Latest Fieldnotes

I came down the track to the beach that goes past Evie graveyard (St.Nicholas Chapel site) expecting not to reach this site but turn right for Gurness, the latter fee free for St.Andrew’s Day. However it looked a doddle to get to so I went. Not quite so easy as I thought, despite a reasonably low tide. As I came nearer from the shore I could see at the far end the very tippety-top was a wedge shape that must be the highest surviving point of the broch tower – inner or outer face leastways. It is nice to see the external bank you come to first this way is an obvious one rather than some slight rise visible to the eye of faith. I can see why the remains are unsurveyable so far as discerning structures goes, for between the bank and the main mound the remains I saw consisted of several othostats at varying angles and various scattered slabs apparently face down.

Unfortunately the field fence is taut and I didn’t feel safe in essaying a climb over so I contented myself with hauling myself carefully up onto the mound edge this side of it, from whence the yards to the highest portion of the mound’s coastal edge weren’t so bad. Just on the other side of the fence there are enough slabs sticking proud of the surface to form a rectangular structure, possibly even two. Definitely surveyable I’d say.

This side of the fence there are a few smallish round holes in the dark earthy matter but not enough to bring worries of rabbit infestation. Probably midden rather than burnt material, though I could see no sign of individual components. Unfortunately the coastal side of the fence gives out here, not even the barest of ledges. On the other side of the mound there is as far as I could tell no continuation of the outer bank, though the broch’s inner bank is clearer here and the exposed tower wall is nice (not a patch on the Broch of Burgar of course).

I visited the Almendres stone circle in September this year and highly recommend taking a visit to this amazing place.

Situated just to the west of Evore, it is set on an astounding slope that looks over the Evore valley, the sunrise was the most breathtaking I have ever experienced.

Visited 20/10/2007

Fieldnotes to come when I can find them!

Directions from memory: We parked at the end of St Stephen’s Lane, and followed the well-defined footpath as it wound it’s way through the forest. After a shortish distance we reached the reservoir. Just after the reservoir is the signpost – on your left – pointing left toward the stone. Further down this path is another sign, pointing right up a smaller path. The stone is just at the end.

Gratton Moor lies between Minninglow and Arbor Low above the dry valleys of Long and Gratton Dale.
What first drew me to this place was its position in relation to the Neolithic monuments around here and a ploughed field and mole hills on the eastern side of the moor. I wasn’t here to see the two Bronze Age barrows... I was here for flint. And when I got to the fields that’s what I got...there were waste flakes of chert and flint along with scrapers, blades and the odd arrowhead lying on the surface.
Checking the NMR and SMR I found that the moor had been walked years before by a local bloke from Elton, who had filled boxes with his finds, and that a number of Neolithic occupation sites were noted on the moor at SK199599, SK202603 and SK191605

Coming along the shore from the Knowe of Stenso is not easy – even at low tide it as a matter of skirting rocks, clambering up and down geos, crossing over and through burns. Even following the fence line I found some of the boggy bits. Unlike Stenso the fence beside is slack enough to climb over [though no dout they’ll remedy that the morrow], however on coming to the high point without entering the field and then peering over into the slightly depressed top all I saw was grass (in 1928 the P.O.A.S. says neither this nor Stenso had been excavated, but he likely meant professionally as a local had been down inside the latter). To me the site didn’t feel the right orientation for a broch, though as I mistakenly thought I’d a pic from the main road I have no image to check whether it truly is edge on to the coast. Certainly I would have expected to see some signs of a bank outwith the mound. That said, just over the fence at the highest point I did see a few projecting slabs I felt to be an even slighter version of the structure I had seen earlier at the Knowe of Stenso in the exact same relative position.

