Latest Fieldnotes

This site stretchs back to the late Bronze Age and it is thought to have been of ceremonial as well as defensive use. It has had many periods of occupation. The attached link has a lovely 3D representation of the site and some aerial photographs and like most hillforts this is the best way to view it.
This hillfort would be good for a picnic/ walk (Unfortunately because of this there is a lot of litter). It is sign-posted from the main Newmarket on Fergus to Ennis Road and has a car-park. It also has 10 information boards and at the summit there is a viewing platform from which the surrounding area can be viewed. There are a lot of decidious tress around so to get the best view of the area best to go in winter.

The photographs don’t do this justice – it’s one of the best preserved hut circles I’ve ever seen. It even still contains traces of an internal dividing wall.

It’s an off-path walk across heather and boggy ground.

One of the many cairns in this part of Caithness. An off-path walk, through heather and boggy ground.

One of the many chambered cairns in this part of Caithness. This one is visible from the road. Visited at the end of our circuit of the many sites around Ben Dorrery and Beinn Freiceadain.

One of the many chambered cairns in this part of Caithness. An off-path walk, through heather and boggy ground.

A short, but steep and off-path, walk down to the west of the mast that sits atop Ben Dorrery.

Round cairn, with a cist on the top.

Solitary standing stone, approximately 5ft in height. It is in wet, boggy ground and there are no paths to it.

This chambered cairn, which has a modern cairn on top of it, sits just within the northern part of Bualie Oscar hillfort.

A short walk from the mast atop Ben Dorrery, although it’s across heather – so avoid during tic season. This fort, also known as Buaile Oscar, covers a fairly large area and makes good use of natural rock defenses.

English Heritage along with the Dartmoor Preservation Association and a few volunteers have undertaken the project of surveying and restoring many of the cairns on Dartmoor. Over many days last year the cairns on Western Beacon and Wetherdon Hill were done.
This years project started on 21st April 2006 with five of the cairns on Butterdon Hill. The largest were chosen as they were in the worst state of repair, having had their shape altered by the public making shelters with the stones. This was mostly done by digging pits into the cairns and building walls with the stones taken out.
On 21st and 22nd of April 2006 eight volunteers set about surveying , recording and reconstructing these five cairns. The larger of the cairns were surveyed using a plain table and the smaller done using the offset method. When this was finished the walls were taken down and the stones replaced into the holes and any of the tumbled stones were replaced into hollows around the edges in order to get the cairn back into the domed shape they would have had when first built.
You will see from the photographs ,especially the cairn at SX654585, what was achieved.

This is the remains of a small settlement situated on the north and south sides the slope of the Butter Brook.This is a very pleasant spot ideal for a picnic on a warm afternoon or evening. There are the remains of 10 dwellings left, 9 on the north and one on the south. There could have been more houses here but they have now been demolished by the building of a small reservoir, and a pine plantation that cover part of the area.
The area is easy to find and get to being only around 500 metres from the Harford Moor Gate entrance to the moor.
The Gate is at SX644595.

I do not think that “the murder stone” is the correct name for this standing stone. The murder stone is a relatively modern, inscribed stone plaque on a road about 3 miles from this site, joining Disley to Whaley Bridge. I suspect that this misnomer began on another web site and has now been propagated here.

Sadly, though I have visited this stone, I do not know its proper name or purpose. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who does.

[This stone is listed as a Grade II scheduled monument in Cheshire, with the name ‘The Murder Stone’. It is said to date from the Early Bronze Age. See Baza’s links below. TMA Ed. ]

In a effort to stay fit, ive decided to try and climb up to some of the more challenging sites to get to. This isnt too bad to get to and thankfully the weather was ok because Id say this could be a very bleak place on a bad day.
What I did was park at the church/graveyard and then walk up a pretty step part of the hill to the cross. Once over the lip you can see the hillfort that the passages are in. It is beside the OS height marker.
Im sure the wall around it was possibly built from the cairn material which is a real pity. It also blocks the views from the passages. I think I remember in Martin Brennans book that Chamber 1 is meant to be aligned to the north for the pole star/ moon?
However looking thru the passage you would imagine it looks out pretty low on the horizon, hard to tell really.
The basin is great but i couldnt make out any of the rock-art that is meant to be on it.
As an aside i found someones mobile phone, its a big hill so to come upon it is some luck. Handed it back anyway, never can get enough good karma!
The views up here are amazing but its also unusual how the hills to the north where chamber 1 is meant to be aligned to are quite low. Hard to pick out anything really that could be used as a marker.
The whole hill seems to be full of stone, strewn about the place, a lot of field walls made from good stone. I wonder is there any record of any destroyed monuments up here.

