Latest Fieldnotes

After going thru Kemnay, via the Gushet Neuk, on the B993 head south on the minor road to Craigearn. Keep going past the sign to Castle Fraser until Woodend farm. Here there are two tracks. Take the first, an estate road, which leads to a man made lake. Go round the lake until the north west corner. Climb over the fence and head in a north westerly direction. Thru the more grown trees straight to a clearing. The stone is in the middle of the clearing still standing impressively.

Sadly near the lake there was a Larsen trap, recently discussed on the forum, with two crows flapping madly inside. Fairly soon they somehow were freed.

Now go to Castle Fraser and the RSC.

Visited 24/07/2010.

Called in at the circle today and found they’ve cut all the trees down.!
The moor and the circle look very different, not sure i like it, though it is nice to know the circle wont suffer from root damage now.

Visited Liddington Castle this afternoon with a group of friends. Although the most visible hillfort in the area (Liddington Hill is a landmark seen from the M4 that lets anyone heading for Wiltshire know they are nearly there) these days it is not the easiest place to get to as the only ‘permissive path’ heads up to the Ridgeway up from Shipley Bottom layby on the B4192. In the days of Richard Jefferies the route by foot was probably uphill from the village of Badbury. Liddington Castle at 909 feet is the highest point in the Borough of Swindon.

A memorial to local writers Richard Jefferies and Alfred Williams set on a large sandstone rock at Liddington Castle, dated 2000 to mark the Millennium it has these words by Richard Jefferies set on a plaque “I felt immortality as I felt the beauty of a summer morning”
A place much loved by both writers particularly Richard Jefferies – Alfred Williams wrote these lines for Richard Jefferies who died in 1887 at the age of 39, ten years after Alfred Williams was born in 1877 (who died 1930). They did not know each as some people believe:

“Of times on Liddington’s bare peak I love to think and lie,
And muse upon the former day and ancient things gone by,
To pace the old castellum walls and peer into the past
To learn the secret of the hills, and know myself at last,
To woo Dick Jefferies from his dreams on sorrow’s pillow tossed
And walk with him upon the ridge, and pacify his ghost.”

(Poem courtesy of Wysefool).

Before visiting the site Orkneyjar’s Ness of Brodgar weblong has essential links to fuly detailed diagrams of the 2010 trenches and 2010 structures

Visited 21.7.10.
These are the barrows in the fields adjacent to the car park below Knap Hill / Adam’s grave. There were cows in the field when I visited although the barrows could be easily seen – quite large.

Thanks to ‘thesweetcheat’ for posting this. I thought I noticed this barrow when I visited the area earlier in the year but as nothing was showing on the map I thought it was just my imagination!

I visited Llyswen earlier this year on my way home from a day looking at ‘old stones’ around the Hay On Wye area. There is a public right of way running to the west of the site but not directly to it. I didn’t have time to walk up to the site and hoped to grab a view from Llyswen. Unfortunately the whole hilltop is covered with trees and there was little to see. In fact from Llyswen itself I couldn’t even see the hilltop due to all the trees in the village. There is however a pretty church in the village which could be worth a look?

I visited this site last week whilst spending the afternoon at Margam Park with the family. Margam Park is free to enter but you are charged for parking (£3.50). Behind the stately home there is a cafe / shop. Running alongside the cafe is a path heading north. Follow this path and you will shortly come to a gate. Go through the gate and follow the path straight ahead (not the path to the right). You then come to two large trees – one each side of the path. Come off the path here and make your way up the hill through the trees and bushes. It is a steep climb with no paths but it does take you to top of the hillfort. There is not much of a view due to the trees and the only obvious remains I could see was a single ditch/rampart along the south west side. There is also a large modern squarish ‘building’ in the middle of the hillfort which must be to do with Margam Park House? The hillfort gets a mention in the visitors guide you can buy. This is a good place to spend a few hours and will also give you the chance to nip of for a quick hillfort visit!

This stone circle can be found at the western side of the Knock Of Alves, home also to a hillfort. It looks like several boulders have been taken advantage of and used to form the site. Today only the sharp topped stone and a fallen neighbour could be seen of the stones that Canmore mention. These other stones are still there as is the boulder they say is an outlier but ferns and other vegetation cover the area. Another visit in Autumn looks likely.

