Latest Fieldnotes

Good Friday 14th April 2006. The date is important, because as I walked up the steep lane met a lot of friendly people coming down. Arriving at the top, someone stopped to talk to me, and explained what was happening. An open air church service, followed by a picnic and kite flying for the children. Everyone had walked round the different churches in Batheaston, a service at each one and carrying a wooden cross, then they had walked to the top of the hill with the cross. It was extraordinary touching for one who does’nt believe; I likened it to the pagan festival at Avebury, which perhaps was’nt the wisest comment but she agreed..
I record this because it is part of the hills history and local togetherness, which is repeated every year.
The maze has been burnt at the entrance, either in some symbolic act, or wanton malice, but I’m sure it will mend with time.
Wandered round the ramparts which are very impressive and took a photo of Bathampton Down’s celtic field system on the other side of the valley.
It was possible, the air was clear after rain, to see to the older prehistoric Priddy landscape, Penhill TV mast, with a longbarrow on its flanks and to imagine the 4 henges that are close by and the bronze age burial mounds. To the south, the landmark to look out for is the Lansdowne? Obelisk on top of Cherhill down, there’s a clump of trees in front of it. Perhaps the smoke from prehistoric settlements could be seen from a long distance. Solsbury, Avebury, Priddy and Westbury, especially at night the fires would have been very noticeable.

This site is located in a field adjacent to Matchmoor Lane quarry and can be accessed by following the footpath alongside the quarry, heading North West in the direction of Adam Hill. Though there are only a few surface remains left to be seen, the site is nontheless quite impressive (SD663124). The structure that remains forms a circular bank of stones, 10m (NE-SW) x 9.7m (NW-SE) in diameter, and rising 0.5m from the surrounding hilltop. Within the central circle there are a number of internal stone structures that seem to represent the interior arrangement of the cairn. The absence of other, similar surface material in the immediate vicinity of the cairn allows for a quite distinct view of the site, and it gives the observer a good impression of the scale and dimensions of the original burial structure. The cairn itself is positioned on the North Eastern edge of the unnamed hill, which has it’s summit at SD664124, and it would have offered a point of great prominence to it’s Bronze Age builders. In all directions there are stunning views, punctuated by familiar landmarks, and from even the most cursory visit to White Brow cairn it is easy to appreciate why this spectacular location was chosen for the site of a monument of this kind.

As a member of the family which owns this site I would just like to warn everyone that the “space for parking” which Pure Joy mentions and the field itself is actually private property and anyone found there will be removed. Thank you

The cottage is now inhabited again, so it’s the sensible place to ask for permission to go check the gatepost.

The gatepost is at the far side of the field to the left of the cottage as you approach from the road.

Shame it’s not in situ, as the vicinity affords good views down Allendale and along the Tyne valley, so there may have been more. It does look as if the marked stone this gatepost came from was bigger.

It’s got to be possible that it came from a cist rather than the presumed outcrop, as it’s reminiscent in form to the cist cover at Stanniston Hill, which ain’t all that far away.

This is approximately a  five acre enclosure, fairly triangular with a steep drop on the other two sides, Bank is still impressive, it maybe that this site belongs to the same time as Old Sodbury Camp, (250bc-50bc according to James Dyer) There is a longbarrow above the church at Hawkesbury, which is about a mile down the road.
Longbarrow ref; ST768 871. It sits high on the hilltop, somewhat reminiscent of Adams Grave.
There is also another longbarrow marked at ST777828, Grickstone Farm but this has only one stone remaining, see Rhiannon’s information.

This was the first site we visited on our trip to Arran. Vicky had been before but it was my first time and I wasn’t about the let the inclement weather ruin my fun.

What a beautiful place this is – the views out across the water are stunning and the site so easy to access. However, it really did rain – and rain – and rain some more. Gave us lots to talk about in the car though, whilst trying to dry off a bit – kerb cairn or circle first?

Coming along the Grainshore Road and turn off for Hatston pier and near the junction look out for the 6’ high mound on your left, betwen the side road and the straightened burn. Naturally enough this patch of land is often rather damp – it is possible to make out where the waters formerly skirted the mound if you look down from the top.
At the uphill side of the mound there is an upright stone projecting through a few inches. But removing the vegetation reveals a conglomerate rock. And though on the one hand I have seen a few samples of apparently natural conglomerate (?puddlestone) in Orkney this whole area was used during WWII and there is a large flat slab of this material by the burn. However I feel sure the 1996 site visit would not have mentioned how unchanged the area was if this had been present. The OS visitor describes a narrow trench across the mound showing the usual burnt material, but this broadens out at the top. Either this latter comes from the original unrecorded excavation or has arisen from a later investigation, perhaps at the same time as the Picky mound was looked at. It is only lately that I have seen exposed material myself, either I was very unobservant before or the grass had grown over it since 1996.

