Latest Fieldnotes

Not much remains of this settlement now, its worth visiting if you are in the area, there is the remains of a few hut circles and various banks and ditches are apparent.
The settlement is nestled away in a picturesque valley between two limestone outcrops with lots of scree all around and just to make it a touch more special Ingleborough pops over the top of the outcrops.

Theres not much to add about this site that the previous post hasnt already said its so tranquil i loved it here!

The directions at the bottom will guide you directly to it as long as you take the first right and not your first left like it says below, like ive done a couple of times!

The Fairy Chapel is located on A limestone outcrop known as Humphrey Head.

Access is not good as the cave is located high up on the side of the cliff. I originally tried to access it from the top of the cliff via the footpaththe best way is to climb up from the bottom where it is marked on the photo. This is one for the enthusiast and I would not recommend the climb as it is rather treacherous I’m just daft enough to to try it. A Fantatsic little rock shelter though when you find it I was pleasantly surprised and the views out were stunning.

Not that easy to find, the carvings are below the tide level on very slippery rocks. There are more cups here, but either they were below the water level or hidden by seaweed, and as my swimming abilities are very similar to those of my camera I decided to settle for the more obvious examples.

Surfice to say that its owner was quick to point out that this was just a rubbing stone or cattle. He did say however that he had a similar stone some 4 fields away to the north-west. Yes this other stone is comparable in size and shape. It’s always worth approaching the landowner for permission to visit the stones, as they often provide some insight into the history or folklaw of the stone, true they may suggest that it’s just a rubbing stone, but usually you can see by the typical shape, east-west alignment, packing stones around the base, quartz crystals etc etc that these stone pre-dates any animal husbandry concerns! 06/09/06

Just to confirm it is the white undressed stone standing some 10m north of the old windmill. Not sure what the standing stone next to the ruined building is, but it is typical of the Anglesey stones being broad and thin. If you are inclined to climb over the fence behind the building is a narrow track/green lane which leads to a field perhaps 30m away. At the end is another “standing stone” forming the gatepost. 6/9/06

The Fairy church is a Natural limestone Arch high up on the cliff face of Humphrey Head this one is fairly easy to get to, however caution is advised as it is on the edge of a cliff.
A stunning rock feature and very prominent as you approach the cliff also on closer inspection theres a rather large cave inside, unfortunately unless you a caver/ climber access is impossible as it’s a bit of a drop to get in.

The small lane up to the old windmill is hard to pick out on the main road. We got there, 3rd time lucky. Just before the renovated windmill we saw the first stone and took about 10 pictures. I wondered why it was so close to a deralict building and saw two holes with wood still filling them.

Further up on the hill top we saw the other lump of a stone, half covered in ivy with great views. This, I decided, was it but I posted a pic of the other one as well, just to cover all bets.

Plenty of room to park at the farm, my son Eric and me knocked at the farm and spoke with the farmer, he seemed quite pleased someone had come to see his stone, and kept saying"champion”.

The stone is nigh on seven feet tall, and made up of some conglomerate type stuff (sorry not a geologist).In good weather great views across Malltreath marsh vally

I guess I had a sort of coming of age today 5/9/06 on Seefin. The fragility of the tomb had never been clearer. Standing at the back of the tomb in a full force gale, I realised the slow erosion that the wind alone could cause to the rocks over thousands of year. Add to that rain, snow, frost, hail and occasional strong sunshine and it’s a wonder that so much of it has survived. For how much longer?
Well, the passage seems to have deteriorated further since I was last here 2 months ago. Maybe I hadn’t noticed it before, but there is a gaping hole about a metre and a half deep and the same in height in the eastern wall about 5 metres from the entrance. Cairn material is falling into the passage from this. There’s another, less serious, in the wall opposite. Rain is seeping into the passage itself and puddles are collecting on the floor.
The hole above the chamber shows major human interference. Some clown has used cairn material to bulid a wall around the lip of the hole. They’ve used the covering rocks of the cairn and dug down about a metre into the cairn itself, exposing the underneath.
The western recess shows signs of someone having performed some sort of ritual, with a lot of the roof rubble removed, and some of the ‘newer’ quartz stone from the exposed cairn formed into some sort of ‘altar’.
The slight remains of the firepack on the rock beside the sill/entrance stone that I saw 2 months ago should be well gone by now, but alas no: there’s even more ashes there now.
I headed down off the hill more depressed than angry.

We visited the Hellstone last week, and very lovely it is too. Unlike the other posters here, we approached it from the Hardy Monument rather than from the layby, and it would seem to be a much easier route than descibed elsewhere, not least because the Hardy Monument is so easy to find!

