Latest Fieldnotes

But the main draw for me is a cairn circle, which marks the southern terminal of the second-longest stone row on Dartmoor. It takes me a while to find the circle, even in low grass. Burl mentions that one of the stones is upright, but in fact all are fallen (although a couple are still – just about – leaning). There is the merest hint of the cairn mound in the centre and the stones are quite nice shapes, several tapering at what I assume was the top when they were originally erected.

As the ground starts to rise again towards Butterdon, I pass a taller boundary stone, marked on the OS as “Longstone”, while the trig point on the hill ahead is another visual prompt. The first Butterdon cairn is already looking like a monster, silhouetted on the skyline. When I reach it, I find a small triangular stone in front of it, but can’t work out if it “belongs” to anything else – perhaps it’s part of the boundary line, but it looks to be of a different character and I make out (I think) a low semi-circular bank that appears to incorporate the stone. Another, even bigger, cairn marks the northern end of the summit. This is a huge cairn, 30 metres across and still 4 metres high. From here there are excellent views all around, with every hill apparently topped by more cairns.

The OS map simply notes “cairns”, so I am a little unprepared for the number of cairns that are actually crowding the top of the Beacon. I pass what I take to be one next to the path on the climb uphill, but the better-preserved ones are out of sight until the top is gained. These are similar to the ones I am becoming used to from trips to the Brecon Beacons, proper rubble-constructed summit cairns. They are in pretty good condition, except one that has a mini-shelter built on its top (I learn from TMA when I get home that these cairns were restored after earlier walker-damage).

From the top of the Beacon, views open northeast to the higher Ugborough Beacon, also topped with assorted barrows, and north to Butterdon Hill, which is the site of my first Burl-guided sites of the day. The route to Butterdon is marked by a very handy row of post-medieval boundary stones, the first of which start in the midst of the Western Beacon cairns. At these southern reaches of the moors, there are a few folks about and although the sky is overcast, it doesn’t look like it will rain. Nevertheless, this is an expansive landscape and it’s reassuring to have a helpful navigation aid as I head downhill and northwards in the company of these markers.

Visited 22.8.10.
On many occasions I have driven past this Hillfort along the M5, looked up and thought ‘I am going to visit you one day’. Well, today was the day! Access is easy as long as you are mobile and fairly fit!
I parked next to St Michael’s Church in the village of Brent Knoll and went through the kissing gate to the right of the church (public footpath sign). The gravel path loops around the back of the church and makes its way up towards the Hillfort. You then go through a second metal kissing gate and the climb becomes a bit less strenuous. Once you reach a third wooden kissing gate the climb becomes very stiff. You then come to a wooden stile with a National Trust sign bolted to it. This is the final part of the assent – and the steepest. Luckily the N.T. has put steps into the hill and the whole path is gravelled to make things a bit easier.
The views from the top are excellent – you can see for miles all around. In fact, you can even see Glastonbury Tor over 20 miles away! There is one of those markers on the top which shows you what to look out for and how far away they are – I like these. There is also a stone monument stating that beacons were lit on the Hillfort to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 and various Coronations.
The centre of the Hillfort has been quarried and has large ‘dips’ in it. It is very difficult to work out what is what. The ditch / rampart running around the top is quite well preserved in some places although difficult to spot in others. There seems to be a additional ramparts near the northern edge which could possibly mark the site of an entrance?
It took me 20 minutes to walk from the church to the top and a further 10 minutes to walk right around the Hillfort. Luckily Dafydd was asleep in the car and Karen stayed with him. If I had to carry him up here I would have probably required resuscitation half way up!! Well worth a visit if you are physically able. The views are great.

Visited Caer Dyni today, 22 August 2010, and the area around the stones has been cleared of the gorse, etc. It may not be on anyone’s top-top, but the location is stunning so adds to the experience. It can now be clearly seen from the road (stop at the layby on hill as you rise out of Criccieth and walk back 150yds to footpath). With the clearance you can see a little more of the immediate surrounding ground area (original cairn perimeter?).

(NB: While there I was told that Tan Y Muriau had also been cleared, but had no time to go back. Visited Tan Y Muriau last month and got ripped to shreds by bracken and gorse almost chest high on the approach path, only to find the site over run by ferns and weeds).

