the site starting at the minor road next to what appeared to be a new build house. Don’t be put off but the start of the walk is up the house drive!

‘Visited’ 24.9.10.
Looked for Barrow but could see no trace – ploughed out?

‘Visited’ 24.9.10
Now I am not sure BUT I think I saw this Barrow from the top Of Thornborough Henge central. There was a low mound covered with grass in an otherwise ploughed field. If not, it must have been a natural ‘lump / bump’?
It was certainly in the right place.

‘Visited’ 24.9.10
Despite my best efforts I couldn’t find this Henge. I searched up and down but could see no sign of it. I know I was in the right place but unless I saw it without realising, I missed it. Perhaps it has been ploughed away to nothing or perhaps the wind blowing so strongly that it made my eyes water was the problem? There was minimal vegetation in the fields so I don’t think that was the problem. Either way, I hope you have better luck than me! I did see a hare and lots of grouse.

Visited 24.9.10
This was a nice place to visit amongst the trees (helped keep me out of the wind!)
I parked near the ‘no parking’ sign and easily gained access to the site as the fence at this point had fallen down. After stepping over a dumped tractor tyre I could easily make out the deep ditch – way above head height from the bottom of the ditch. Despite the trees it was easy to follow the ditch around and the Henge itself was surprisingly large and in better condition than I would have thought.

Visited 24.9.10
Fairly easy to find; between Thornborough and West Tanfield.
The stone banks of the Henge reminded me a lot of Mayburgh Henge near Penrith.
The Henge is well preserved, with banks standing perhaps 3 metres high in places. You get a good overall view of the site from the top of the banks. The weather was overcast and very, very windy – made it difficult to stand upright on top of the bank. There was a half decomposed rabbit at one of the entrances into the Henge.

Visited 24.9.10
Easy site to find and access. Taking the A6108 north towards North Stainley you come to the Lightwater Valley Shopping Village on your left hand side. Park in the large car park and it is a fairly straightforward matter of climbing through the wooden fence and under the barbed wire fence into the field where the camp is.
The site itself is in good condition with a bank / ditch going all the way around, about 5ft high from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the bank in some places. It is roughly rectangular in shape and quite large. As with all the sites I visited this week I had the place to myself – not counting the cows of course!
Worth having a look at when in the area as it is easily seen from the road if you don’t fancy taking on the barbed wire fence.

Visited 24.9.10
I visited this site quite by accident. I was aiming for Aldborough but my chief navigator (the good lady Karen) directed me to Aldbrough St John by mistake! A happy mistake on this occasion as it allowed me to visit another E.H site. As I was not planning on a visit I had no notes with me and settled for the information given on the E.H. notice board near the reconstructed rampart. Access was easy enough and a clear path led through the trees to the stone wall with the very deep bank and ditch.
I also had a look at the ditch / banks near Stanwick St John church and could see ‘lumps and bumps’ stretching off into the distance. I also had a quick look at the stone deer shelter situated amongst the earthworks.
Upon arriving home I did a bit of reading about this site and now realise how big this site is. I would imagine an aerial photograph would be best to do it justice?

Visited 28.9.10
After spending the afternoon with Karen and Dafydd on the nearby Brecon Mountain Railway I took the opportunity to visit Morlais Castle which was once an Iron Age Hillfort. In fact, the Hillfort was still there until 1288 when the castle was built. I looked around for any remains of the Hillfort and could see banks / ditches but I do not know if these are related to the Hillfort or the later castle? There are plenty of collapsed stone walls about and good views north towards the Brecon Beacons.
Access: Heading into Merthyr follow the brown signs for the mountain railway. Just as you arrive at Pant station you will pass a golf course on your left. Drive up the lane into the golf course and park in the large car park next to the club house. You will need to ask permission at the club house for access as you have to walk across a couple of fairways to get to the site! Once you have permission, follow the path towards the first tee and keep heading to the left, across the fairway, heading for the higher ground. This is where you will find the Hillfort / Castle. You will need to walk through the ‘rough’ so wellies on a wet day would be a good idea. Otherwise you will get wet feet – like I did!

These two barrows are located in a field NW of the Castlegate Lane barrow above Hay Dale.
Both are plough damaged and possibly robbed of stone for the wall that crosses the larger of the two mounds.
The eastern barrow measures about 9m and is well below a metre in height, the larger to the west maybe 13x6m and maybe 1m in height.
Neither have been excavated which seems strange as Bateman was only in the next field during in 1851 at the Castlegate Lane barrow.

