Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 12.4.10. (on way to the lovely Sennen Cove)
The stone is not visible from the road. Park at the ‘First and Last’ pub – next to the church.
Opposite the church is a field with a row of bungalows running alongside it. Walk down the lane which runs in front of the bungalows until you come to a farm gate. Over the gate and follow the very muddy track to the large cow sheds. Just before the cow shed the stone is visible to the left – behind the shed. If you want a closer look you will need to climb over the next gate and walk around to the far side of the cow sheds. The stone appears to be about 7/8ft tall.
There is no public access to this site but as there was no one about I took a chance!
Interestingly, one of the bungalows has errected their very own standing stone in their front garden!

I can report that the Sellafield traffic still use the road beside the stones as a high speed short cut home. Sadly I did not read the notes before myself and Mrs Hamhead decided to drive up there at around five o’clock last Wednesday afternoon!!!

It took us a while to work out where all these single men were coming from at great speed....
We had been enjoying a fantastic walk beside Ennerdale in the sunshine when I noticed Stone Circle on the OS map...shall we go I said...do i have a choice? said Mrs H.

I realise I am spoilt with all the circles down here in Cornwall and the nearby racetrack was a little off putting but i coudn’t get too excited about Blakeley....its nothing to do with the fact that it might be a modern recreation...most circles in Cornwall have been re-erected at some time...it just didn’t have that something..

Still, its easy to get to (unless you time it wrong) and it is a quiet retreat after the madness of the Lakes. We drove a little further south along the road and parked up at the gates to a plantation. From here we walked up the hill opposite...great views from the top over to the Isle of Man and Scotland.

Always start a visit to these stones by observing them from on top of Robin Hoods stride, for no better reason than its a good place to start and you can see exactly where you have to go oh and the damn fine views too.
Half way or so between stride and circle is a stone in a wall, used as a gate post but because of the weathering on the stones summit it is obviously an ancient menhir, but part of the circle I dont know, fantasy tells me its the last survivor of a stone row from stride to circle.
Seven stones still stood in 1847 in a circle 45feet across, of the four remaining stones the most north and south stones are set in concrete, the northern one now stands 7feet tall but the stone is 11ft 6 long before being reset so back in the day would have stood a little taller, Burl also states they are collectively the tallest stones in Derbyshire.
The shapely southern stone has a new scar at its lower end it looks like its been chiseled, but I really hope not.
I love these stones, I love trying to imagine it in a more complete state, this is my fourth or fifth visit and the weather has always been kind, we spent four hours here scrambling on the stride, stalking deer and grooving with the stones.

Together with the stone circle next door this is my favorite place in the whole of the Peak district, its got absolutely everything you could want from the outdoors, antiquities, nature in abundence, and lots of lovely rocks to clamber all over, and stunning views that leave you speechless (might also be vertigo though).
The walk from the layby/verge is uphill and not gentle but it isnt far and there is an uncertain standing stone half way up, it has three holes through it, two little ones and a big one.
Eric and me sat for a while on Lindsays seat (was that her name) and readied our cameras, for the final push up to the rocks, he’s using my old camera because as he says when iv’e passed away he can keep posting for me, didnt quite know what to think of that.
It was early afternoon so everyone and his second cousin was there, climbers, picnicers, lovers, oldies and us stone hunting postmen.
We started by going straight to the top between the ears as it were, ive seen people sat on top of the pinnacles but i’m far too shaky and “what if” for that, then we just climbed all over the place sqeezing into nooks and crawling through crannies (?) and when no-one was looking we just sat and looked at the rocks.
Whilst I was looking for the big carved ring I found what looked like another carved ring, about the same size but unfinished or not as finished as the other one, its between the ears on a vertical surface. Eventually we found the ring we were looking for, it was hiding under a circular mat of grass earth and moss, how peculiar didnt see that last time I was here.
Another thing I found carved amongst the rocks was the surname of the woman whose dedicatory seat was below us and apparenly lived at the house just fifty yards away. My point is people have lived in that house for centuries maybe and some of them carved their names into the stride, and who knows what else.
From the stride we went over to Cratcliffe rocks and from there through the trees to the stone circle once in the trees we were startled by a big buck (erm Roe ?) deer and then ten minutes later the whole herd. Our lad was proper amazed and immediately turned into Simon King, creeping around on his hands and knees trying to get closer, he may add a picture of them, theres no stones just deer but we were inbetween stride and circle. so tell me what do you think ? should I let him?