This is the only ‘securely identified oval barrow’ in Humberside according to EH but I’ve seen very similar long barrows elsewhere . In the scheduling of 1995 they give its height as 1.75 metres but it didn’t look much over a metre to me while the 52m east-west and 30m north-south looked about right.
The mound is on private land with notices of a bull in the field, although I didn’t see one.

My Cotswold Summer … culminated today in a visit to Belas Knap long barrow. I caught an early bus to Cricklade where I met my good friend MM with their sturdy steed, a little red Honda. We started our five mile walk at the small picturesque village of Brockhampton; walking to an ancient site seems to make the arriving so much more satisfying and today was no exception. We passed a field of sunflowers nodding in the breeze and noticed the house martins were gathering – no doubt preparing to depart as our summer starts to take on an autumnal tinge.

Our walk was a gradual uphill one with a steep climb up to Humblebee Cottages – here we turned left and walked about 200 metres to the road where we turned right and walked downhill until we came to the sign pointing to Belas Knap. Next, quite a steep climb uphill through woodland emerging into a field; no crop in the field so we walked diagonally uphill and across to a kissing gate where the barrow is well signposted. Another short walk through woodland emerging with Belas Knapp immediately in front of us on the other side of a low stone wall.

What a wonderful position for a long barrow – at 300 metres the hill (escarpment) upon which it stands is nearly 1000 feet. It was a surprise to learn from the information board that upper and most impressive ‘entrance’ is in fact a false one. There is a NE chamber, a NW chamber and an uncovered chamber at the lower end of the barrow. The information board told us that 38 skeletons had been found in the chambers along with animal bones, flint implements and pottery.

The sun came out while we were there and a breeze picked up – it was about as good as it gets. The walk back to Brockhampton from the west side of the long barrow was a gentle one, a gradual downhill decline and a bit of random blackberry picking.

Edit: I omitted to mention the small hobbit-like SE Chamber – four in all not counting the false entrance.

Rhiw is a tiny village on the southern side of the Lleyn near Hell’s mouth.
We parked next to the church and then walked (west) back to the first left turn, then left down a thin track, the seven foot tall monolith is embedded in a high bank.
It took some finding too as it wasn’t that clear where on the map it was then I spotted a tiny black dot next to a house and bingo.
The stone is squarish lower down but tapers to a point at the top, making it look as if a recent stone had been put in upside down.

From Aberdaron head west towards the coast, on the map the stone isnt marked but the place where the stone is “Trwyn Maen Melyn”
Plenty of parking was found by the footpath and information board, which pronounces for our convenience the presence of the Bronze age standing stone.
Its only a short bracing ten minute walk to the stone, which is visible as we approach, almost right on the cliff edge the stone has almost fallen leaning severely at about 60 degrees.
The stone is made of the same stuff as the rocks below where the waves relentlessly pound against, it is red and gnarled and covered in small grooves/scars and looks volcanic in nature, more than that I can not say.
As nice as the stone is, its the surroundings that heavily dominate the scene, we scrambled down to the seas edge in a hope to photograph the waves crashing in and both me and Dave got a soaking from unexpected freak waves, we fared better than his camera. Get well soon.

Visiting this site is easy with a handy nearby car park. Another example of the fine rock art found all along this amazing area.

Another marked rock 200 metres north of the other one .

Visited 14.8.10.
Parking is not easy on the busy B4461 but I managed to park next to the Thornbury turn off.
There is a public footpath sign and stile giving access to the woods in which the Hillfort sits. Up the steep and narrow ‘path’ you shortly come to the remains of the ditch / rampart. There is now a ‘sculptured walk’ running along the ditch. Standing in the ditch the ramparts are well over head height. No views to be seen due to the trees. Not a lot to recommend a visit I’m afraid.

Visited 14.8.10.
Nice and easy this one. Park opposite Marlwood School and look for the field gate opposite Quarry Road. From the field gate the Barrow is easily seen. The field had recently been ploughed and as it was raining I didn’t fancy getting covered in mud and therefore viewed from the gate. The Barrow was covered in long grass so stood out well against the ploughed brown soil.

