Latest Fieldnotes

This ‘dyke’ cuts across the southern spur neck of Wolstonbury Hill, and this morning I find myself wondering where the main point of access was (if one originally existed) on this linear earthwork. Could it be at the central kink in the dyke, where a round barrow now sits on the Northern bank, or the area where the modern track bisects the bank? I walk down the ditch to where the dyke peters out and the slope gets steeper. The date of construction remains unknown. It could relate to a late Bronze Age/ Early Iron Age period of cultivation. Or, it could represent a ‘defensive outwork’ to the (speculative) period of defensive remodelling of Enclosure ‘C’ on top of the hill. As yet, nobody knows. I turn back and follow the ditch up to the ‘barrow’.

Visited 6th August 2004: This is an easy site to find thanks to the Halfway Garage. My visit was extremely brief because we were pressed for time, but to be honest there isn’t a great deal of ambience to be soaked up here.

I had a mooch about the circle last week to see if I could find the small ring to the north of the main circle. The ring is featured in Hob’s post of T.Blands 1850 sketch of the circle themodernantiquarian.com/post/38165 and was also recorded in John Waterhouses survey of the circle for his wonderful book ‘The Stone Circles of Cumbria’.
The ring is visible as a low mound with a few small stones barely poking through the soil. It’s a case of feeling for the stones rather than looking for them.
It’s interesting that both the nearby White Hag and Castlehowe Scar circles also have satellite features.

Visited here on Sunday afternoon, mercifully rewarded with astounding views to the east – the Clwydian Range, the course of the Roman Road going past Cerrig Pryfaid, Maen y Bardd etc; to the north, the Great Orme with the location of Druid’s Circle; to the west, a large cwm, and the the eastern end of Anglesey. To the south was the continuining ridge of the Carneddau, looking up to another cairn, Carnedd Penyborth Goch.

The cairn provides welcome respite from the blasting wind; once within the embrace of its ring, you almost feel at home. I suspect the cairn is also considerably bigger than its immediate appearance; the cairn material is spread wider and deeper if you look carefully.

Ascended via a route from the north west, going up 500 M over 3 KM, and descended back via the Bwlch y Ddeufaen. Next time, it will be on to the next summit.

Visited 6th August 2004: Relatively easy to find if you have the grid reference or some local knowledge, but we had neither. It took a while to track down Creed Lodge, but once we’d found that is was easy. Watch out for the traffic though!

Millstone burn could be viewed as six separate sites, seven if you count Snook Bank over the other side of the burn, more if you take into account the disparate locations of some of the stones listed as part of the same group. Rock art nomenclature can be a funny business, as new panels are discovered. Hence some of these have ended up with unwieldy and not-exactly-inspiring names like ‘Millstone Burn 6c(ii)’.
The OS map marks two concentrations of them, but the Beckensall Archive lists a whopping 65 separate marked stones as part of the Millstone Burn groups, and that doesn’t include those at Snook Bank.

Groups one and two are the closest to the road, with some from either side on either side of the road, just to make it trickier to keep track. A few of those on the east side seem to have been relocated, as they seem to form part of a row of spaced stones next to an old trackway. Stan Beckensall has suggested that this track may be of prehistoric origin, leading from , Simonside, via the rock art at Lordenshaws, the down to the river Coquet, up again to the rock art, standing stones and cairnfield of Addyheugh and through Millstone Burn, across to the ridge of sandstone to the coast, via Corby’s Crags, Lemmington Wood and Lamp Hill, so maybe they have been relocated, maybe not.

Group three is mostly around the 220m contour, just by the trouser-snagging barbed wire double fence. After 3e(ii), things get a bit awkward. The other side of the fence is seriously deep heather, and panels 3e and 3g are flush to the ground, so without a gps, I’m pretty sure I’d not have found them in a month of Sundays.