With an ordanance survey map and a compass at the car park of the Hardy Monument, it is not too difficult to make out the dolmen in a distant field (especially with the aid of binoculars). Having spotted it, it is just a matter of following the path in the correct direction down from the monument into the woods. The Hellstone is signposted from there onwards.

Admittedly we almost missed it, as we didn’t spot the engraved stone marked “Hellstone” at the entrance to the field it is in! Most people probably wouldn’t be quite so useless though!

*Note on the Hardy Monument – am I the only person on the planet that thought that this was a memorial to Thomas Hardy the author? It is actually erected in memory of Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy of HMS Victory.

According to the Arch. Inventory of Co. Wicklow, a perviously earthfast boulder. Dug up by the landowner and left in the corner of the field, the carvings are now erroding (a lot less prominent now than when he first dug it up, according to the landowner) and were quite difficult to see in the dappled sunlight caused by the beech tree that stands nearby. The stream below the stone provided water for some viewing relief.
The couple that own the land were very helpful, the man showing me where to go on a large map of his property. There are many other interesting stones on the land on the way to the stone, with at least 3 possible burial mounds/cairns/chambered tombs and a large cup-marked but very erroded eartfast boulder.

To get the clearest views of the bank and ditch walk along the side road that leaves the main road as you approach Maes Howe from the east/Kirkwall. They are quite spectacular.

This is a lovely and quite big passage grave located near Herbertstown and in the vicinity of Lough Gur.
To get there turn off in herbertstown and follow the OS map as close as you can to it (its a very twisty road with lots of turns off etc so an OS map will be required).
At the closest point to the road there are a number of farm houses shown on the map on an acute bend. This is where I gained access, parking about 200m up from the houses.
Basically there is a ridge that you can see from the road, I crossed about two fields and a stream to get up to this ridge. Follow the ridge through some undergrowth, (there seems to be an old path here) up the hill. Coming from this side the tomb looks completely overgrown so I was delighted when I got around to the entrance of it to see it was intact and accessible.
The tomb itself must be 6-7m long. It is on an east-west alignment and there is a capstone in front of the passage in my photos. I climbed up to the peak of Cromwell Hill and there is a cairn there and loads of ditches/defenses. I guess they may have been built during Cromwells time as this hill would have been a great defensive location. From the peak there are great views to the Harps of Cliu and back over towards Lough Gur. The east west alignment to me would suggest it could be aligned to a sunrise over the back of Cromwell Hill.

This remains my favourite circle in these islands and as mysterious as any. It really is impossible to know why they sited them where they did doesn’t it? Yes, there are landscape features, yes there are views and alignments and such, but why precisely here? Infuriating and wonderful to never be able to know. Perhaps the road was always here, perhaps somebody important died here. Perhaps the dowsers and wierd energy geeks are right. Is it a telephone box to communicate with those at other circles?

There are some serious stones in the fields as you approach so it’s easy to conjecture an avenue or something no longer apparent – and the entrance points down to the river – for me there is a parallel here with Stanton Drew – more than with Castle Rigg or Rollright. When will they dig here? Surely so much to be uncovered?

What a gorgeous circle.

And what a change in a county of countless recumbent circles. Don’t get me wrong, I love the RSC’s but this was like rinsing out the mind before going back to them. Everythings just that little bit different – the raised mound is so much more noticeable, mainly I suppose because the circle is not hemmed in by a fence like so many others. You can really feel this circles place in the landscape-it seems like the centre of it.

Beautiful stones too, with quartz and lichen just dripping from them. The tallest has been split by the elements providing you with a launch ramp to the sky (as my 4 year olds told me).

Kudos to all those involved in the restoration (Which you wouldn’t know about just being in the circle) and to the farmers for looking after it. These circles were built by the farmers for the land, and they seem to appreciate the care by their descendants-if only it were true everywhere.

Access: I’m with Greywether. Park at the monument car park and walk-its how the builders would have done it. Besides, I would not want to see my tyres after driving down the last 300 yards of rough stone track – tyre-bagging time ;-)

Why is no-one coming here? If its because its restored don’t worry-its as good as Loanhead & East Aqhorthies, and at least it was carried out by Aubrey Burl, a man who knows.

Strichen is a complete restoration – aside from damage in the distant past, it was destroyed and hurled in the nearby quarry in the 1960’s. Due to local outcry and the efforts of Dr Burl & Co. the site was excavated and restored as near as dammit in 1981/2.