The O.S. map shows nine barrows on this site, although four are marked with crosses. On the ground I could only see three, and one of these was a very low feature. The largest and most complete was next to the track, just past a barn. It forms part of the field margin and has plough damage where it is in the field. The next most visible is also part of a hedge row to the south, on a ridge below a small wood.
This must once have been a substantial cemetetary but centuries of agriculture have reduced or removed most of the barrows.

Shallow tor topped by a large cairn, unfortunately, like Chapel Carn Brea, somewhat wrecked by a WWII observation post, but still evident.

An odd one this...in that I’d been for many years aware of the feature from afar without ever really being able to place it satisfactorily in close up. Men Amber is a granite tor on the most westerly rise of the Carnmenellis granite, and viewed from northerly aspects comprises a readily identifiable outcrop on a long low ridge that also comprises Crowan Beacon, Polcrebo Downs, Longstone Downs (see below) and Prospidnick Hill before the land drops towards the Cober valley and the Lizard. It is the only granite tor visible along this otherwise relatively smooth ridge from a north-westerly direction, and is plainly visible from the North Cliffs and thus sites such as Crane Castle 11km distant.

The tor is very much of the classic ‘stacked’ formation rather than a crag, and thus is quite possibly the site of a logan stone I have seen reference to in Cornish antiquarian literature as ‘being near to Nancegollan’.

It is also at the crossroads of two tracks of arguably great antiquity: firstly a ridgeway slightly bowdlerized by subsequent enclosure running broadly south from Black Rock (adjacent to the cairn and fire summit at Crowan Beacon) along the ridge a modern field’s width behind the tor across Longstone Downs; within a couple of hundred yards of Prospidnick Longstone, then just east of the summit of Prospidnick Hill, before becoming a minor road and dropping gradually into the valley of the River Cober to the erstwhile (medieval at least) tidal limit of that river at Helston St. Johns; secondly a mostly intact track which seemingly originated at Tregonning Hill, across NW through Carleen before becoming a hollow way on the direct incline up immediately past Men Amber. East from here a sequence of now unclassified minor roads lead in an almost direct easterly bearing across the Carnmenellis uplands to Porkellis, Longdowns and eventually Mabe Burnthouse above the River Fal.
I need to do some more fieldwork and sight bearings on this one, but am sure it is usefully sightlined with Tregonning Hill, and indeed even as far as the foothills of Penwith looking NW. The shout goes out – calling Mr. Hamhead?!?

Twelve O’Clock Rock (as it is named on the OS sheets) also somewhat dominates the skyline eastward across St. Ives Bay, and despite its relatively diminutive size, can easily be picked out from the barrow at Godrevy, over 9km away.

The local historian Arthur Hopwood told me about this stone.

It’s his opinion that this is one of the many stones erected around the beckside by Edward Oates, who bought this land in 1834.

Mr. Oates put up the large stones around the pond just north of this, and also installed the ‘clapper’ bridges found there. It seems he had a thing about having ‘ye olde looking stones’ on his estate.

Edward Oates was a member of the Mill Hill Chapel, in Leeds City Centre, and apparently brought some of the stone from there, including the two rough stone ‘pillars’ that are to be found near the pond, a little further up the beck from here.

There’s a track on the map that runs south-east from the road across the saddle between Verschoyles hill and Knockannavea up into the forestry on Knockannavea. South of the track is this supposed barrow cemetery. I searched the vicinity and found some vague remains. It seems that these barrows have long since been ploughed away, a pity really as the site itself is quite beautiful.

There’s plenty historical to see on the way to Carder Low from Hartington village; medieval earthworks at Moat Hall, a Norman Motte at Bank Top Farm and Romano field systems on the slopes of Carder Low itself.
The barrow/cairn, about 19m across and 1m high, is however a bit of a disappointment although the views across the upper Dove valley into Staffordshire are excellent.

This is an odd stone, its marked as a bullaun stone but really I cant see how it could be.
There are possibly three very faint depression on its surface as I have marked with the red circles. However today I poured some water in them but it didnt settle and just ran straight off.
However the fact that this rock was left in the corner of the field and never removed must mean something?

