Latest Fieldnotes

This is difficult to photograph. If you are too far back it is just trees.If you are too near it is too dark. On the top is a depression, possibly the excavation site.

The church at Ogbourne St Andrew has large sarsens in the boundary hedge, one large one and a row of smaller ones. These are reminicent of the Churchill Village stones. The Church itself is built on a foundation of large sarsen stones. I would like to think that there was once a stone circle here. The church is positioned on a  raised circular platform. After reading Rhiannon’s posts, I think this is possible.

Well this is my last hurrah to the kildare area for a while. Id read about this in the Wicklow inventory and was very interested because seemingly when the Wicklow inventory guys came round they heard that this was know locally as the “Old Woman”.
The is also another cairn mentioned in the inventory near the summit of the hill to the south and this is also referred to as “Old Woman”. I searched for this but without a OS grid ref couldnt find it. The peak to the south is a very interesting as it is pretty much a big rock coming out of the hill maybe 30-50 m high by a huge diameter.
To get to the cairn itself there is a forestry track to the north of the cairn. Follow this to the left then right and u will come to a fire-break, follow this fire break until it stops and then keep on the same rough heading through the trees until you come to it.
The cairn itself is big maybe 10-15m in diameter. Probably 3m high. It would be better to call down here in winter when some of the fern will have have died off. I would think the views from here would be spectacular as you can look out to sea to the east and to the north the hills. I took a picture from lower down the hill and you can see that the hills look very unusual from here.

Note that the site is actually to the right (south) of the B8060 – I think the OS ref must be slightly ‘out’. I’d say more like NB286189 by my guess.

Access Not good for people with limited mobility. The hill is reasonably short, but fairly steep. Probably boggy & maybe slippery in the wet/damp.

Approaching on the B8060 from Sildinis, park at the second loop of old road on the right (south) of the present road. (The first one seems just to be marked as a path on the Landranger, but on the ground – & the Explorer, I think – it looks more like a bit of old road.

Probably best to park by & use the second gate on the right of the disused road. You should be able to see the 2 stones protruding from the mound on the nearest hilltop. Just go for it!

14 July 2006 Talking to Margaret Curtis in the morning, she suggested we see what we think of this site, while we were in the area visiting Fangs circle. As it happened, I had the TMA page printed out, but didn’t register that it was the same place until I checked later!

Juamei & I immediately agreed that it looked genuinely ancient but neither part seemed really like a ‘pure’ stone circle, which I believe it is being reported as. (This was also what it was noted as on this website at the time.)

The circular setting is very small, with fairly small stones, and pretty wholly uncharacteristic of the stone circles in the area. In many ways, it seemed to us more like the kerb of a cairn, though the stones are far from contiguous – in fact fairly widely spaced for the size of the circle. There are also some stones within the circle that could possibly be the remnants of a cist. (Not that that rules out ‘stone circle’ in those parts!)

The other ‘monument’ is another interesting one. At first glance, it immediately screamed “cairn!” at me. But on closer inspection, some of the stone further down the mound that appears to be kerb material, is in fact bedrock. And the 2 stones protruding from the ‘mound’ seem kind of out of place if the mound represents a fair proportion of the remains of a cairn.

So perhaps these are meant to protrude and there should be more – like the neighbouring circular setting. It was interesting to note that they seemed, at least superficially to point towards Sleeping Beauty’s feet, where Fangs circle lies....

Discussing the site afterwards with Margaret, we got the impression that she is dubious over whether either of the settings is a stone circle, but she did NOT seem to doubt that they are ancient. At mentions of kerb circles and cairns there was much nodding, as if this is her suspicion.

After the disappointment of not being able to get close the to stone row, due to HUGE crops in the field, this beauty more than made up for it!

We followed the path down towards the farm, taking the right turn up a scrubby, nettle-filled pathway. Negotiating our way past copious nettle plants and bitey insects wasn’t fun (it was boiling hot and we weren’t exactly dressed for the jungle!) but when Vicky pointed out the stone through the trees on the left, I got that familiar tingle and felt more than pleased that we had come here.

We turned left at the end of the short path and walked a few yards along the edge of the field – the stone was almost hidden amongst the wild plants and flowers and glowed a wonderful white in the evening sun. In fact, it looked so white that I wondered for a moment whether it was actually real! It looked like it was made out of chalk or plaster.

