Latest Fieldnotes

Go out of town on the South Isles road past the Highland Park distillery and before reaching the Tradespark junction enter the field on the downhill side of the road opposite. Cut diagonally across this to the gap at the corner behind Hillhead (of Scapa) House.

Striking off right downhill on another diagonal takes you to the site of the long-gone well in front of whose vanished place a decorated stone ball was found almost as long ago. You have to wonder what yet remained to mark it out – was it demolished ruins or simply (like Crossiecrown) filled in with rubble ? Could it be that the ‘new’ well of 20th century vintage does occupy the self-same site hidden from view. Unfortunately this has an airtight seal at the top of the circular concrete ‘plug’, overlying a symmetric well of drystane walling the same diameter. In the same hollow the hut has been removed to expose the concrete foundation below (hopefully nothing destructive is intended for this place). Connecting this and the well are flags that go under the former hut’s foundation. About the modern constructions lie many stones of older times, but are they from here or brought in from elsewhere? One I am struck by is a dark slab with a rectangular section out of one corner that reminds me of a re-usable form of cist. The exposed section of hollow above the modern stuff seems curiously empty (like bared parts of the enclosure), only a few protruding stones with an earthfast boulder at the back of curious colouration.

Looking across the hill with your back to Kirkwall you can see the nearby enclosure, once considered a fort by those who saw it a little better than we. Standing a little above the well hollow provides the best view of the Hillhead site’s profile, better detail at least than that of the half below the house. Is one looking at two banks and a ditch or a bank and two ditches, no-one is totally convincing and if any excavation was done it was way back and very slight.

Near the drystane wall you are conscious of a wide flattened section on either side that goes downhill without seeming to break the enclosure otherwise. One assumes that this came about when the original Well Park was divided up, and further that material from the enclosure would have been robbed to form the wall itself. To see the other half of the site you have to go back up beside the wall to the house and down into next field. It appears to be a smaller ‘half’, and as mentioned before presents a much less detailed appearance. Also there are only a couple of bared areas. Similar to the bank/ditch dichotomy we cannot tell if the relative ‘smoothness’ represents more of the original form surviving or, conversely, the greater subsequent subjection to the hand of man.

I wonder if the Hillhead of Crantit was a similar site to Hillhead – between that tidgy hollow the old O.S. miscalls a quarry and the distillery there is a curve to the hill that looks suspiciously regular and the earthwork at the ruined steading’s uphill side could be where a bank has been cut by the road ?

Mosley Height is contained on my land, Causewayside Farm Cliviger. The site was buried by the Coal Board in the 1950’s, and several of the stones were moved into the corner of the field as shown. However, there are plans being hatched to ressurect the stone circle, through the use of Walter Bennett’s History of Burnley Books and several pictures of the site. I currently have one of at least 5 pictures of the site, i am looking for the others. Excavations from the site can be found at Towneley Hall Museum and the British Museum. I would be greatful if anyone who has pictures or information on the site to let me know.

Three stones on the West side of the road from Bridge Of Cally to Kirkmichael, approx 5 miles along the way, the last is very obvious in a field and close to the road, the other two are in a copse two hundred yards back, where you can park. The alignment can be seen in the wooded picture.

An outstanding stone, a Class 2 cross-slab, over six feet in height, found in the garden of the Old Manse in the village, access is allowed, also worth a visit is the nearby healing well of St. Fergus

Another Ring barrow, its quite big again maybe between 15-20m
diameter

Finally something that wasnt covered in furze, this is between 10-15m in diameter id say.

I parked up less than a 1/2 km from here. After a few dissappointing barrows finally one that wasnt completely covered in furze. Id say its diameter is between than 7-10m across.

This is near where they have some jumps for the horses. Whats left of it is covered in yellow furze. However I think most of it has been destroyed and they have a storage area for horse-trailers etc.

This is shown as being on the bend of the curragh racecourse, funnily enough any time your watching racing from the curragh you never see the horses jumping over a barrow. There is no sign of this at ground level.

This barrow is meant to be right beside the road. However it seems to have disappeared under a sea of yellow furze. I could a picture of some wild shrubs but I think we know what it looks like. Maybe if the furze was removed the barrow would be identifible however it cant be that impressive if it doesnt rise out of the bushes a bit.

What is it they say, following in the footsteps of giants, i found this the easy way, thanks to Fourwinds 10 digit GPS coordinates and even when I got close to the site I followed a recent track straight to the circle, which i presume was Cians from the weekend! This must have been almost impossible to find before the forest was cleared and before GPS. It really is a beautiful place and thanks to the lovely weather I just hung out in the circle and relaxed.
It reminds me in some ways of Grange Lios in Limerick (not how it looks but more how it feels) but it is so quiet that you can really just think about nothing.
It would be interesting to reconstruct the views from the circle without all the trees around. I would think the views would be very impressive. Does anyone know what way this circle is aligned?

