Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 15.5.10.
This is very easy to access and a very pretty site.
The village of Faulkland is right on the main road and the village green itself is also next to the main road. There is a small side road which runs around the green. In the middle of the green are the two standing stones and between them the wooden stocks. I am no expert and have no idea how old these stones are. All I would say is that they do look very old. There were a number of people about enjoying the evening sunshine with children playing on the green. A pretty little place which is well worth a quick visit if you are in the area. You can even see the stones driving through the village if you didn’t want to stop!

Visited 15.5.10.
I had quite a bit of difficulty finding this one!
As already stated, park at the Bell Inn carpark and immediately opposite is a public footpath sign and a wooden stile. Climb over the stile and follow the path over the next two wooden stiles. You will then need to cross a field and you will see a barn in the next field over – head for the barn. When you get to the corner of the field there is another wooden stile and next to it a metal gate. I looked over the stile and couldn’t see any obvious path leading to the top of the hill where the stones are. (At this point if you look up at the brow of the hill you will see two small groups of trees – the stones are under the grouping to the left). So instead I climbed over the metal gate and headed diagonally across the field to the top left hand corner. I then followed the hedge until I came to the far group of trees. WARNING – this involves crossing two barbed wire fences and is not a public right of way. Then all you have to do is cross one more barbed wire fence to get into the trees and the stones are right in front of you!
I counted 3 standing and 3 fallen stones. This is a lovely site and the large horsechestnut trees seem to form a protective cannopy over the stones. Very pretty in the late afternoon sunshine. Judging by the amount of nettles and shrubs it didn’t look like anyone had visited this site for quite a while?
It took 20 minutes to walk from the car park to the stones. If you can follow Rhiannon’s directions I would suggest you do – it HAS to be easier than the way I went!! (also more legal)

Visited 15.5.10
A warm sunny day and after a bit of a problem I eventually found my way to the car park on top of the hill. There were a lot of people on top carrying out a wide range of activities – paragliding, playing football, model airplane flying, football etc. Dafydd was particularly impressed that there was also an icecream van – so impressed he had two!!
There are splendid views to be had and the ramparts of the hillfort are only a short walk away. I was surprised by how well preserved some of the ramparts were (Dafydd has now discovered the joy to be had by sliding down said ramparts on his bum – although I doubt his mother will be so impressed when she sees the state of his new trouseres!!). The barrow is quite large and must have been an impressive site when first built. At the far end of the carpark is a standing stone monument to the battle between King Alfred and the Vikings in 878AD.

Visited 15.5.10.
I was pushed for time so I only had a long distance view of this hillfort. I parked at the entrance to the lane which takes you to Withyslade Farm and viewed the tree covered top of the hill – easily seen from the road. The O/S map shows no public right of access to the hillforrt and the lower slopes were open fields so I imagine a ‘sneak’ visit would be tricky. I would suggest asking permission. From the road all you see are a load of trees on top of a hill – like a lot of other sites!

Visited 15.5.10.
Whilst visiting Old Wardour castle (pretty site on the side of a lake) I took the opportunity to have a look at the grotto. There is a car park outside the main gates and a small shop/ticket office on the left. The grotto itself is easily seen on the left as you approach the catle. Facing the grotto, take the small path through the trees to the left and the first thing you see is a fairly large single standing stone – about 5ft high. A little bit further down the path you come to an odd arrangement of stone seat alcoves. Clearly vivble are two much larger standing stones used to help build the seats – very odd. (This is directly behind the shop/ticket office amongst the trees). The E.H. guidebook for the castle states the stones were removed from a circle in nearby Tisbury to help give ‘barbarism’ to the site!!!!!!!!!!!

Visited 3.5.2010 after Bedd Gwyl Illtyd. This one wasn’t all that easy to find and needed a fair amount of OS map perusal as we cut across the common from the NE. The main reason is that this is a low stone, less than a metre tall. It sits down in a small valley, a low stone in a low-lying position (albeit still 300m above sea-level). It is topped with some attractive yellow lichen.