Visited 14.8.10.
The A38 runs right through the middle of the Hillfort although you wouldn’t know it unless you had an O/S map with you! Parking is difficult on this busy road but I managed to park near the Tytherington turn off. Walking towards Alveston you come to a national speed limit sign (black line through a white circle). If you look to your left, over the stone wall, you can just about make out the remains of the curving bank – heavily ploughed out. This was the only part of the fort that is easily accessible. I can’t comment on the preservation of the rest of the Hillfort.

Visited 14.8.10.
Driving through the pretty little village of Tytherington I parked opposite ‘Ruth’s Close’ Bungalow. Then it was over the field gate (carefully lifting my legs over the electric fence – I was wearing shorts!) and up into the trees. The remains of the ditch / bank were pretty well preserved – standing over head height in places. Very overgrown and not that easy to access.
I stood upon the Hillfort ramparts and watched the bumper to bumper cars along the nearby M5 -makes you think.

Visited 14.8.10.
This was a lot of effort with no reward I am afraid to report. I parked at the entrance to the private road to the farm and walked up the drive. This was then followed by a ‘sneaky’ walk across two fields and over a fence which took me to the bottom of the wooded hill where the Hillfort is. Despite scrambling up through dense undergrowth and spending about half hour looking, I couldn’t see any sign of defences.
The fact it was raining didn’t help either!
One not to bother.

Visited 14.8.10.
I parked at the entrance to Red Hill Valley Farm and could see the possible barrow easily enough through the trees. No public access to the site and I didn’t fancy attempting a ‘sneaky’ visit across the open fields so settled for a view from afar. I would guess and say this is a barrow.

Visited 14.8.10
It certainly looked like a tumulus and the fact the top of the hill was fenced off perhaps supports this theory? There was no public access across the open fields so I settled for a view from the minor road just east of Littleton Upon Severn.

‘Visited’ 14.8.10
Failed to spot this one. I drove up to the entrance of the power station and then had a choice of going left (staff only) or right (visitors parking) – I didn’t feel comfortable doing either. As you would expect there were plenty of police vehicles about. I looked along the security fence as far as I could but did not spot the stone. Looking at the phot it looks like the stone is around the other side of the site? Don’t know how you wuld access that section?
Bad ‘vibes’ so I left.

Visited 14.8.10
Wow, what great views along the river Severn!
Parking is easy next to the church (there was a wedding going on when I visited so I stayed outside the church!) and a footpath takes you to the top of the hill. The views really are fab with plenty of benches so sit and admire. This place simply ‘feels’ right for having some sort of prehistoric signifigance or other. Well worth a visit. There are several Grade 2 listed graves in the churchyard.

Visited 14.8.10
Not a lot to report from this visit.
I took the aptly named Camp lane through Oldbury-On-Severn and parked near the public footpath sign. The footpath appears to go through someones yard and then into a field. At the top of the field is a stile and a small wooden ‘bridge’. There was nothing obvious to see and clearly the site has been largely ploughed out. However, to the right of the ‘bridge’, where the back of the house gardens end, there is a ditch like chanel overgrown with bushes / brambles etc.
I do not know if this is all that is left of the Hillfort or not? It is in the right area but I can’t be sure. I couldn’t see any other remains.

Sadly this cairn will gradually fade into memory thanks to farming and deforestry. Marks of damage can already be seen. Still it is 8.5 meters wide standing at 0.5 meters tall, the platform giving an idea of height. Several kerbs remain in place on the western side. The centre of the site shows a rectangular feature despite houking damage. Somehow I contrived to walk back down the hill and forget about a much larger cairn some 60 meters to the south. Doesn’t matter as I would think my feet will be back in this area fairly soon.

Pull into the farm, east, after Migvie church and follow the track heading in a north easterly direction until the fir trees. The cairn is in the trees to the north of the track on the eastern side.

Visited 3/08/2010.

I set out on an exploratory trek taking me through Monk’s Wood, the largest area of Ancient Woodland, in Cambridgeshire, the least wooded county in the country. I came out on the other side, looking for something significant as the barrow is marked on OS maps, and also the map of the woodland, but could see nothing.