Visited 11.4.10.
From Men-An-Tol I took the advise from a couple of ramblers who directed me to the site via the derelict mine/chimney seen on the brow of the hill. This was not an obvious path and it took me 30 minutes to reach the stones. Basically, once you reach the chimney (worth a quick look), follow the path to the left – along the brow of the hill. As I walked along the hill I noticed what I thought was a remote weather station (I saw a small ‘wind turbine’ sticking out above the gorse). As I got closer I realised the ‘wind turbine’ was stuck on top of a camper van and was providing electricity for its inhabitants! How they got the camper van up there I don’t know?!!
I hindsight I would suggest you approach the circle from the other direction – i.e. via the top of the path which runs past Men-An-Tol / Men Scryfa. Despite the effort it takes to visit this site I would certainly recommend it as it is both impressive and very atmospheric. This is certainly a wild, wonderful and ancient landscape.
** About 100 metres further on from the Nine Stones there appears to be another, smaller, circle amongst the gorse. I am certainly no expert and it may very well be something else, but to me it looked like a stone circle – what do you think?**

Visited 11.4.10.
Just a 5 minute walk further up the path from Men-An-Tol, in a field on your left. The inscription is fairly easily made out on the opposite side of the stone as you approach via the handy stone stile into the field. Very easy to access and well worth it when visiting Men-An-Tol.

Visited 11.4.10.
This is such an iconic site I just HAD to visit.
There is a small sign post pointing the way from the car park opposite the house. Park here and it’s an easy 15 minute stroll up the path to the site. You will pass a couple of derelict farm buildings on your left and the stone stile into the field where Men-An-Tol lives is just a bit further – on your right. Men-An-Tol is only about 100 metres from the stile and easily seen. This is a small but wonderful site and I would highly recommend a visit. And yes – I did crawl through the hole – couldn’t resist it!!
By the way, there is a (half?) scale reproduction of Men-An-Tol outside the Tourist Information Centre in St Just!!

Visited 11.4.10.
What a walk to get to this place!!!
Probably the worst ‘path’ I have ever had to follow to get to a site. Firstly, very difficult to park on the B3306 where the ‘path’ starts from – opposite a house. I eventually found a grass verge to pull over on about 100 metres down from the house. First the good news, the start of the path is easily seen. However, from there on things get worse! Follow the ‘path’ up the hill – heading towards the derelict farm buildings on the brow of the hill. The ‘path’ gets narrower and narrower and the bloody gorse gets higher and higher. As you near the farm buildings the path takes a sharp left and the ‘path’ is now about 8 inches wide, with gorse at chest height. No other option but to take a deep breath, hold your arms up out of the way and battle through it!! Painful. Things then improve a bit and you finally reach the quoit, the other side of a crumbling stone field wall. The site itself is clear and despite what I have said, well worth the effort and pain to visit if you are physically able to do so. There are 3 fairly large standing stones next to the quoit and the slant of the capstone is definitely worth seeing! I couldn’t squeeze through the very small gap to get inside the quoit. It took me 25 minutes to walk from the road to the quoit.

Visited 11.4.10.
No public right of way to site and very difficult to park on the road (B3306) from which the tomb is easily seen. I just about managed to park (not very safely) on a grass verge and satisfied myself with a quick look before moving the car not to cause an accident. The site consists of what appears to be a large jumble of stones in the middle of a field. There didn’t appear to be any way you could get close to the site for a ‘sneak’ visit without asking permission from the land owner.