Visited 3.5.2010, there’s not a lot to see of this one. Approaching from the NE along a single track road, a large pond comes into view, with a scrubby piece of ground behind, covered in the remains of last year’s bracken. In the midst of all this, two low stones are visible, covered in moss and lichen. To paraphrase Mr Burl, it would take a determined eye to plot a ring cairn here.

Slightly up the slope to the SW, there is an upright boulder. It doesn’t appear to relate to the stones in the “cairn” and is probably natural, but as the other standing stones around this area are also short and boulder-ish I wouldn’t entirely discount it.

While I was poking about in the grass, G/F was attracting the attention of a nearby field full of sheep, which seemed very interested in our presence. Perhaps they thought we were sheep thieves?

On which tenuous note, it’s off to Mountain Centre 2.

Visited on a sunny but chilly Bank Holiday (3.5.2010). The Mountain Centre carpark was packed as we arrived here from Libanus, and the attraction is obvious. There is a terrific panoramic view from Mynydd Illtud, taking in the Black Mountains ridges: Hay Bluff, Twmpa, Waun Fach, Pen y Gadair Fawr, Pen Allt-mawr and Pen Cerrig-calch to the east. To the south-east there are the looming peaks of the central Beacons, dominated by Pen y Fan and Corn Du, then south to Fan Fawr and the nearby Fan Frynych, across to the SW taking in the Camarthan Fans. Amazing. Many of the peaks are topped by Bronze Age cairns and pointed to by standing stones. The majority of people headed off NE towards the higher points of the common, to fly kites and take in the glorious views. But we headed towards the first of today’s sites, the excitingly named Mountain Centre 1 standing stone.

A short walk away from the Mountain Centre, the Bank Holiday crowds are already left behind to the north-east.

The stone is clearly visible from the single track road that runs west to east across the common. It is a fairly undistinguished, low stone, which must have made for a pretty small thief.

It does however have an unbeatable view of Pen y Fan and Corn Du to the SE. It is also very close the Bedd Gwyl Illtyd cairn, where we headed next.

Visited 1.5.2010. This is a great survivor, although much disturbed the mound is still substantial and the remains of a chamber (at least the capstone) can still be seen. It has views towards Crug Hywel fort and the Black Mountains.

Firstly, I have to agree with others that this is a fairly steep climb but Vicky had assured me that it would be pleasant enough, walking up through the forested path; it was mid afternoon and starting to get quite warm. So off we went – only to find that ALL of the trees have been cut down!
On one hand, this was great news as the views were fabulous but on the other – not so great when you are huffing and puffing up a hill with NO shade in the blazing sun!
But......when you get to the site, it is more than worth the clamminess. The views from here across to Holy Island and across Arran are just spectacular.
I like the fact that you have to work to get here. Not really for casual observer, we had the place to ourselves and marvelled at the magnificence of this site.

Visited 1.5.2010. A lovely, lovely standing stone, in a great situation with Black Mountains views. The stone is leaning over and is a visually striking porous slab of limestone, pitted and stratified like a giant wafer. I sat here a long time and no-one came (although some dog walkers passed on the road). A must-visit.

An excellent and unexpected gem of a site. Visited 1.5.2010 on a walk between Garn Caws and Carreg Waun Llech. There are two cairns shown on the OS map, which, approached from the west appear prominently on a local ridge, with the dramatic backdrop of the Black Mountains behind.

The two cairns themselves are in decent condition, although the fact that the north-eastern one is a small ring cairn is obscured by the stones piled in its centre.

The unexpected treat comes to the east, where the OS map shows nothing. In fact there are a huge number of small cairns (I counted over 20, but Coflein indicates that there are over 40). As I hadn’t researched the site before coming, I knew nothing about these. They are small, presumably clearance cairns, but nevertheless possibly still Bronze Age and contemporary with the two larger monuments at the west. They sit on a NE facing shelf, below which is the lovely Carreg Waun Llech standing stone. The stone is not visible from the cairn field, nor can the cairns be seen from the stone.