Brusselstown is a pretty easy climb up, I climbed from the east side of the hill. I parked up at a point approx half ways along the hill where i spotted a bit of a track. There was a lot of tracks all over the hill so i suspect a group may have climbed it over the weekend.
The views from the hill are truely amazing and this site would have been brillant for defence. There is no way anyone could sneak up on you. The central rock outcrop that sticks up in the centre of the hillfort is quite interesting. The boleycarrigeen stone circle is intervisable with the site.
Reading the Arch Inventory of Wicklow this is meant to be the biggest hillfort complex in Europe if you include Spinans Hill as part of it, I was over at Maiden Castle a few months ago so im sure they would argue with that.
The Keadeen Mountain looms large and broodingly on the northern horizon of the ring.

Leaving the car at the right-angled bend in Sir William Hill road (SK224780), it took 20 minutes to find the cairn. Follow the path alongside the wall until Gotherage Plantation comes into view on the left. Windago’s 2 upright stones act as clear markers for where to head west.

I was surprised how big the cup marks are: ca. 2 inch wide and 2 inch deep. I was expecting something similar to Schalensteine in north Germany where the cups are half the width and much shallower, similar in fact to the Holymoorside stone.

The people who own this farm are quite happy for folk to visit. Please leave your vehicle at the gate though.

The remains of a possible recumbent stone circle . The area to the west has turned up some marked rocks , a rarity in the county. The hill in the pics is Tap o’ Noth and the azimuth from stones to summit is within 0.4 of a degree from true North.

This cairn is on the summit of Ben Dubh which is mentioned as the source of the River Suir which ends up meeting the sea way down in Waterford. The hill itself is over 400m high and is a pretty difficult climb. I followed the valley of the stream that can be clearly seen on the OS map leading towards the top.
However the path seems to follow along side the stream and between a boundary fence (barb-wire) and I had to climb over the fence three or four times. Best way to go up would be to stay out from the valley and climb the spur to the right then walk along the summit to the top of Ben Dubh.
On the other hand I wouldnt really recommend coming up here except for the view. The cairn is very indistinct and really not up to much. It cant be seen from surrounding lowlands or surrounding hills. The North Tipp inventory isn’t sure whether it is an ancient cairn or a 19th century folly.
The hillfort on Knocknanora can be quiet easily seen from here and it would suggest to me that the hillfort could be quiet big and possibly worth a look.
On an aside as i reached the peak I could see this massive rain shower coming up the valley below. I was preparing to get soaked but it stopped up about 100m from the cairn and didnt rain on top of the hill at all, which was great. So thank the Gods for that one!

We visited Hindwell Pool in May 2005. The pool is easy to find as it’s next to Hindwell Farm which is very obvious (from the north at least, it might be trickier to spot if you’re coming from the main road to the south). There are various places on the road where you can park for a few minutes or alternatively I believe there’s a footpath from The Four Stones if you fancy a stroll.

We decided not to ask at the farm about access as you can see through to the pool from the roadside. It’s gorgeous – bigger than I was expecting, almost completely surrounded by trees with swans gliding across it. Well worth a brief visit if you happen to be in the area.

So is it an antiquity? My understanding is that it’s a natural pool fed by a spring and would have been in existence when the area was surrounded by the largest palisaded enclosure found so far in the British Isles. If that’s the case, it’s difficult to imagine that it wasn’t at least involved in whatever rituals were taking place, if not at the very centre of them.

The familiar sight of Haroldstown sprouting up from lush green grass is no more... The field has been ploughed to within an inch of the dolmen, a bit of a shock to see it when coming around the bend. I really hope it will be a cereal crop and not vegetables, that would be a very ill-fitting setting for this magnificent sculpture. The whole field has been cleared right down to the river edge and all the interesting boulders spread around the bank are now piled unceremoniously in a heap. It looked as depressing as the weather.

Although the trees around the circle have not yet been cleared, the circle itself is completly clear and very easy to make out now. The area in the middle has been flattened, seems like a large group of people have been here recently and I also saw a small pile of loose stones beside the circle. These apparently are being used to fill in the gaps and make the circle ‘complete’ for whatever purpose and shallow sockets can be seen in the gaps of the circle.

Its still extremely difficult to photograph!

I visited the site on 10th November 2005. To find it, follow the north bank of Afon Disgynfa from the top of Pistyll Rhaeadr to the sheepfolds at SJ061300. Then go about 400 yards up the ridge to the northwest. The circle is on fairly flat ground to the left of the most obvious sheeptrack. Note that it is west of a point on Nant y Cerig-duon before the first side stream forks off. I give this much detail because I initially managed to overshoot the circle without spotting it.

W.F.Grimes (1963) The Stone Circles and Related Monuments of Wales in “Culture and Environment, essays in Honour of Sir Cyril Fox” (eds. I.Foster & L.Alcock) pp.120-122 gives the following description:

“The circle, to the west, has a diameter of about 40 ft. 6 in. It is fairly accurately laid out, but only it’s eastern half is well preserved. Here there are 10 stones, of which 9 are in situ; their distances apart vary between 5 and about 10 ft., but the spacing is mostly nearer the lower figure. The stones are mainly a good deal less than 2 ft. high, the tallest being about 30 in. The western half of the circle is almost completely destroyed: here there are only two stones (one of them a small stump) with the hollow for a third, which lies a foot or two away to the south-west. There are other fragments about.