And a good job they’ve done. A classic RSC on a hill with the wide open views all around. The recumbent has a deep hole drilled into it, reminiscent of those made prior to dynamiting, but who knows who, why or when? One of the circle stones has fallen recently by the looks of the ground. It may have been pushed, but to be honest the socket doesn’t look deep enough or the packing stones sufficient.

Access: Now improved. From the main road into Strichen, head for the community park, near the old railway track. A new sign of the Aberdeenshire Councils ‘Stone Circle Trail’ style points the way down Brewery Road. About a mile further on, another one points you left into a small parking place adjacent to the old railway. Park here, and follow the signs down, under the railway bridge, and up a good all weather track to the circle. About 10 minutes walk. You can still access via the country park, which is also a nice place to spend an hour or two.

Come visit, theres no excuse!

I was quite taken by Berrybrae. Although somewhat ruinous, I find these circles often have more ‘feel’ than their restored cousins-not that I’m averse to restoration.

The remaining flanker to this site is absolutely huge-almost as big as the recumbent. The other flanker has shattered, and the pieces are still in situ-it would still appear to have been smaller than the other flanker, although maybe as high. Two other circle stones are still standing, along with the stumps of at least two more. Some judicious chainsaw work is also required-it would open up the views no end, but also two very large trees are threatening the recumbent either by their roots, or from being blown down – and the wind does blow in this part of the world!

Access is as described, and easy as long as the field isn’t in crop or heaving with cows. Its less than 100 yards into the field so there’s no excuse for not visiting. Perhaps we can tread down the nettles together?

Please be aware. If you are in any sense hydrophobic stop reading this now and go and find another stone circle to visit.
My route to the Haws started in Torver, the footpath to the fells passed by my campsite and so was the most logical route to take. It is also the route given by Robert Harris in his book Walks in Ancient Lakeland.
The walled trackway from Torver winds its way up through beautiful gnarly woodland, the walls along the track are covered in thick green velvety moss giving them the appearance of having grown there. All around you is the sound of running water, unfortunately most of it is underfoot as the trackway and the Ash Gill Beck, which it follows, have joined forces. I wouldn’t recommend wearing wellies here as the track is lined with slate chippings and is very slippery.
I’m afraid when you leave the woodland things don’t improve much. The moor above the wood is waterlogged and I would recommend walking parallel to the trackway using the sheep tracks as they tend to follow the drier ground.
One thing that does lift the soul at this point is the view, the Old Man of Coniston and Dow Crag rise above you changing the whole landscape perspective from one of soft woodland to hard fell.
Your next obstacle is the Bull Haw Moss Beck, a  deep, fast flowing stream. At it’s shallowest point the beck is about three quarters of a metre deep and at its narrowest point about a meter and a half wide. Robert Harris mentions stepping stones, I couldn’t find them. The only thing for it was to jump. I threw my bag over and then grabbed the terrier and leapt across.
Once over the beck things start to improve. The ground is still marshy but gradually rises. You can see the long ridge of Blaeberry Haws rising to your left.
I left the path here and struck out to climb the hillside, aiming for the cairn on the top of the Haw.
Once at the cairn the whole landscape opened out in front of me. There were views back into central Cumbria to the north east and the Duddon estuary to the south but the dominant unescapable influence here is the Old Man and his partner Dow Crag.
The hilltop cairn is modern but may be overlying a more ancient structure and the base platform is seems to be composed of stones and is out of proportion with the narrow cairn.
From the cairn the circle is on the slightly lower ground to the south west.
Once at the circle you’ll notice the northern views are obscurred by the higher ground. I would suggest that although the Old Man is the dominant feature, the eye is drawn to the south and the silvery waters of the Duddo estuary. It’s also interesting that the other prehistoric structures, the robbed cairn, earthwork and ring cairn are not visible from the circle.
The circle itself is a beautiful tiny ring, just four paces across with the tallest of the seven stones no higher then my knee.
After spending a little time at the circle I walked back along the ridge to the north east and had a look at the robbed cairn. The cairn is composed of cobbles and has a hollow centre. In the centre are a number of large pieces of slate, Robert Harris suggests that this may the the remains of a cist.
The next feature you encounter, along the north eastern edge of the Haw, is a linear bank running NW-SE and curving slightly to respect the cairn.
After the earthwork is a large ring cairn. Unfortunately my photographic skills do not do this structure justice as it is a large (nineteen paces), well-defined feature with bits of stone poking through the banking.
I spent a good hour up on the ridge poking around these sites but the clouds began getting lower and lower so I decided it was time to go.
I returned by walking along to the old slate workings and then following the Ash Gill Beck back down the hillside. In hindsight I would suggest this is probably the route I should have taken when ascending the Haws as the gradient is a little less severe and the ground is a little drier.