Visited 11.4.10.
Easily seen in the field opposite Porthmeor farm house on the B3306. Every time I passed the field it was full of cows – and the odd chicken! In fact the road which runs through the farm always seemed to have plenty of animals happily wandering across the road – drive slowly!

Visited 11.4.10.
Across the road from Lanyon Quoit – not visible from the road. There is no public right of way to the site so I had to do a ‘sneaky’ to get a look!
As you drive from Lanyon quoit towards Lanyon farm you go through a hairpin bend. On the left in the middle of the bend is a farm gate – park here. I entered the field and walked, half- crouched (not to be seen from farm) following the right hand side field boundry hedge. When you get to the far right hand side corner of the field the quoit is visible to the right – a couple of hundred yards away, across a couple of fields. It is approx 150 metres from the field gate to the corner of the field where the quoit is visible from.

Visited 11.4.10.
Very easy to access. There is a small layby about 10 metres from the stone stile which gives access to the field in which the quoit sits. The quoit is only about 30 metres into the field – and a cracking thing it is too!!

Visited 11.4.10.
I visited Chun quoit via Chun Castle (see Chun Castle notes for directions). This is one of the most complete dolmens I have ever visited with stones close together on all four sides. I just about managed to squeeze inside through the small gap. When sat inside, out of the ever present wind, you could easily be in another place – in another time. Magical. The quoit is visible from quite a distance in the surrounding area. Well worth a visit.

I then headed for Boswens Menhir which is visible from the quoit (if you know where to look) and from the B3318. If you want to get closer, park at the junction of the two farm tracks just off the B3318. Walk up the track until it ends (5 minutes) and the menhir is in the field on your left. However, between you and the stone are two double barbed wire fences and a sea of the dreaded gorse. I chose to view from the track!!

Visited 10.4.2010, on a gloriously sunny spring day. The site is within a short but steep walk of Bwlch (served by the Abergavenny-Brecon-Cardiff bus service) along the Beacons Way footpath. I wish I’d had a look at Coflein before coming, as there are a huge number of monuments here on the slopes of Cefn Moel, many not marked on the OS 1:25000 map. A repeat visit is clearly required.

From the south-west, the first cairn encountered is Bwlch Cairn, easily visible because of the small modern cairn that has been added to its top. The original cairn is much bigger in diameter and has been dug into at some point. From here views start to open out over Pen Allt-mawr to the east and the central Beacons to the south-west.

The path continues on across easy grassy terrain. To the east there is a whole complex of unmarked monuments, which sadly I knew nothing about! The next cairn encountered on the route I took was Ffynnon-las round cairn I, which is grass-covered and fairly low. Again there are excellent views of Pen Allt-mawr – Coflein indicates that there may still be intact burials to discover in this one (speculatively of course).

The next cairn Pen-yr-Heol Las lies to the west of the path, on the other side of a drystone wall – it is on access land but I didn’t go over to investigate further as I had other places to get to.

As the path continues in a northerly direction, still gaining height as it approaches the 380m mark the largest cairn of all comes into view, Cefn Moel round cairn. This is a huge thing, 14m across on its largest axis. It is an irregular oval shape and has been greatly disturbed. Coflein mentions a “stone setting” on the SE, but as I hadn’t read about this before going I didn’t give it the attention it deserved.

Crossing the grassy summit of Cefn Moel, the path descends to the most northerly part of the cemetery complex, a group of round cairns known as Blaen-y-Cwm Uchaf. They sit on saddle between Cefn Moel and the higher Mynydd Llangorse (the summit of which is out of sight), with views along the shallow cwm to the south-west. The southern cairn has been much disturbed but again these are massive cairns, all 10m + in diameter.