With that it was back to car with one added dimension. Alves is covered in trees and I hadn’t noticed the thunder storms experienced in the Black Isle had moved moved down the coast to Moray. So a severe drenching during the walk north, even a bus shelter proved no help – the roof had been vandalised. Typical!!!

Visited 19/07/2010.

Visited 14.7.10.
When parking by the pond (which by the way was dried up when I visited as it hadn’t rained for several weeks – amazingly enough for this part of the world!) walk around the pond to the left. More or less opposite you will see the stone not far from the edge of the pond. I also noticed several other stones nearby which were sticking out of the ground. I have no idea if these are natural or part of the site. As the pond had dried up I also noticed the top of a couple of stones which would normally be under water.
Strangely enough someone had left a cross with a poppy attached in one of the hollows on top of the stone.

Visited 14.7.10.
Easily seen alongside road opposite entrance to Blaengwrthyd Farm. Larger than I expected and I am pleased to say that the ferns had been cut back from around the stone.

Visited 14.7.10.
Directions: Drive S/W down the single track road from the Mountain Centre 1 stone. As road bends slightly to the right, a stone is easily visible close to the track on the left. It is half buried and covered in moss/lichen. Nearby is another stone just sticking out above the grass. The ferns have been cleared away from around the stone so spotting it is now a lot easier.

Visited 15.7.10.
After knackering myself carrying Dafydd up Knap Hill in the strong winds, I left him with Karen in the car as I walked up to Adam’s Grave alone. Although it looks quite far I reached the top in only 15 minutes. Access is easy via a path through the fields opposite the car park. I was surprised by how large and clear the ditch/bank around the long barrow was. I can’t think of any other site I have been to which has anything anywhere near as large as this? This must have been a very special site in the distant past. The wind on top of Adam’s Grave was even stronger than nearby Knap Hill and I took refuge in one of the ditches near the top. It was surprising how much shelter could be had and I happily spent a few minutes lying on my back watching the clouds fly by. I had the whole hill to myself and there were good views to be had in all directions. I had been meaning to visit this place for a number of years – now I have achieved that little ambition. It goes without saying that this is well worth a visit.

Visited 15.7.10.
It was a bright and sunny day but very windy. Karen chose to stay in the car whilst I walked/carried Dafydd up the hill from the large car park. Access was easy through a gate but the higher we got, the windier it got. By the time we reached the top if felt like the winds were gale force and I had to shelter Dafydd to stop him being blown over! There were a couple of military looking helicopters flying around and I presume they were practicing flying in string winds?! Adams Grave is easily seen just a short distance away. We didn’t stay too long on the top and quickly made our way back down the hill to the relative shelter of the valley floor. It was only a 10 minute walk from the car park to the top.

Visited 11.7.10.
This is a great place to visit. It should be towards the top of everyone’s ‘wish list’. It took me an 8 hour round trip to drive up here and cost me £50 in petrol. Was it worth it? – you bet it was!!!
This has to be one of the wonder ancient sites of Britain. Easily found as well sign posted once you enter Llandudno. The facilities are good with a decent museum / shop and a really good system where you ‘self-tour’ the mines. I can’t really describe the mines here to give them justice; only to say that they are truly awe inspiring. All I would say is that at one point during the walk underground you come to a HUGE chamber which is very well lit – jaw dropping – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Th think this was all dug out by hand, with bones and stones – unbelievable!!!
I was later informed by someone working at the site that another 8 of these had been found!!!!
Please try to visit this site, I promise you won’t be dissapointed.

Attempted visit 11.7.10.
Driving back through Llandudno after visiting the Great Orme mines I thought I would check out this hillfort. Unfortunately (sort of) it was a beautiful sunny day so Llandudno was packed. There was absoultely no where to park. I was tempted to park on the yellows but an eager traffic warden was in the area happily booking people so I though better of it. The Hillfort is near the pier and I noticed a modern Gorsedd stone circle errected on the grass near the pier. It looked like the easiest access point would have been past the stone circle and over the wooden fence near the trees? Llandudno looks a nice place and one I would like to visit in the future – another chance of a look at the hillfort then?