Group four is back over the fence, onto more navigable terrain, some more complex motifs, but heavily eroded. Back over the fence again (the rock art hurdles or what?) and down amongst the heather for group five, which is really just the one stone, but a nice one worth visiting.

Group six is one of the most interesting of the lot, as it seems to be arranged around a natural feature that screams (to the overactive imagination) “I’m an Ur-temple*! You see if I’m not!” Just to top the sense of viewing-apace, the motifs are on the edges of some stepped outcrop. I still can’t decide if these steps are the result of quarrying or a natural thing. It’s on the heathery (north) side of the fence, but you still need a final hop to get back down to the road.

A word of warning to those in cars, approaching from the south, it’s a dodgy blind curve that ges on for yonks, so be wary when looking for the parking spot. Approach from the north may be easier for those in cars. Alternately, the bus to Longframlington drops you off well placed for a nice hike up past the cairns on mount pleasant.

One of the things that nags at my mind is the sink-hole like hollows that occur near some of the marked rocks. They could be bell pits, I’m not sure. It does seem a bit more than coincidence that they are mostly near the rock art, though I didn’t wander too far away from the RA, so I couldn’t say if these pits are evenly distributed away from the RA. I do know that some of them have tadpoles, and that if you get too close to the edge, you find yourself in deep mucky sludge that hints it goes down a fair way. More background detail that adds to the texture of the place’s histry is the fact that the old roman road runs right next to the area with the carved rocks, and that there was once an old coaching inn hereabouts, of which all trace is now lost.

All told, there’s a lot to be found here, but it’s awkward in places and often difficult to see. Winter visits are probably a good idea. The groups near the A697 are easy enough to find using just the OS map, but if you’re after seeing any of the others, don’t be fooled as I was a few years back into thinking that the western group on the map are on the obvious outcrop. They’re not, and whilst it’s a nice view, I don’t recall finding any carvings. In retrospect, there may have been, but at the time I was expecting soething as snazzy as Old Bewick, so I would have probably missed it if it was there. It’s probably quite easy to miss some even with a gps if the light isn’t right, they can be quite faint.

I’ve a strong suspicion that the reason the motifs around here (including those at Snook) are so faint has something to do with the now extinct power station at Blyth. If this place was chosen partly as a result of it’s excellent views over Northumberland’s coastal plain, it’s position as the first set of propr hills between the sea and the Ceviots has probably also mant it’s got more than it’s fair share of acid rain. Often, there’s a weird microclimate going on here as the air rises and moisture either dumps down here whilst it’s dry a few miles away, or else it stays up in the clouds whilst in Rothbury it’s chucking it down.

One last thing of note about Millstone burn. It’s where Prof Richard Bradley and his chums from Reading Uni did their valiant attempt to apply statistics to the study of rock art. Apparently they found that the more complex motifs are situated where there is a wider view. Whilst some would say this is a bit of a no-brainer, they did try, and so now we know there’s only a small likelihood that the marked rocks were chosen as a result of random chance. But the view isn’t the be-all and end-all of the decision to mark some rocks and not others, else the bigger outcrop to the west would be dripping with CnRs.

These fieldnotes may have been brought to you with the daft assistance of the Millstoneburn mono-tourist board. Come to Millstone, gateway to the Cheviots, and bring a gps device in case you find any new panels!

* You know, those things Cope goes on about in the papery tma. A bit out of fashion these days, but they’re still there out in the landscape, whether they’re a la mode or not.