There is clearly much more going on here than my passing visit allowed me to see and a return is definitely required, not least to check out the further monuments on the eastern part of Cefn Moel. But unlike these ancient structures, my time is fleeting and I was off to Mynydd Troed.

The High Law is an easily found to the east of the A975 south of Cruden Bay on the farm track after Kiplaw Farm. Just up the road is Slains Castle the inspiration for some guy called Dracula.

Like a lot of cairns/circles in this area agriculture has taken its toll but it still survives. To the north west it has been quarried, to the south west a water tank has been built and the wall mentioned by Canmore has long since gone to be replaced by a fallen down barb wire fence. A trip hazard for my clumsy feet.

Remarkably the views are stunning with great scenery all round even as far as the Grampian mountains. This would explain why it had been used a beacon in days gone by. Contained within its 23 meters width and its height at over 31/2 meters was a cist, in the midst of the cairn stones. When opened it was empty suggesting an earlier excavation. However the real miracle is that it still exists just a short walk from the track.

Visited 19/4/2010.

The maze of roads in this corner of the North East make this a hard but worthwhile place to find. Travel north from Newburgh, on the A975 taking the first minor road north west after the B9003 Collieston road. (Slains primary school is at the junction.) Keep going in a northerly direction past the ruins of St. Adamnan’s Chapel until this road ends. Then turn left then right ands keep going until a clump of trees can be seen at the top of the hill opposite Pitlurg farm.

It is only a short walk to the Neolithic round barrow from the road. Today that was a good thing as the weather returned to it’s normal freezing conditions with odd ball showers of hail and sleet.

The barrow is almost 20 meters from North to South and is 15 meters wide. Some rig and furrows have encroached onto the site However it still stands at over 11/2 meters in height being made up of earth and small stones. Trees also remain within the enclosure giving a sense of age. Canmore says a wall surrounds the site, it also is covered in turf and grass. One or two biggish stones are all that can be seen. This place has an ancient feel as it looks down onto the North Sea. Although it doesn’t seem high the views here pretty excellent. Bennachie can even be seen, the builders had built and chosen wisely.

Visited 19/4/2010.

Visited 11.4.10.
Follow signs for Great Bosullow / Chun Castle – off the Laynon Quoit road. This is a narrow lane which leads you to Trehyllys farm. There is a small sign post near the farm directing you to the Castle and Quoit. Park near to the farm and it is a 20 minute hike up the hill through the dreaded gorse and brambles. There is a ‘path’ that can be followed where other people have walked up. The site itself is well preserved – the outer wall is clearly seen and in some places still stands about 6ft tall. Once into the Castle the cup marked stone is on the left and the well is directly in front of you on the far side of the hillfort. If you walk across the site to the far side you will see the two standing stones which form the ‘gateway’ (it feels very cool to walk through!) and beyond that the Quoit is clearly seen 5 minutes walk away. This site is definitely worth visiting!

Visited 11.4.10.
Visible from miles and miles around. I parked near the sea front (does anywhere in Cornwall know the meaning of ‘free parking’?) and took a gentle stroll across the causeway to the island. Had a cuppa, bought an interesting little book on Cornish prehistoric sites and strolled back – very nice!

Visited 10.4.10.
Visible from Trencrom Hillfort. As I wanted a closer look I took the turning signposted ‘Little Trevarrack Touring Park’ and followed the road until I came to the entrance of Beersheeba farm. I say farm but this looked more like a ranch! I parked at the entrance and took an uncomfortable walk down the drive towards the stone which is in the field on your left. I didn’t try to get into the field where the stone stands and was happy to view from the drive. At this point I had the ‘evil eye’ from a farmer and someone driving past me heading to the farm house/ranch. I took this as a ‘time to go signal’. The stone itself is about 10ft high.

visited 10.4.10.
I loved this stone. I had no idea it was here until I happened to pass it in the car and nearly crashed! Only a qurater mile from Trencrom Hillfort, right next to road. There is a layby 10 metres from the stone (same side of road) and an information plaque giving folklore details. This is a lovely place – a small stream running behind the stone and primroses to the front – wonderful. Next to the stone is Bowl Rock cottage and across the road is Bowl Rock Chapel. Passed it may times during the week and couldn’t resist having a quick peek evey time!