On the other side I set across a pathway between the fields, seeing very little. I saw a hare and took that as a sign – so followed it. The hare waited and then I saw I was following two, shortly before disturbing a large deer. The three creatures ran into the opposite woodland as a buzzard cried overhead.

They weren’t obvious signs, and I could see nothing. As I walked back taking numerous pictures and checking maps and my gps location I made a final turn and there it was.

The Heritage gateway describes the site as being a Bronze Age bowl barrow (2500BC – 701BC) though after ploughing, the impression is certainly more of a Pond Barrow, as illustrated by Nicholas Thomas (Guide to Prehistoric England, 1960).

Faint marks can be seen from aerial photography, though on the ground it is more difficult as the terrain has numerous dips, and hills. Once found though, it is very obviously uniform and hopefully the photograph provided shows this as the crop rises slightly, dips into a bowl then rises again on the other side.

I didn’t go into the crop to investigate further, there seemed little to be gained from the damage that would be caused. Other than the Heritage Gateway details, there seems to be very little information about this site.

Photos taken, i turned back into the berry, fungus and hazel rich woodlands and began to make my way home.

Wildkirchli Caves – Fieldnotes

Visited 18/09/2008

If Wildkirchli sounds like a wild place, that’s because it is.
Wildkirchli means “little church in the wilderness” and collectively refers to a system of caves in the Alpstein massif of Appenzellerland. This region lies in the northeast corner of Switzerland and is entirely surrounded by the Canton of St. Gallen. The town of Appenzell is at the heart of the Appenzellerland and can best be pictured as something out of Willy Wonka’s chocolate land. The Wildkirchli cave system itself is found on the south east flank of the Ebenalp Mountain, which at 5,381 ft above sea level, is the most northerly summit of the Appenzell Alps.

The mountains, with their clean air, became a popular tourist attraction and in 1955 a cable car was built from the village of Wasserauen in the valley below. The cable car station of Ebenalp allows access to the mountains’ high plateau where hiking trails lead to a network of mountain huts and gasthauses,(guest houses). The Wildkirchli caves are a short 15 minute walk below the Ebenalp cable car station. Beyond the caves is a guest house serving light refreshments. The mountain is a popular hiking destination attracting up to 200,000 visitors a year.

The Wildkirchli caves have been a refuge from the outside world for thousands of years. Their isolation at an altitude of 4770 feet cuts them off almost completely. Evidence suggests that the caves were inhabited by cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) throughout the various ice ages, dating back to 90,000 BC. The caves were first mentioned in a description of the Pilatus Mountains by Joachim Vadian in 1524; although the first detailed description by the Capuchin P. Clemns from Appenzell did not appear until 1716 in the book, Naturhistorie des Schweizerlandes, (Natural History of Switzerland) by Johann Jakob Scheuchzer.

In 1621 the caves where first visited by P. Philipp Tanner, after which time the first altar was built. This so-called “cave shrine” consisted of a shallow barrel vault, and had an entrance porch which was later extended. Hermits sort refuge in the caves, the first being Paulus Ulmann in 1658 to 1660. From this time these hermits became known as Waldbrüder. In 1853 the last hermit died after he took a purler when collecting leaves. Various parts of the caves were re-modelled or sealed up with the current altar back wall dating from 1785. In 1860 a new bell tower and small “guesthouse” was constructed, which in 1972 became a small museum.

Between 1903 and 1908, the caves were partly excavated by the St. Gallen archaeologist Emil Bächler (1868–1950). Bächler discovered evidence of habitation dating back to the Palaeolithic period, 50,000 to 30,000 BC. These included traces of Neanderthal humans who he believed may have co-inhabited the caves with hibernating cave bears. Bächler had carried out investigations at other cave sites and in 1940, published his findings in the book, Das alpine Paläolithikum der Schweiz im W., Drachenloch und Wildenmannlisloch.

Although bear worship or arctolatry as it is collectively called, does exisit in many different forms and cultures throughout the world, Emil Bächlers’ speculation on Neanderthal mans’ practice during the Palaeolithic period is today regarded with some scepticism. I have included links to various web sites and downloadable pdf’s with regard to this subject.

Returned on a slightly brighter day and detail improves .