Visited 11.7.10.
Directions: After visiting the Great Orme Mine, take the first turning right coming back down the steep hill (Cromlech Road). There is room to park near the houses and there are convienient wooden steps into the field. A sign states that there is public access to the Burial Chamber only.
When I visited there were 3 donkeys in the field and thankfully no sign of the dogs. The donkeys were quite funny as one came over for me to make a fuss of and then the other two did the same not to miss out! I noticed that the wooden fence surrounding the chamber had been mostly chewed away by the donkeys – or is that the dogs?!! Still, worth a visit when seeing the nearby mines as it is so close and easy to get to.

Visited 11.7.10
Take the turning north out of the village, sign posted Axton Lane. You will shortly come to a public footpath sign – park here. The barrows are easily seen from the gate or a 1 minute walk will get you up close. The barrows are right next to each other but are now only low mounds. Worth a quick look when in the area. Good views.

Visited 11.7.10.
Easy to visit when walking up to the Gop Cairn (see directions for the cairn). I took a torch with me and once you bend down to get into the cave it is big enough to stand up straight in. There were lots of tea lights about and a fair amount of rubbish. Definitely worth a look when visiting the famous Gop cairn above it.

Visited 11.7.10.
Taking the minor road south through Gwaenysgor there is just about room to squeeze in a car in at the junction where the private track to the farm starts. Over the gate and take the tractor tyre ‘path’ to your left – NOT up the private track to the farm. You will then come to a metal field gate on the right. Over the gate and a 20 minute, fairly steep walk takes you up to the Gop (behind farm buildings – including an odd ‘tower like’ structure). It’s a hard slog up the hill but someone has kindly put up a bench where you can admire the views, just at the point where the cairn starts. The cairn is HUGE. It takes a bit of working out to establish where the hill stops and the cairn starts! Good views in all directions. Worth the effort but one for the fairly fit only.

After visiting Inverugie cairn I went south on the B9013 and taking complete leave of my senses left my car at Easterton Farm on the B9013 walking the rest to the Knock Of Alves. Continue to the A96, head a small way east, then cross carefully to the minor road opposite. (Traffic here is fairly horrendous because of the Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass just east of Elgin) Walk a few meters down the road then turn south along the farm track to Burnside Farm for about 3/4 mile. At this point take the track west, look uphill and York Tower can be seen. Keep going past the quarry, taking the track north climbing a dry stane dyke.

At this point a rarely used path can be seen winding up the hill. This leads to the fort’s interior, any remnants, see links, that might be seen are covered in ferns. But this must have the perfect place for a fort, if the trees hadn’t been there the views would be beautiful, however the trees add to the atmosphere which by now was becoming very warm and humid.

Visited 19/07/2010.

Follow the direction as to the nearby Camus’s Stone. Instead of going west to the stone go straight up the hill in front until the top. Look west and climb over the wall the grass covered cairn is about 20 meters into the small wood.

Lady Dunbar had also been active here removing a stone coffin which is still kept in Durris House. The cairn still stands at 16 meters wide and 2 meters tall, and has several trees growing on it.

Visited 19/07/2010.

Visited 15.7.10.
I found the church easy enough and that funny wooden turnstile is still in place. When I entered the church I discovered a meeting was taking place. I looked around for the trap door but at first couldn’t see it. Then I spotted that the church organ had been placed on top of it. I was in two minds to ask someone from the meeting to give me a hand moving the organ – but thought better of it. I also noticed there was a lock on the trap door – don’t know if it was locked or not? One to visit again when no one else is there!

Visited 15.7.10.
Nice and easy to find this one. Right in the middle of the village at the cross roads. The stone is about 1 metre high and the hole is large enough to put your arm through. The plaque is still there but is now appearing a little weathered. Worth a quick stop off when in the area.

‘Visited’ 15.7.10.
I took the small lane running west out of Woodborough and parked next to the field in which the stone stands. Unfortunately the crops (corn?) were the height of my head and I couldn’t find the stone! I did however carefully make my way to the middle of the field where the trees are with the large stones scattered around the trunks. Definitely one to visit after the harvest!!!