The easiest route to Assycombe row ,is to park by the Forestry hut in Fernworthy – then take the track up from the other side of the hut. Through (or round)the gate and carry on up the track over the first “cross road” through the forest over a second “cross road” and carry on past a third “cross roads” until the track forks. Take the right fork and follow the track for just under 1/2 Km and look out for the top of the row on your right. It’s a steep walk but should only take 10/15 minutes and is by far the best approach.
To go back walk down the row and follow a small track through the trees io meet a forestry track.Turn right and follow the track for about 1 1/2 Km to join the main Fernworthy road.Take a right here back to the forestry hut.
There is a hut circle near the bottom of thr row and you can access a couple more hut circles at the site by walking through the trees from here into a clearing.

This stone is just off the existing N7 before the turn-off for Ballina coming from Dublin. Its in some rolling country-side and is getting a new neighbour in the M7 motorway. Its probably only 400-500mm high. The smaller stone beside it seems to have two cupmarks on it.

The Archaeological Inventory lists this was as probably been lost in scrub. I was all motivated to find it but I have to go along with what they say, there is a lot of that yellow prickly gorse around but no sign of the stone. The only stone in the area looks to be natural.

Little Meg in hailing blizzard (until we made it back to the car & sun came out). Nevertheless, we (I) came up with a different theory this visit. Having visited Long Meg, think about the idea that its ‘druids’ had to apprentice somewhere. Then visit Little Meg, and consider if this could almost be a ‘teaching’ circle. I await comments!

For nearest toilets, see my post for Long Meg. Langwathby Station is closest I’ve found.

My girlfriend & I both found this circle so cute, but masses of evidence the stones have been re-erected (& possible moved) over the years. Didn’t notice any dogs, just evidence of the local riding stables trotting through! Beautiful clear day today. Even Isle of Man clearly visible from the hillside.

Notes on how to find the site:
From North – from the A5086 to Ennerdale Bridge, follow all signposts to Calder Bridge. Once you’ve past the turn to the stables and rise up onto the moor, circle is on your left right by the roadside. The road continues over the moor, dropping down to Sellafield (say a curse for me).

From South – from the A595 turn right as you approach Calder Bridge following the signposts to Ennerdale. This is a steep hill – cyclist beware – which takes you up over the moors. As you drop back down (after quite a few miles) the circle is on your right.

I believe there are toilets (at least an all day pub) in Ennerdale Bridge.

Two day whistle-stop Cumbrian tour which included Castlerigg & Blakeley Topping amongst others, but also taking my partner on her first visit to Long Meg. We had sun, sleet, snow, hail & thunder in the space of an hour.

But this visit I had a thought. Isn’t Long Meg rather phallic? If the circle is female, having a phallic outlier (as many others including Nine Ladies & the ‘King’ stone on Stanton Moor) would seem quite natural to me.

Sad felled & cut tree at the bottom of the circle. May be storm damage, but very recent. The tree fall must have damaged the bottom stones though.

One note about toilets too. Back through Little Salkend to Langwathby (5 mins drive) is railway station (on Settle Carlisle line) Toilets (inc disabled there) although you will feel obliged to eat at the ‘Brief Encounter’ tea rooms. Worth it though.

08/04/06
A day of snow showers and bitter winds. The snow that plastered the central and eastern Lakeland mountains was a litte higher around the Buttermere, Crummock, and Loweswater hills, with little around the cairn. The wind was bitter, and snow showers raked the hills all day.
The cairn is set on a low ridge, above boggy ground, on the ridge top, but not on an obviously high point. It is situated on a down slope, above a broad col, on a ridge leading to a low summit. A most unusual place.
The centre looks like it has been dug out, or do I mean excavated. It looks like it’s tough shit, no records exist.
It’s about 2 to 3 feet high, and about 25 to 30 feet in diameter. Why it was set here is anybodys guess. Is it connected with the Crummock rock art? Westwards, over a high ridge, lies the West Cumberland Plain, where many Bronze Age Settlements have been found.

This is, maybe, a raised Rath. I’m not sure. It has an outer bank with an inner ditch and then it rises again into a central platform. Hard enough to make out from the picture, but if anyone is up looking at the stone circle might it be worth a look to see what you think.

I read about this circle in Archaeology Irelands pull-out on the Curragh and said I had to see it. Especially since its not listed on the OS map as a circle. Brewell’s Hill is only about 222m high but it has commanding views into at least 5 counties. To get up to it I parked at the road just before the field with the barrows in it. Its only half a km from the road in a small pine plantation that you can clearly see from the road.
The circle itself consists of four stones, three of them large and two of them probably made from quartz. The most interesting stone to me was the one with the cupmarks on it. They are slender and beautiful and kind of look like scales on the back of the stone.
I met the farmer who was up checking his sheep and he told me a little folklore about the stones (I was actually hiding in the ditch waiting for him to leave but he spotted me, so ill have to improve on my camoflague skills).