Locals call this section of Castlegate Lane Scratter......in fact it’s the route of the Old Portway making its way to the hillfort of Burr Tor before carrying on to Mam Tor.
The barrow is in a field halfway up scratter opposite the entrance to Chertpit Lane and sited some way from the slopes of Hay Dale. Measuring around 14x12m and less than a metre high it looks as if the plough has taken its toll on this barrow but it enjoys extensive views to the south, east and west.

Sited on the northern side of Monsal Dale this disturbed round cairn is crossed by three field walls....more than possible it was robbed to construct them.
Nothing here really to recommend a visit although it has fine views across the dale toward Fin Cop hillfort.

There’s a track leading off the Monsal Trail heading toward Brushfield Hough; the cairn is in the fields above this....it is private land.

Visited 24.9.10
Despite being so big (the stones are massive) I did have a bit of difficulty locating them and had to rely on asking locals for directions. When I did eventually reach the stones it was a case of ‘WOW’ – the tallest stone near the road is much bigger than I expected, it is truly huge.
It is hard to put into words the effect it has on you when you get up close. Its size reminded me a bit of the Piper standing stones in Corwall.
The other two stones, still large but not as tall, are in the opposite field which had recently been ploughed so I settled for a view from the road to avoid getting caked in mud. This is one of those ‘must see’ sites.
Truly impressive and worth travelling far to see.

Visited 22.9.10
Directions: Take the road north towards the village of Matfen near the junction of the B6318 / B6321. Before you get to Matfen itself you come to a nice looking ‘fortified’ house. Park near the house (didn’t seem to be anyone home) and you will see the stone easy enough. The grass was standing waist high around the stone so it was difficult to see the cupmarks.
The weathering on the stone reminded me of the Devils Arrows – obviously a mini version!
This is a very easy site to access (look from the car window if you prefer – as Karen did!) and is well worth a look when in the area / visiting the nearby Warrior Stone.

The Warrior Stone
Visited 22.9.10
Directions: drive through Ingoe hamlet and when you get to the fork in the road go right. Over the cattle grid and park on the grass (plenty of room). The top of the stone is visible on the brow of the hill to your left but is difficult to spot due to the trees in the background. Walk across the field, over the field gate and a short walk takes you to the stone.
The stone itself is weathered similar to the nearby Matfen Stone.
What remains of the Barrow can be identified as a low mound in the field near the stone.
The Warrior Stone is easy to access and worth a visit when in the area.

Visited 21.9.10
Easy to spot on the B6318 which runs parallel to Hadrian’s Wall – just west of the Twice Brewed pub. I parked on the verge of the minor road next to the site and delicately hopped over the barbed wire fence. It is only a short, but boggy walk up to the stones. The standing stones are about 1.5 metres tall and stand close together. After spending a day looking at Roman sites it made a nice change to visit a really ‘old stone’! Despite the closeness of the road this site felt quite remote.
Easy to access and well worth a visit when in the area.

The Goatstones
‘Visited’ 22.9.10
Failed to find this one I am afraid to report despite reading it is an easy site to visit.
Taking the minor road west out of Simonburn, I parked opposite ‘The Manor House’. I walked up the track towards the Crags (I would not recommend driving up track unless you have a 4x4) but could not see the site.
I saw lots of clusters of stones but nothing which matched the description I had. I spent a lot of time walking around the fields (I know I was in the right area) but to no avail. I guess it didn’t help that the ferns were still waist high despite turning autumnal brown. Did I actually see the site without realising it? I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think I did.
Perhaps I wasn’t in the right place after all, or perhaps the stones were hidden from view by the ferns?

Visited 20.9.10
Can’t miss this one – directly opposite the N.T. carp park for Housesteads.
A large Barrow, approximately 30 paces x 20 paces x 3 metres high.
Access is very easy – over the field gate and you are there.
From the top of the Barrow there are good views across to Housesteads Roman Fort – if that is of interest to you?

Despite a common assumption prominent hill tops and clefts are not usually the points where important astronomical events are seen from the perspective of prehistoric monuments .So it was a bit of a surprise to find that the most obvious hill top and cleft (marked with black dots ) as seen from this site turned out be to very close to the major standstill (the cleft ) and summer solstice sun set (hill top ). Coincidence ? I believe so , I’m far from convinced about the site being a four poster or prehistoric . Over the hill is a “heavily cup marked boulder ” , according to Canmore .canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/263767/details/dun+muir/
But it’s just a conglomerate boulder with “pebble drop” .