Update:
I read recently that the bullaun stone has been removed. This stone is thought to be prehistoric however. I have no idea what kind of monument it was part of.

This is a very strange almost rectangular bullaun stone. It is located on a river bed about 1/2 km from the village of Ballypatrick.
Other than the name Ballypatrick there is no evidence on the map of an old church in the area.
This and the strange shape of the bowl make this a very unusual site.

This was meant to be in a graveyard. However many of the slabs have been used to build up a low wall as part of the remains of the church here. There is no sign of the bullaun however I think if it still remains on site this maybe where it is.

This is a nice tomb in good condition on low ground. To the south the ground begins to rise and there is a lot of exposed rock. There is a record of rock-art on some of this rock but i wasnt able to find it.
The tomb must be about a 1m high by approx 3m long.

Unfortunately I couldnt find this panel of rock-art. I spoke to an english guy that owns a cottage just at the end of the lane that leads up here. He told me he had lived there 5 years and had been unable to find either of the panels of rock-art. He said that the old woman who owned the house before him used to know where one of them was. She used to take the kids from the local school to see it when she was a young woman. However at the time he met her she claimed that she could no longer remember where it was.
So I guess in the last say 60 years at least one of these panels were visible. www.archaeology.ie has the panel at this rough grid ref as Rock-Art and the other grid ref as Rock Scribing. Im not sure what the difference is.

The cup marked stone (Greenlee Lough a) is 16m S of the southern entrance to a Roman Camp midway between the current field walls where the land slopes up to the N to crags overlooking Greenlee Lough. This area does not have free access to the public (which ends at the E side just beyond the Ridley Common stone circle) and permission must be sought at West Hotbank.
An area of cord rig (which was shown by excavation to predate the camp) is visible as parallel bands of vegetation (mainly rushes) from the S side of the stream in an area just below the cup-marked rock. This makes up part of the field system of a farmstead which is located in a field 200m to the west, on a protected site just above a steep gorge where the Jenkins Burn flows N to join Greenlee Lough. Although it has been described as Romano-British, it is circular in shape, and may be earlier. The Ridley Common stone circle is approximately 400m NE of the cup-marked rock and has been interpreted as a Bronze Age cairn as many of its 15 stones are small.
Flash Earth shows all these features well, including a hollow-way extending from the E side of the farmstead and another defended settlement, attributed to the Iron Age, situated on the top of the crags, immediately N of the stone circle. Shielings were constructed in its enclosure and in the Roman Camp in the Medieval period showing that this area has had a long history of settlement.

Greenlee Lough panel b is located at NY 78060 69988, 6m NW of corner in the boundary wall of the group of ruined shielings at Cragend just W of the Pennine Way footpath where it crosses the track, 400m NE of the Ridley Common stone circle. The outcrop is at the E end of the crag line which is the location of the Iron Age settlement and is at the top of a steep slope overlooking marshy ground lying to the E of Greenlee Lough. There are two basins (clearly man-made) connected by a shallow, curved groove. A 10p coin found (and left) in the bottom of the larger water-filled basin perhaps indicates a local tradition. The basins may have had a prehistoric origin as suggested by Beckensall but this can’t be certain. The larger of the two is little eroded and maybe of fairly recent origin, possibly connected with the shielings which are very close. Its likely purpose will probably remain a mystery.

Another visit to this substantial long barrow, I had hoped autumn would make it easier to see. The under growth is less now but a fallen tree still obscures much of it. Its a real fight through thick hawthorn and brambles to take some not very clear photos, however the barrow itself is worth a look as it is very big. Shorn of the brush and trees this would be an impressive monument in an area thick with barrows of all kinds and conditions.

This bullaun stone is pretty close to the road just a few kms outside of Tipp Town.
It is marked on the OS map by a Cross. Its a cool bullaun stone with a turning (cursing?) stone. There is a pond very close by to the stone.
The cross seems to have come out of the socket it was in and now lies up against the bullaun stone.