This is just off the N9 on the left after Kilcullen. There are big “do not enter” signs at the main gate. However I came in from the rear gate and only saw the signs as I left ;)
This is really tall stone, standing about 2.2m tall (over my head anyway and im 6 4). It has a cross engraved on one side. Im not familar with all the hills in this area but it has a great view of its surrounding.
Thanks to fourwinds for pointing this one out on megalithomania. He reckons its on a man-made structure so god only knows whats it is marking.
The area is marked as gravel pits on the map and they are excavating a lot of fill around the area. Lets hope it doesnt affect this fine monument.

I’ll take new photos next time I’m up at Cullerlie- last time I was there (10/05) there was tarmac around the base of the stones instead of the pebbles described below.

The municipal feel of the stones has been described below, and the tarmac enhanced this vibe quite considerably.

It is possible that the tarmacking was done deliberately to preserve the pits in the circle from feet etc., but there was no explanation of why it had been done.

I sometimes wonder whether this kind of ‘maintenance’, while it feels bad in your gut when you first see it, doesn’t give some stones a bit of a rest from the constant demands placed on them from people who just go around sucking places dry. You have to spend time with Cullerlie, coax it out a bit. It’s a good place to learn patience and giving round old sites, as you really won’t get anything out of Cullerlie without contributing.

It’s a bit like your really uncool cousin who embarrasses you but then one day you sit down and talk to them and they’re way more interesting than you are.

The other thing you have to bear in mind is that Cullerlie is maintained the way it is because someone really cares about it.

I was up at ninestanes today (6/4/06) around 10:00.

Someone had left some ritual bits and pieces about, and effectively, had bound the stones then gone off and left them. The stones themselves were not too happy about it. I visit them around once every 2-4 weeks and they felt very wrong.

There’s a difference between asking for help and commanding. You should never bind something and then leave it, whether it’s a person or another kind of entity. If you believe the stones have power you should respect it, and their right to free will. If the people who did this believe that what they were doing was helping the stones, the stones themselves really didn’t agree.

Ninestanes has always been a very gentle and compassionate place- if you ask nicely, it will do what it can. Remember to offer something back, but don’t force what you want to give on it- it might not be appropriate. Sometimes the stones want to be left alone, pause a while before you go barging in, you can always say hi behind the recumbent and come back another time.

Last time I visited, some hideous (human) beast had left a pile of excrement, complete with toilet paper, in one of the dips on the henge. I could not believe it! Kind of ruined the beauty of the whole site for a few minutes...

This is one of my favourite places, even though it has rained on each visit I’ve made and the last visit was in (what felt like) a force 10 gale. I think it adds to the sense of the place though, the wind and rain made it more exhilarating and when we climbed onto Gibb Hill and faced the direction of the weather, the rain hit our face like a thousand tiny needles. We had planned to try and get across to the incomplete henge in the next field but the elements were in control that day and we headed back for the car absolutely soaked to the skin but deliriously happy.

Possible barrow ?

Visited July 1998

Small thing, but with some nice quartzy bits. I remember a poor choice of route, assuming that following the path through the (now feled) plantation just uphill from the ford at Wester Gorton was the shortest route. Piffle is it. It means yomping uphill through serious heather and boggy bits. There were traces of seashells on the peat, presumably part of some long forgotten farmng. Much more sensible route is to head straight up to the crest of the ridge and walk down. It makes a circular walk taking in the nearby cairn and cist more of a ‘T’ shape than a circle, but I reckon it’d be quicker than the yomping.

Seem to remember there were also traces of a large carnivore in some of the hut circles. Which is partly why I legged it back home before it got dark. Just in case.

Visited July 1998

We were well chuffed to see the signpost on the main road. Bonus stones! At the time I was under the impression that it was a bona fide stone circle, and was mildly puzzled by the extra bits off to the side. Not putting two and two together, and unlike the sensible Ms Mofflinson – not reading the plaque, it wasn’t for a couple of years that I saw it in a list of Clava cairns and the penny dropped. Given it’s proximity to the houses, it makes a lot of sense that the remains of the inner bits were turfed over.

It’s a nice set of stones. But in retrospect I’m niggled at by the thought that there may have been a cup marked stone, and it might still be hiding somewhere nearby. I shan’t bother to check though, as a negative result would spoil my enjoyment of the possibility. That and the fact that it’s miles away.

3 miles south of Huntly turn right onto single track road to Mytice. Keep driving until you run out of road then walk for 2 miles on main forestry track. The henge is on the right before you cross the bridge.

Bit of a hike but it’s a very peaceful place and you get good views of the Tap o’ Noth too.

I couldn’t help but feel some small disappointment when we finally realised that the low hump at the top of the field was indeed the place we were looking for.

Maybe its something to do with the rather OTT name (Hill of Skulls???) but once you wander up the field and stand on top of what remains, the beauty of the vista before you and the fact that you can see both the Goggelby Stone and the site of the Thunder Stone make up for the initial reaction.

I would recommend walking between the 3 sites (and Asper’s Field) to get sense of the landscape.