All in all I would say that Bleaberry Haws is well worth the effort. The domineering effect of the Old Man really grounds you in the landscape, a landscape that, at first glance, seems wild and untamed and the monuments here seem remote and isolated. But take a closer look and you’ll see the hand of man on the fells. The Old Man of Coniston is riddled with mines and quarries. There is even evidence of prehistoric copper extraction here. So we are seeing a landscape that has previously been a place of massive industrial activity stretching back into prehistory.

In his excellent book, The Stone Circles of Cumbria, John Waterhouse suggests an alternative route to Bleaberry Haws
“The easiest approach to this tiny circle is from the quarry road.
Leave the quarry road at the point where it turns sharp left and cross a dry stone wall.”

Near the Anglesey Shooting School, in a grassy field of the richest Hooker’s Green (what the hell had they been putting on it), with a backdrop of beautiful deciduous woodland, sits this imposing chamber. When we arrived, the Shooting School seemed to be having a clay shoot, so rhythmical pops and bangs broke the silence. Once again, some rather dodgy restoration work had taken place – presumably by none other than Chippy Minton. The most incongruous wooden brace was jammed under the capstone, rather spoiling the appearance of this otherwise very pleasant tomb. Yet again, I was put in mind of the Dyffryn Ardudwy type of monument. In the 18th century, this apparently provided shelter for a family of squatters. I imagine that with a few tarps or similar strung round the chamber, it would be quite snug.

On the way to our final destination, Presaddfed, we screeched to a halt by the roadside chapel of Llanfaethlu, just so Moth and I could hop out of the car and take a couple of snaps of the quite attractive monolith which stands in the next door field. This is much more solid than the previously described stones; much more like the traditional menhir. I liked the way it was still quietly sitting there, despite the Christianisation, and the road passing within a few feet of its field. Again, it enjoyed some lovely views, and the benefit of being utilised as a sheep rubbing post.

Three most beautiful stones stand by a dry stone wall on a rise in a sheep field. The views over Ynys Môn are spectacular, including the modern day fferm gwynt, wind farm. Forming an isosceles triangle, the grey, lichen-fronded stones reach up gracefully to the sky, and look very much like the elegant pair of menhirs at Penrhos Feilw. One of them is indeed extremely phallic. All of them are about six and a half feet high. My summer felt complete as I rolled about in the close cropped turf, flicking away sheep poo and photographing this fabulous trio of stones.

Did I say Pant y Saer was a stunna? Well, this is a stunna with knobs on! Lligwy has the most incredible capstone, a huge rectangle of rock, easily a yard thick all the way round. Interestingly, deep grooves are to be found on all sides of this cumbersome capstone, and I read on the information board a suggestion that they were caused by ropes rubbing into the stone as it was transported to the site. Can’t see it myself; why don’t other structures have such obvious grooves? It looked more like eroded drilling lines to me, if it were anything manmade.

This really is awesome. A large dug out chamber under the capstone held the remains of 30 people, and even has a reasonable shelf on which to lay a body. Only after squeezing through the constricting entrance way, grubbing around in the chamber for a while, and sitting on the (not uncomfortable) shelf chatting to a lady on the outside, did I later discover the 25 tonne capstone is only held up on three of the eight uprights. Gulp.

Once again, the prehistoric understanding of rock and engineering never ceases to amaze. . . .

I didn’t see one earwig.

What a stunna. Despite the fact the capstone has slipped, and the general appearance the stones offer is now that of a boozy looking, drunken effort to stay upright, it is still an awesome structure. Its disrepair is a shame though, as originally, it was clearly a very important and complex site. Pant y Saer means ‘Hollow of the Masons‘, an accurate title, as beneath the capstone are the remains of a rock-cut pit 16 ft x 10 ft x 3ft, which contained the burials of 36 adults, 9 children, and 9 full-term foetuses. Separately, there were two more burials in a possible Beaker cist. At the western end, between the horns of a dry stone wall, there had been the remains of a forecourt. Despite the wear and tear of time, this lovely dolmen still retains much of its prominence, and apart from anything else, is situated in a very good spot for a picnic.

Rain was swirling in the gloaming as we reached Ty Newydd, and I was also disappointed to note the utterly insensitive and ugly restoration work on this previously stunning cromlech. However, I suppose we shouldn’t be ungrateful, as brickwork aside, we still see the structure erect. Best of all, the capstone offers a decidedly nautical feel; seen from below, it looks like the prow of a large ship. I remembered trips to HMS Victory.