I have lots of daft notions about trying to identify significant prehistoric sites along the borders of Yorkshire and Cumbria. I can’t accept that the monuments and rock art just stop in a certain place and then re-start a few miles down the road.
I recently visited the circles of Rey Cross. Lune Head and Mudbeck they all exist in this megalithic ‘liminal zone’ and I was hoping that the circle at Sunbiggin Tarn would be more of the same.
The circle is quite easy to locate as long as you get yourself on the right road. Sunbiggin Tarn is signposted at Raisbeck.
Once you have past the tarn you will encounter a small hill to your right, park up on the verge and walk up the few dozen metres to the top of the hill then look north-north-east and you should see a few low stones in the long tussocky grass.
Once you reach the circle you’ll see at least 20 small low stones half buried in the grass surrounding a number of central stones. The diameter of the circle is approximately 5 metres. The stones are a mixture of shap granite and other stones including sandstone.
There are two possible outliers to the circle both 11 metres from the ring one to the north and the other to the south west.
My best guess is that this is a ring cairn, possibly a double ring cairn.
As stone monuments go this one is fairly small and insignificant but I think the location is the key element here. The circle overlooks the tarn and has beautiful views over to the majestic Howgill fells. To the west of the circle are the dramatic limestone scars of Knott and Great Asby which jutt out into the lovely Lune valley.

If your planning to visit Gamelands I would recommend adding this lovely little ring to your itinary.

The GPS stuff is
NY 68047 08376
Elev 282m

One of many sites you can make nothing of in summer. Went yesterday and the mound had vanished beneath nettle soldiers and tribes of grass over knee-high, so even having been before I saw only the occasional glimpse of stone.
Best reached through the field above that of the mound, just after the track to Swanbister House. In that first field went to look at the bridge the track goes over but it is only a nave-type. A few yards away (HY35200519) the stream on one side has a short stretch of low wall comprising edge-up slabs ending in a chunky stone on the northern end. On reaching this I saw a straight-edged piece of rock pavement (I see no reason not to think this is other than natural) and realised I was looking at a diminutive ford, the cutest thing. Though the banks of the stream are not that high this is the only point at which the ground is at water-level both sides.
Had a careful potter around and over the broch before going to the lower right corner of the field where the rocky outcrop is at its clearest, almost like a low staggered cliff. Was surprised to find what looked like a track about half-a-metre across going down towards the water’s edge that feels as if it has been cut out of the rock. From the stream looking back up at this field corner one wonders about possible alterations to the natural. This includes one white slab of rock about a metre long and a foot deep. Does this extend further into the hillock or is it from the hand of man ?
Coming up from the Hillock of Breakna and look across to Swanbister House you see a bridge with metal barrier, the triangle of land between here and the road is all that remains of a burnt mound that the road was cut through.

White Hag has been on my mind ever since my attempts to find it back in the winter of 2003.
So on a sweltering hot day, which was the total opposite to my last visit I, headed off up the path from the Orton to Shap road.
OK so here’s the route.
Once you climb the first hill and begin to head slightly downhill you’ll notice a line of grouse butts beside a small lake/large pond, this is marked as Black Dub on the OS map. Leave the path and head along this valley, which is the headwaters of the Lyvennet Beck. Once past the butts you’ll see the monument, head for this and then along the valley. Ahead of you and on the higher ground you’ll see a large glacial erratic, a huge megalithic plum sitting on the valley side. Head for this stone, the circle is about 200m past this stone and close to the corner of the dry stone wall.
This is a beautiful little circle composed of 11 granite boulders with a diameter of about 5 metres. 5 metres may be tiny but the stones used are all of a decent size and make the circle appear larger than it actually is.
The circle is far from the only feature, about 6m west there are four good sized stones set in a sort of rectangle.
About 6m to the south of circle is another large stone that could be an outlier to the circle.
Some 15m north of the circle is a small hillock with a curious half buried arrangement of small stones which could be natural but had the vibe of a cairn to me.
The views from the circle are absolutely crackin’. To the NNE, on a clear day, is a view right into the hugely magical valley of High Cup Nick in the far-off Pennines. To the south are marvellous vistas of the Howgill Fells with their lofty rounded peaks and deep valleys.

White Hag is a lovely circle and well worth the effort. Get yerself there!