Visited 30.9.10.
A lovely Autumn evening, blue skies, white fluffy clouds, sheep bleating in the fields and a stroll through the woods up to a Hillfort – what a way to spend an hour! (The only thing spoiling the peace was gun shots in the distance – more of that later!)
Taking the road north from Silchester to Mortimer West End you come to a small turning on the left which leads to Little Heath House. There is a small parking are next to the house. There is public access to the site is along a track, past a locked barrier, by permission of Englefield Estate. The gravelled track forks twice – stay to the left. It takes 10 minutes to walk from the car park to the Hillfort.
The best preserved section is the western bank/ditch which is still over head height. Most of the centre of the site is fenced off and was full of sheep. On the way back to the car I bumped into chap with a shotgun over his arm – bit of a surprise! I guess he was the one making a noise in the first place! Not a bad place to visit when in the area although there isn’t a massive amount to see.

Visited 30.9.10
What a cracker of a site this is!
To the west of the village of Mortimer, on a crossroads, are two cracking barrows in a wooded clearing. (It looked to me that the site had been recently cleared judging by the amount of freshly cut tree stumps) Parking is a bit difficult and I ended up parking on the minor road on the grass verge. An excellent information board is positioned near the entrance to the field – right on the crossroads.
The Barrows are about 25 metres apart with the larger of the two about 2 metres high with a diameter of about 10 metres. There is a well defined ditch around the larger barrow. The second barrow is a bit smaller and the ditch not so well preserved.
This little site is well worth a visit when in the area – top notch.

Visited 30.9.10
Taking the road north into Silchester you come to a wooden parish notice board – on the left of the road. Park near the houses and a little beyond the notice board on the same side of the road you will see a public footpath sign leading to the houses of Hydes Platt.
Just past the footpath sign, amongst the bushes / trees you can see Flex Ditch with its ‘pond’ nearest the road. There isn’t much to see – just a big overgrown ditch really!
Can’t really say it is worth the effort although the ditch is very deep.

Visited 30.9.10
A very easy site to access although the sign posting to Silchester Roman town could be a bit better! Follow the E.H. signs towards Silchester Roman site and park in the large free car park. In the corner of the car park you will see a wooden gate with free information sheets in a little plastic holder attached to the gate.
Beyond the gate the path takes you into the remains of the Roman town. Along this path, to your left amongst the trees, are the remains of the Iron Age settlement. A fairly well preserved bank / ditch are clearly seen and when standing at the bottom of the ditch the bank is well over head height.
For those interested the Roman site itself is worth a visit as is the medieval church at the other end of the site.

Visited 28.9.10
After spending the afternoon with Karen and Dafydd on the nearby Brecon Mountain Railway I took the opportunity to visit this site. From Merthyr follow the minor road north through Pontsticill, which runs along the western edge of the reservoirs. When you reach the fork in the road (right towards Talybont-On-Usk) take the left fork. Eventually you come to a Forestry Commission car park (not named) which has a lovely little waterfall on the left hand side. Keep heading north and you come to a second Forestry Commission car park signposted Neuadd. Park here and there is an information board which has the standing stone marked on it.
You will then need to walk north along the track (no parking beyond car park) over the cattle grid. You will then come to a locked metal barrier where a rough track goes off to the right – stay on the flatter tarmac road towards the derelict buildings. After about 10 minutes you will arrive at the buildings and a wooden gate. Go through the gate and immediately in front of you, just to the left, is a line of trees. Look amongst the trees and you will easily see a squarish stone about 0.5 metres in diameter. I took the opportunity to sit on the stone for a rest (and admire the view) but fell off!!
**This stone is not the same as shown in the photos. I looked all around the ‘scrubby’ bit of land (to the left of track on approach to buildings) but was unable to spot it. The grass was over knee height so I guess it was too well hidden? Therefore I am unsure which stone is the one mentioned on the notice board?**
It is a bit of a trek getting to this stone but a pleasant walk on a nice sunny day – not much fun in the rain I would imagine!

I visited this site on 16/09/2010, it was the only site I managed to get to on what was a family holiday after having just moved house. What a site this is, I was unprepared for both its size and complexity. I went at about three in the afternoon and only saw two other people, and as the hut was closed I couldn’t pay to get in!
It would appear that since Postman and Jane visited the site, that two of the Taulas have had their capstones restored to them.