The avenue, lying to the east of the circle, has a present length of 162 ft. It does not actually make contact with the circle, its west end being 14-6 ft. away from the nearest stones of the latter; and there is no reason to believe that it was ever any longer on this side. The width between the stone rows varies between about 8 and about 12 ft.: the rows were no doubt intended to be roughly parallel and there is no progressive increase or decrease in either direction. The present spacing of the stones is very uneven, but it is probable that some are now missing. If there was any uniformity in the distances dividing them, which is by no means certain, a figure of about 5 ft. would be likely. Heights vary between about 4 in. and 18 in. and the stones themselves are often irregular in shape. The north row is less well preserved than the south: it is made up of one stone-hole and 15 stones, of which 5 are down; while on the south there are 24 stones (including 2 pairs) of which 3 are down. The rows are equal in length.”

I have posted a copy of the site-plan from Grimes.

The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust on their website record that there are 12 stones visible in the circle, 12 in the northern row and 24 in the southern row.

On my visit I found 16 stones in the circle, 10 in the northern row and 14 in the southern row. I didn’t have Grimes’s plan with me and I could easily have missed stones in both rows. However it is clear that various stones now visible in the circle are recent additions

A 30 minute walk from Waun Lydan across tussocky pathless grass but surprisingly dry underfoot. Located at 545 m right on top of the hill.

The white quartz can catch the sunlight beautifully and then be seen from at least half a mile away.

Coflein describes it as “1.5m high x 1.4m wide x 0.8m thick. Aligned SW-NE. Possible basal packing”

The name Barrow Hills promises much but the reality is that any visible trace of the barrows themselves is long gone.

I started by driving down Thrupp Road, which forms the eastern edge of the site, to see if there were any suspicious bumps or other signs. Nothing, although the field does have a large bowl shaped dip which stands out in this generally flat landscape. I then headed back to the car park for Barrow Hills Park which is on Audlett Drive just south of the roundabout with the (Abingdon to) Radley Road. The park itself is mainly a skate park and dogwalking area with some recently planted woodland. It’s pleasant enough on a damp spring afternoon when the cherry trees are flowering but there’s no information about the place and its distinctive name, and the only mounds are in the skate park and hence presumably modern.

So what used to be visible? This was a Bronze Age cemetery, with two rows of barrows arranged in straight lines running roughly east to west, parallel to each other and only a short distance apart. According to Leeds, the northern line had eleven barrows with single ring ditches and the southern line had five barrows with double ring ditches. The car park is roughly in the middle – the barrows to the east are under the park and the field mentioned earlier, the barrows to the west are under the houses on the other side of Audlett Drive. The area was excavated in the 1980s prior to the housing being built and use of the area for ceremonial and funerary purposes back to the early Neolithic was uncovered (Excavations at Barrow Hills – ISBN 0947816895).

All in all, probably not worth a visit then but if it’s a dry summer, overflying the area in a microlight might show up some interesting crop marks.

An hour’s walk from the carpark at the southern end of the Caban-coch reservoir. The stone is perched at 505 m right on top of the hill – keep going upwards and you can’t miss it. You are almost guaranteed to see red kites flying overhead on the way.

Coflein describes it as “1.5 m high and 1.1 m by 0.8 m at the base. It is of quartz-veined rock with sandstone packing stones visible around the base where eroded from above the peat by sheep.”

I visited West Tump today. It’s a in a great and secluded setting hidden in the beech woods high on the Cotswold edge with considerable ambience. Although extensively excavated by Witts is retains an undisturbed feel. It’s large and has an obvious ‘horned’ forecourt with one of the (false) portal dolmen still visible. There was a single lateral chamber whose excavation site is seen. Unfortunately the dry stone walling Witts described is no longer apparent. It’s a good place to sit under the leaves and well worth the effort to find.

We asked the very old inhabitant of the equally old farmhouse at the bottom of the track if we could park for an hour and he was more than happy for us to do so. From what we could understand, the farmhouse was up for sale, so it’s probably been sold by now and parking wont be an option. Shame.

Anyway, we set up off the track and it was bitterly cold. West Cumbria in the first throws of Spring can be a bit of a shcok to the system! As usual, both Vicky and I managed to mistake small clumps of rocks and the occasional sheep for it – cries of “oooh, is that it?” were followed by an embarrassed silence as one of “the stones” stopped eating grass and raised its head to look at us. Oh dear.

Finally, we suddenly realised that we really could see it in the distance. As you approach, it seems smaller than it is and I found it hard to make out the dimensions. Once you are in the field though, it takes shape and the setting amongst the hills is just amazing. So perfect and round. Beautiful.