Ah! So this is what it’s called!

Marked on the OS map only as “Stone Circle”.

Visited one bright, sunny but VERY cold day last weekend, this was a very pleasant surprise! After a very short walk on a high ridge with panoramic views, the circle appears in front of you, behind a wooden fence urging people to not walk on the monument. The fence is in no way intrusive, and does not block access to the circle, but obviously it’s better to stay on the outside of it for preservation reasons.

My first reaction is that it’s a lot bigger than I expected! The stones that are still standing are broader and higher, and the diameter greater than I imagined.

It’s very exposed up there, so is very cold when that wind blows! The gorse was being burned when we were there, and the sound of a chainsaw permeated the air, but despite that, it felt like a very peaceful location.

A prominent cairn sits just in front of the circle, by the path, which is diverted around the outside of the circle. The other visitors, while we were there, also obeyed the polite notice to stay off it. Nice to see the effect a simple, gentle request has on people!

Access: Parking at approximately SX770872, follow the well-defined path for about 10 minutes up hill, and voila!

Weather permitting, I’d say this was pushchair and (just about) wheelchair friendly.

These three barrows are in the middle of Knowle hill, there is a fourth further east which I didn’t get to as the weather closed in. The biggest and most southerly is covered in gorse and has traces of a ditch around most of its circumference, the footpath is where it fades out. To the north west of it is a low bowl type also with a ditch and traces of an excavation on its crown.
The western barrow is also a low bowl shape on the ridge of the hill and has a cross dyke running next to it. The cross dyke cuts through the ditch of the barrow so must be later. These boundary ditches cross many hills like this locally, indeed the same hill has another set to the west, dating these ditches is difficult as not many have been properly investigated.

To the east of and above Llyn Brenig at the northern edge of Clocaenog forest. Park next to a wind turbine and walk 250m down a track the barrow is just visible through the trees.
Despite the almost overwhelming forest the barrow is still about 8ft tall and it felt good to find it in such good condition, a small scoop has been taken out of the top, and the entire site is covered in several inches of spongy moss. The trees even sheltered me from the rain letting me take some photos and sit for a while. Because of the trees I can’t tell whether it ever had a good view, but it sits on the edge of an eastward sloping hill so would have presumably been visible on the horizon from far off.

This is a top spot accessible from Wetton Mill (around a mile away) and the northern Manifold caves.Located on Ecton Hill which was mined for copper in the Bronze Age, several green stained bone and stone tools having been recovered from the area.
Mining took off in the 1700’s and the hill is full of reminders from this busy period in its history.
Although there are no paths to the cave, it is pretty easy to find below a limestone crag
Excellent views out across Archford Moor and to the hills of Wetton and Narrowdale in the east.

Having seen this marked on the OS map but read Dickie’s fieldnotes, I didn’t hold out much hope for it. But when I stumbled through into the copse it was a real jaw-dropping moment. It was late autumn and a bright day with sun coming through the golden leaves and there in front of me was a beauty of a long barrow, the entire width of the copse. MAGIC says 72 metres long, 22m wide at east end and 17m wide at west end, and 2m high. OK, it’s no West Kennet, there are trees growing out of it and rabbits living in it, but that’s not bad for 5000 or so years old. I think I must have a soft spot for antiquities overgrown by woodland, there is some extra tranquillity and mystery about it. Anyway, my top tip is to sneak up from the road further east from Dickie’s approach. There is a gate leading into woodland and from that you can turn right into a field. Look back down toward the road; if you are in the right field there should be a old fallen tree trunk down at the bottom. Walk away from the road and go straight ahead into the copse. No sign of who owns the land but it is easy to visit without damaging any crops, fences etc.

Also, the pin on the Google map is in the wrong copse... it’s the next one to the north.