It is a shame that the metal post is so visible but this stone is really rather beautiful and suits being set amongst the cool, green foliage. A cracker!

This is a magical place. From the track, across the desolation of the felled part of the plantation, up to the circle in the baking heat, with massive Keadeen Mountain brooding off to the east, and then the first glimpse of the entrance stones.
When was the last time human feet trod here? One month? Two? There were crowns of dead leaves on two of the stones, left behind by those that are into that kind of thing. Bracken hid all the stones but four. Not for long! Nature was taking back the circle and it was with a tinge of guilt that I uncovered the stones.
Eleven remain. Were there 18? 19? 20? I brought up a fist-sized piece of gleaming quartz from the track and left it in the centre of the circle. Why? No reason.

Rich and I have had a hankering to get up to Gayles Moor for quite some time now. Trouble is the land is owned by the MOD and is used as a  live range.
After Rich obtained the telephone number of the range warden and then spent a fruitless week trying to contact him we sort of resigned ourselves to getting nowhere and arranged to go and check out some Cumbrian rock art.
I picked Rich up at Scotch Corner and suggested that as we were in the neighbourhood perhaps we have a mooch up to the ranges just on the off- chance that we could blag ourselves onto the moor.
To cut a long story short. The wardens initially didn’t want to let us onto the moor but Rich turned on the charm and dropped a couple of names, ten minutes later we were walking out onto the open moorland.
The weather was blistering and it was a good couple of miles from the warden buildings to the rock art sites but we kept our spirits up by looking at all the spent ordnance and burned out, blown up tanks that littered the roadside – well, not exactly littering the place but there were 3 of them and lots of bullet cases.
Beckensall and Laurie describe the area as “an open linear group of marked rocks extending east-west on an elevated terrace of gently sloping moorland, about 2000m long and 1000m wide. All rocks are above 350m OD”.
The site faces north by north west with views to the east of the Cleveland escarpment, to the west are the Pennine uplands and to the north the gently undulating plain of County Durham.
We spent a good day mooching around this area and were rewarded with some wonderful rock art panels. We both agreed that outside of, Northumbria, we had not encountered so many complex motifs in such a small area.
All in all I would definitely recommend a visit to Gayles Moor, the rock art is stunning and the landscape and views alone are worth the walk.

Note. The ranges are generally open to the public on Sunday afternoons and Mondays.
We got lucky with our visit but to avoid disappointment I would definitely advise you to contact the range wardens. This area is far too dangerous just to wander into.

Rich showed me this stone on the way up to Gayles Moor.
The stone is part of the cobbled pavement in front of the Bay Horse pub.
Apparently it was first noticed in 1994 whilst having a pint after a days rock art hunting in the area.

this lovely to find on a hot day – but different than the well we always knew as the holy well – or the wizard’s well – slightly further to the west:

“drink of this and take thy fill, for the water falls by the wizard’s will”

I came here first when I was a kid – and, apart from the colour-coding of the concrete posts, it’s exactly the same – that is, disappointing and somewhat pointless.

I presume these days that archaeology / archaeobotany or whatever is cool enough to give an idea of how high the original wooden posts would have been – so why not make the modern markers a similar height? – at least that way there would be some sort of feeling of wandering through the cosmic grove or whatever it was...

When we arrived it was late afternoon and the sun was still shining and the sky was still a dazzling blue. Excellent photo weather!

However, the field was in full crop and there was no way of getting to the stones. We could just about see the tips of the larger two sticking out over the top of the crop! Vicky had visited about 3 weeks earlier and had presumed the rape seed would’ve been harvested by now but sadly, it hadn’t been. Ah well!

There were quite a few people at the SAS monument but no-one even seemed aware of the fact that there was an even more beautiful and historic monument just a few hundred yards behind them!

I would advise that you visit in early srping or late autumn to avoid disappointment.

Another hero of mine Aubrey Burl said this circle might be spurious (had to look that one up) but the presence of a prehistoric trackway and the barrow argue for its authenticity. The first time I came here I chickened out of a visit because the landowners were about. I don’t like asking for permission to see our own heritage. The second time I was luckier. No-one was about so I drove between the gatehouses and parked by the gate near the stones. Another quick Ninja scurry and there we have it. Further up the drive towards the mansion is a large loaf like menhir.