If you wish to inspect the well at close quarter. Contact the local historian at Finsbury Library. They have a key and will open the space by arrangement.

There is little about any pre-historic provenance but the little exhibition next to the well is interesting.

The room housing the well is suffering from subsidence and will undergo restoration and be closed for a period soon.

Twice I have opted to go from the Stenness parish kirk through the fields to the Stones of Stenness but instead had to follow the fence running NE-SW south of it. And each time I have looked at the stump of the old field wall that this follows. Apart from this both times I have cause to note several large stone fragments near the line that aren’t from a wall and each time have mistakenly looked for a gate or other entrance. Now I have the explanation because Pococke’s location for a holed stone, 124 yards west of a stone 18 yards south-east of the circle. Further I identify this with the stone depicted by Lady Stafford : tall and shaggy, cleft from the top to ground level, having an angled top (not slanted) and with a central hole near to the base. It is even possible that Dr.R.Henry’s description of the stone having a hole 3’ up, rather than five, is a reference to this rather than a lapsus pennae.I believe it to have been possibly the size and even age of the Watch Stone
So there were two holed stones near the Stones of Stenness. Of the sentinel stones in Pococke’s drawing along the shore the one (?’stone of sacrifice’) that isn’t the Watch Stone (’stone of power’) is described as having a stone in the middle of it. It is roughly diamond shaped and matches well with the stone doublet of Stanley’s 1789 drawing (admittedly the latter is a shade more rectangular). Walden’s map of 1772 shows a single stone, but this is shown as having just been cleaved in two and the other half of the doublet could be the stone lying flat under the breaking instrument but is more likely from this Stone of Odin. If the former was this heaved out of the shallow hole shown or is that the result of an excavation having taken place ? A hundred and fifty yards N of the stones brings it close to the shore as Pococke shows [~HY30671275], near where Odin Cottage is now.

BROUGH OF BIRSAY SAFE CROSSING
Radio Orkney has discontinued their early morning tide times for tourists to reach the Brough of Birsay. Their system took three-and-a-half hours off the Kirkwall low tide and then allowed five hours for safe crossing. Ocassionally this proved conservative but on very rare occasions folk still got stuck. The reports will be resumed when/if a more reliable method is found.

From rock farm climb up the boulder strewn gorge, and when level ground has been achieved turn right/south, you should be able to see the barrow easily, its big and very prominent. but just in case find the fence and follow it back towards the cliffs of Creigiau Eglwyseg after which all the monuments up here are named after.
The barrow has had the obligatory tampering with on top and has a fence running right over it. but it still remains high and impressive with a view unrivaled with in the area.
Further along the clifftop path is a rocking stone and a fantastic vista over Dinas Bran.

This is on Coflein and the map only as “stone”, but it is clearly another standing stone all be it nearly horizontal. Packing stones can be seen at the end of the stone thats still in the ground, and its nearness to the ring and kerbs and cairns and barrows and the other standing stone only a hundred metres away or so all say that this is another part of this more and more impressive comlex.
I do have some good photos but I lost a deal with a local biddy and am now beholden to her not to show off the stone.

Follow directions for the standing stone.
Two kerb cairns only ten metres apart and fifty metres from the ring cairn, one of the kerbies only has a semi circle of five stones one is much bigger than the other four, the other kerby has eight stones forming slightly more than a semi circle again with one stone bigger than the others.
When I found these two little beauties I was over the moon, especially when I spied the ring cairn not far away, the view over towards Moel y Gamelin takes in some of the rocky cliffs that the area is renound for, it is indeed lovely, BUT!! it’s on extremely private property and a visit requires letters to be written to the landowner and the CCW (like DEFRA)

The first time I came up here was nearly five years ago, I carried my young son on my shoulders and maybe consequently missed the ring cairn and the two kerb cairns, though we passed within thirty metres.
Hence my return journey, The ring cairn is just brilliant, it is more or less a perfect stone cirlce, how I wish I’d seen it before, and two lovely little kerb cairns only fifty metres away up the hill.
It should be on anyones list of places to see but alas the stone circle is on extremely private property and is gaurded diligently by a local banshee, which banished me to the good boy side of the fence, making me promise not to publish any photos from the badboy side of the fence.