Visited 10.4.10. This hillfort is very easy to access – only 5 minutes up from the car park with cracking views all around – although the path is quite steep and rocky. There are massive boulders all over this hill – including a huge square shaped one just before the ‘gateway’ stones. I returned to this site the following evening to watch the sun go down – beautiful.
Directions: Take the lane south of hillfort. Not far past Flax cottage (on the left) you will find the National Trust car park on your right. Through the gate directly in front of you, then follow the obvious path through the trees and up to the hillfort.

Visited 4.4.2010, towards the end of a long circular walk from Maen Llia, over Fan Nedd and Fan Gyhirych then to the Beacons Way through the lovely nature reserve of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu, before joining the Sarn Helen Roman road at a ford across the Nedd Fechan, much swollen with melt water from the recent snow. By this point both my friend and I were flagging a little and time was getting on, so we didn’t linger here as long as we might.

This is a lovely, slender monolith, sporting Roman inscription but surely of Bronze Age origin. The ridges to the SE are covered in an abundance of cairns. Someone has carved an anchor on it for some reason too.

A trip up here after visiting Maen Llia and Fan Nedd (4.4.2010), following in Gladman’s footsteps. We arrived during another brief hailstorm, and the few yards from the trig point over to the edge of the steep escarpment to view the summit cairn were particularly windy and unwelcoming. But that aside, what a spot. Terrific views open on all sides, east to Fan Nedd and the central beacons, west to Y Mynydd Du, to the north the land drops away down to Cray Reservoir, while to the SW on a better day Swansea Bay is visible.

The cairn itself is a low mound, with the usual walker’s construct built on top of it. It sits right on the edge of the summit plateau, rather than at the highest point and is out of sight until you are practically on top of it. This makes for another one of those situations where it has a great view itself, but is not easily viewed.

Visited Easter Sunday (4.4.2010), coincidentally within an hour or so of Gladman’s visit! On the walk up from Blaen Llia we saw a red kite hovering right overhead, which just about made my day straight away, but then this wonderful monolith topped even that. A huge slab of stone, with great views south down the valley of the Afon Llia river. Oddly, the name Maen Llia may derive from the Welsh word for “less” or “least” (llai), but this huge stone is anything but! A terrific start to the day. The surrounding hills are largely trackless and from here we climbed Fan Nedd, into a hailstorm on the summit. I love this countryside, it is utterly inspirational and requires much more exploration on my part.

(Access note – I came out today with a walking friend by car – I do not think that there is easy access to this part of the Brecon Beacons by public transport, sadly.)

[Access update 13.2.2011: There are indeed no buses running to anywhere very close, but a good walk from either Storey Arms or Glyntawe/Dan yr Ogof makes it accesible on foot, taking in mountains on the way.]

Travel east from Methlick on the B9005 stopping at the bridge that leads to a quarry. This quarry is still in use and a locked gate means that the rest of the journey is on foot.

The cairn is situated on a small hill on land littered by rocks and bog. Also there are hut circles, causeways, a standing stone and maybe the remnants of a circle. There is also another cairn but a severe dowsing in rain sent me back over of the bridge to the cover of the car. A pile of stones indicates the cairn which is mostly grass covered being almost 10 meters in width and less than a meter high.

This is an interesting and historic place. Quite clearly this was a major settlement and, for me, it would be great to go back in time just to catch a glimpse of what it really looked like. Throw in Mill Of Kelly, Shethin, Schivas, Ythsie, Fedderate and the Candle Stone for good measure, a great days hunting!

Visited 17/4/2010.