Parking is easy, room for a few cars and when we arrived there were about 10 cyclists all parked up too. Access is up a set of stone steps and then a walk up to the site so could be difficult for some. We headed straight for the Nissan hut, wanting to ask the guide whether Galabraes was linked to the site but she didn’t know. However, she was incredibly friendly and more than happy to talk us through the site itself.

Upon entering the cairn, the first thing I noticed was the smell; it was boiling hot outside but as I started climbing down, the smell of damp, dank earth hit me and the coolness of the enclosed chamber was startling. The damp air obviously had it’s effect on the stones, which were bright green in places; so green in fact, that I initially thought it had been painted on for effect!

It is hard to explain just how wonderful it is to see the stones in this way. Although you are surrounded by a fairly modern building, you can forget about that as you see the stones in the half-light and with the smell of the damp earth around you. Most burial chambers are now exposed (certainly the ones I’ve visited) and this just felt more real, somehow. Although the site was fairly busy, we were alone down there for a good 15 minutes. When we came back out, the heat and light was a bit of a shock. I took a 360 degree video from the top of the cairn, taking in the amazing landscape; as Vicky said, it felt like we in the middle of a bowl of hills, and the volcanic ridges to the east looked incredible. It’s not hard to see why Cairnpapple was built in such a place.

The post holes which are exposed on the east side fo the site are huge. You have to wonder at the size of the trees which once filled them and the energy it would have taken to get them there.

The huge mast really didn’t bother me too much, the whole place has such an amazing feel to it that it would take something really monumental to have a negative impace.

Am not sure whether the nearby industrial estate has just grown so much that the directions given by others are now obselete but I would suggest that anyone who wishes to witness just how much of the modern world has engulfed this site follow these simple directions.

Come off the roundabout by the petrol station and take the first left turn into the industrial estate. Take first right turn onto Chariot Way (I kid you not). Next right turn in Hully Hill Road; park along here and make your way towards to the tree lined area across the road. (You can actually see the smallest of the stones if you look to your right as you drive past the petrol station) Then, sit and wait 5 minutes for the first plane to fly overhead, so low that you think it may land on the cairn itself!

On the road between Crone More and Kilqueeny, on the peak of a nameless hill with clear views to all points of the compass, is marked a barrow on the OS map – a dubious categorisation. What is here is a low henge, 50 to 80 cms high and 30 metres in diameter, with evidence of a ditch on the inside.

There is further evidence on the east arc of a larger, surrounding earthwork about 15 metres out from the very clear henge. South-east, in a clockwise direction are 2 mounds that seem to be the remains of an entrance to this larger ring. Following this imaginary ring in the same direction there is nothing.

South-south-west, the views across to Croghan mountain are gorgeous. 100 metres in the same direction is a quarry, modern but maybe with ancient origins. South-east, down the vale of Avoca, the sea around Arklow glimmers in the sun.

There are five little red dots, all within a kilometre of each other, marked on OS Sheet 62 in the Springfarm/Ballycapple/Ballykean area, 2 kilometres north of Redcross. They are, from north to south – T251863, T246860, T247857, T250855 and T251853.

T251863, T250855 and T251853 I didn’t get to see, the latter two being on land belonging to a stud farm with high walls, and the former being the last I tried to find, giving up after a not very comprehensive search.

T246860, T247857 are in the same field, the former dug in at the edge of the bank surrounding the field, the latter in one of three mounds slung up in a field clearance. T246860 is the most promising but I’ll deal with T247857 first.

The three mounds that are clearly visible from the road contain many interesting stones but none that I could say definitely had rock art. There was one in particular that had what looked like pick marks, but no discernible pattern. Also here was a phallic stone with glans, that may have once stood but is now flat on its back. The suspicion that I had here was that there had once been some sort of tomb or complex in this field, now wrecked, destroyed by the hunger for land. I don’t know this for a fact, but gut instinct said that all was not as it seemed.

Proceeding on up to T246860 this instinct was reinforced. Strung along about 80 metres of the bank were again many interesting stones. Three in particular caught my eye – a larger granite boulder with a facing of the type so familiar from other sites but again, no definite art work; a stone, 1 metre long, with signs of wear by human hands that could be a basin stone or a sharpening stone; and the most definite worked stone and the clearest piece of rock art that I could find. This last was next to the large granite boulder and had a half metre serpent-like line carved in its top.