From the appropriately named Rock farm take the path up through the rocky gorge, when level ground is attained turn right/south untill the fence is reached, follow it left to the cairn and standing stone and follow it right to the big barrow with outstanding views.
Coflein states that at the N.E corner of the cairn cist elements can be seen but I’d go further and say they could possibly be the remains of a chamber.
The cairn is about fifty metres from the standing stone with a small rock outcrop between them, a fence turns a corner on top of the cairn, on one side of the fence is unnavigable heather covered moor, the other side neatly sheep trimmed grass and two kerbs and a cairn circle but this is extremely private property and fiercely gaurded by a local hill demon.

There are parking places next to the footpath entrance, and the barrow can be seen from here, walk down the road to the leaning boundary stone then thirty metres through heather and past old mining ruins and thar she blows. Rising above the surrounding featureless moors like a whale breaching the surface, instead of blowing spray it gives forth stone.
The three metre high barrow has what coflein describes as a boundary stone on it and indeed the map shows the boundary mark as going straight over the barrow.
Without direct sunlight these moors can be very dark and moody and just a little bit unerving.

The last place visited today and by the time I found it I was completly cream crackered. Nor was it easy to find, coming from across the moor from the other barrow Cefn y Gader the going was hard through the thigh high heather and as the barrow is covered in heather too its almost invisible from most directions.
Eventually stumbling across the well laid Offas dyke path which runs right next to the barrow, it passes by just inches from it.
Inside the summit scoop the wind is gone and a few stones poke through the grassy surface, I sit for a while reflecting on the mornings proceedings and am startled back to life by half a dozen walkers just a few metres away.

A short stroll from Pant Llwyd cairns (1.5.2010), this was too much of a draw to resist, despite being out of my intended way. A massive cairn, huge despite the concerted efforts of walkers to turn into a chalet or some such. As is often the case, it is not visible until you get to the southern Pant Llwyd cairns at around the 500m mark. It can however be seen from Chwar Blaenonneau, some way to the east.

Leaving here, I got back on my walk to Carreg Waun Llech, taking a direct and probably inadvisable route straight off the Garn Caws summit down the deep sided cwm to the south-east, then heading for the southern corner of Coed y Waun wood. This is rough, trackless countryside, strewn with scree and crossed by many little streams. From the corner of the wood, and again from the base of the rock band at Chwar Blaenonneau, Garn Caws is the most prominent man-made feature around.

When I visited Worm’s Head earlier this year it was a bright but cold and very windy day. I viewed the surrounding coastline (with binoculars) and could see no obvious ‘lumps and bumps’. There is a pay-and-display car park, cafe and N.T. shop.

Coming up from Carreg wen Fawr y Rugos on 1.5.2010, following the same route as Gladman, there are indeed a number of cairns. There are also lots of slabs and chunks of limestone scattered about, providing easy building material for megalithic structures.

I’m not sure which cairns I saw in relation to the OS map on the way up (comments on photos are somewhat guesswork based on Coflein and relative positions), one appears to have a dislodged capstone slab, but as you approach the giant Garn Caws there are two very prominent cairns.

The first, to the ENE of Garn Caws, is a grassy mound affair, about 4m across and situated nicely on the edge of the summit rise. The larger second, north of Garn Caws, is of stone block construction, situated somewhat unusually on a saddle rather than the most prominent point. It has been disturbed by walkers and/or antiquarians, but is still pretty large.

From here it’s a very short stroll to the main summit cairn, Garn Caws.