This is a massive hill-fort, im not sure of the size on top but its huge. The top of the hill has 3 stones lying around, one of them seems to have 3 cupmarks. The bank and ditch itself is massive and covered with scrub and so it is hard to get a good look at it. I know they say that this is a henge like construction and not used for defense but this bank would still be useful for defending id say. This site seemingly has been reused a number of times and evidence of timber structures were found on it. They were probably used for ritual use and seemingly a lot of animal bones were found on the hill which suggests feasting.
The views from it are magnificant, into wicklow, carlow, kildare and probably laois and offaly.
I came from Old Kilcullen and turned right out onto the main road N78 going back towards Dublin, where the road widens there is a spot to safely pull in about 100 yards after from the last house on left. There is a bit of a gate to hope with a sign saying that “this is a farm etc no liability”. Then just walled up the hill. Lot of sheep in the fields at the moment so its safe enough. There were a few cows within the bank could be a bit unpredictable this time of year.

The mound looks impressive from the Rugby Rd approach and can be easily seen upon a short walk up by the connecting Brinklow Rd.
The best way to get onto the mound by foot i later discovered was to use the Ell Lane path just off Broad Street.I should have read fwump bungles advice below,Doh!
Still the mound was great in Warwickshires bare flat lands and a lot higher and steeper than i thought originally and provided possibly the best view over the county in all the area.
There seemed to have been some Easter Egg rolling going on down the face also which was an encouraging Pagan throwback.
Much recommended...feel the force!

The A45 is truly too noisy to comfortably stay for very long and the path leading up to the monument really only accomodates single file walking and I found that the A45 drivers travel way to fast past the 40mph limit here so beware,lest you be sucked into the road!
It is a nice little monument though and stirs that sense of awe when first spotted from afar.
It is on private sheeping land but only a little way of the track and the sheep were friendly!
Recommended as a good stop before heading over to the likes of Brinklow Hill.

This is a huge Hillfort, but the actual fort is in very bad condition with rocks strewn all over in no apparent pattern except a rough pink stone ring. Stone has fallen down the hill in parts.
There are two ways of getting up the hill, the steep path, which the guide leaflet recommends as a descent, and a longer route with much less gradient. I recommend the longer route for both ascent and descent, as there is erosion of the hill on the steep route due to a lot of people walking up the steep slope. There are better views on the longer route. It is a fairly good path but a moderate level of fitness is needed as it is uneven in parts and steeper near the summit. It would be unsuitable for anyone with severe mobility impairments. The waymarkers are well positioned and visible to mark the path. A map and guide is available in the Tourist Information Centre at Wooler at which there is an excellent free car park. It is about 4 miles there and back from the car park beside the Tourist Information Centre.
No toilets at this car park but there are some in the ‘lower” car park by the Bus Station which is a short walk from the Tourist Information Centre. Ladies note 20 pence may be required to use the toilet. Blokes pee free.
Parking is very limited nearer the hillfort and likely to annoy the locals so please use the car park at the Tourist Information Centre if driving.

Very little survives of this mound but worth a look if your in the area.

There are known to be three tumuli in the immedate area this one could make it 4 its definately an artificial mound and has now been christianised by placing a cross on top of it.

This barrow survives not as well as its neighbour showing heavy signs of excavation and lies opposite a farmhouse please ask permission before entering the field.

A very pleasing and pleasant site to visit we sat here for quite some time very content indeed. In my opinion this is the site of a round cairn and very reminiscent of others in Lancashire like the Parlick Pike Cairn and the Borwick cairn

I’ve been trying for sometime to find this site on about four separate trips, when I did find it I found id been looking at it all along! Nothing much remains of the barrow now and it’s very hard to discern unless your on a winter visit as the grass grows very quick and very high in the summer, disappointment aside it’s a cracking walk to get here!

A real treasure to discover in South London, and close to Croydon!

Stone / Iron Age, Roman and Saxon history in abundance – all located on common open grassland on a ridge leading into the North Downs and ancient woodlands and pastures, that commands great views stretching as far as to The City and Docklands around the surrounding urban and rural landscape.

Visible today are low banks indicating ancient trackways and Iron Age fields, and the excavated remains of several 6th or 7th century Saxon burial mounds, of which at least seven are clearly defined on the Downs’ landscape.

Visited Easter Bank Holiday Monday, 2006.

The brown sign pointing to the lane that Grime’s Graves is down is missing and we missed it. They’re using a makeshift sign attached to a red stand.

Admission prices up to £2.70 for an adult. (Didn’t catch any increase for other groups.)

Suprisingly we got the mine to ourselves on a bank holiday monday! The rest of the complex was as peaceful as I remember it when I came here as a boy.