At last, some rock art… but hold on. Along this bank were many other stones, some quite flat and slab-like and embedded into the ground. And then there was the gaping hole where somebody had recently dug up one of these slabs. Did this contain the elusive rock art of Springfarm and somebody had legged it with it? Judging by the condition of this whole area, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

This cunning orifice is well hidden I passed it several times ,approaching from the north west ,going downhill notice High Wheeldon poking up over the ridge ,before you get to Dowel hall look to the right amongst the cliffs and there it is.The cave is deep ,deeper than I dared go without a torch ,caves are fab

a small lane comes off the A51 in Tilstone Fearnall and as the lane turns a corner a large barrow stands .Iv’e been down the A51 hundreds of times and didnot know it was here till i read a book on prehistoric Cheshire. Glad I did too the barrow is 7-9 ft tall and on its summit a plaque saying dont harm the monument stood,till my daughter tried to balance on it and it fell flat.

dropping stone cave is a real abode of the fairies i didnt see any but i knew they were there .Aubrey Burl in Carnac to Callanish mentions the mid Cheshire ridge as part of the prehistoric route from Yorkshire to N.Wales ,nowadays its called the sandstone trail ,easily the most beautiful part of Cheshire and its under this sandstone trail that youll find this cool cave ,the many chambers multi-coloured and as can be seen by the many burnt candles a cool hangout

Access was easy but i was unsure whether i was trespassing ,there was barbed wire all around it although a small lane led straight into it.in the south-east corner was what seemed like the outline of a building and some strange tunnel ,just big enough to crawl through ,my gut feeling was it was not iron age ,maybe medieval.The hill forts entrance is quite big and the ditch and bank at least 8ft tall ,the view is wonderful the whole of Delamere forest and in the distance the cooling towers of Merseyside(ugh again)

There are quite a few hillforts round here , but there’s not much left of this one , just one long ditch cut in half by a hedge ,nice view though even better if you go on top of the hill by the (ugh) pylons

OK, I’ve tried a couple of times to get here – each time giving up within 100 yards or so of the prize.

My first attempt was along the defined path toward the radio station. Sadly, this got me close, but the barbed wire fencing and waist high gorse combined to thwart me.

Today I tried a different approach. Following the track east from the road, then heading south along what, according to the MAGIC map, is a pathway leading very close to the stone. Unfortunately, the same barbed wire fence continues rght round the area, and the path no longer exists. I did pop over a gate and got into the field though, and the pathway ‘sort of’ exists, but within a couple of hundred yards of the stone is gobbled up by the encroaching gorse, and as the horseflies were having a good feed on my arm and not wishing to encounter any adders in the gorse, I backed off again.

Back at the car, a local lady was talking to Mikki, explaining that the farmers received a lot of money to fence off the area (despite it being Right to Roam land!), and this had detered the horseriders. Subsequently, the path had become unused and is gradually disappearing. I may well raise this issue with CASPN when I see them tomorrow.

I don’t believe that anybody has been here since Fourwind’s visit in 2004. The bracken was over 2 and a half metres tall and it took about 15 minutes before I could find the tomb. It is exactly where it says it is on the OS map, but I needed some time to orient myself.

I actually bled for this place, cutting my hand during a frenzied attack on said bracken. What was revealed was a lovely little wedge tomb with quite a bit of remaining structure.

There are many other megalithic-like boulders around the tomb and I ventured up to the farm with the rock-art that’s marked on the OS map 200 metres away. The owner, a very nice lady, told me that there was one stone with one cup-mark and she offered to turn off the electric fence to allow me to see it. I declined her kind offer, satisfied with the wedge tomb.

Worth the effort, if only for the quartz capstone. The remains are fenced in by barbed wire in the corner of a field. After a bit of judicious bramble clearance the tomb was revealed. There are some stones at the back of the gallery but I didn’t venture back there as the roofstone rests extremely precariously on the right-hand upright. A pretty little site all the same and worth the bumpy drive up from the main road.

Variously described as a cist, cromlech (OS map) or dolmen, this is one of the easier sites to get to. The track down to the tomb has a locked gate that is easily surmounted and the tomb itself is easily spotted. Just a metre high, the central remains are surrounded by quite a few boulders that could be kerbing. Traces of a mound and a sillstone further complicate any simple description.