After the pumping station at Kirbister Mill the Orphir road continues past the junction with the loch road. On the left there is a small post box at the top of the Smoogro road. Continue along the Orphir road and look for Highbreck on your right – it is the first dwelling you come to. On the opposite side of the road to this the stone is about 25 fence lengths further on (or perhaps you would prefer to count ten lengths from the beck further along if approaching in the other direction – a well is marked just before the first bend in the stream but I saw nothing). Maybe not your average standing stone, but decidedly a queer shape for an erratic. The supposed boulder is at about 45 degrees to the road. It is difficult to get a closer view owing to the steepness of the bank and the fence (thankfully plain) being hard against the field boundary. Edge carefully down as there are only two levels you can stand on. Hold tight on the fence and bob’s your uncle. Oh, did I mention that the standing stone has tall nettles by the roadside edge ?!

I picked the hottest day of the year, so far, to wander up from Pooley Bridge to Swarth Fell. The path from the Cockpit splits a few dozen metres to the west of the circle and as long as you take the left hand fork you should be ok.

It’s a long slow slog to the top but worth it for the views alone. A GPS is useful to help you find the circle, I actually walked past it and had to track back along the valley of the Swarth Beck before I found the circle (despite having a gps in my bag!).

GPS Stuff: NY 45662 19205 – Altitude 551.07m.

The circle is a weird one. A semi circle of thin, flat, irregular flags defines 60% of a circle. The remaining 40% is pretty stone-free, it’s as if someone has moved the stones. The position of the stones is in an enclosed valley beneath Loadpot Hill at the head of the Swarth Beck. The only open view is of the plain beyond Penrith to the North there is however a low col that affords a view along the Greta Valley with Skiddaw and Blencathra in the distance.

All in all this is a very strange place, the circle may be associated with the Swarth Beck but this isn’t a satisfactory explanation as the beck simply drops down the fell to Lake Ullswater. I think a more probable explanation is that the circle is associated with the trackway known as High Street which visits many prehistoric sites on it’s meandering route from Penrith to Windemere.

As for vibes, I didn’t really enjoy the place, it took a lot of effort to get to the site and I thought I would be rewarded with the physical elation I often experience upon reaching a circle. None of that was present here and as I  sat eating my lunch I was attacked by a huge, persistant, homicidal horse fly who was intent on lunching on me. It was me or him!

All in all it is well worth the effort to visit this strange circle, it provides a physical challenge and your reward is an ever changing horizon with beautiful views of the upland fells and a wonderful panorama of Moor Divock.

A bit of a swine to find......

Take the road from Heamoor up Bone Valley then go straight ahead at the crossroads (signposted Carfury). The road descends into the valley winding past an abandoned quarry on the right. Just as you reach the bootom of the valley a path/track goes off on the left. There is room to park a car here.

Walk down the track ( I would guess it is muddy after rain) and when you reach the bottom there is a wall goes off on the right. If you are agile enough you can scramble carefully up the tumbled boulders here and get into the upper field. Walk out into the clearing and look up to your left. You should be able to see the stone standing proud above the vegitation.

From here you can continue up through the field. If you have decided to stay on the track then continue up to a gate. Go through the gate and then wind your way through the gorse, bracken, brambles and rhododendrons arcing around to the right but always climbing. At some point the stone will come into sight...but it is not easy to find this way.

The stone itself is a stunner..it stands about 10 ft tall, built into the ancient wall. From it Mulfra Quoit can be seen as can the sea to the south. I did not find the other stones that are supposed to lay in the area, due to lack of time....and a rumbling belly.

This is a top spot. Maybe not right up there in the list of Anglesey’s ‘must-see’ monuments... but hey... with the kids in tow, the dunes at Aberffraw Bay looked pretty good and the cairn a bonus.

There’s not much left. The rim of the cairn and a handful of decent sized kerbstones. Perched on a small spur on the west side of the bay, above the point where the River Ffraw joins the sea.With views over to Snowdon and the mountains along the coast towards the Llyn Peninsular it’s a top spot.

In the CADW guide for Anglesey the cairn gets a brief mention for the Mesolithic material it covered.

This is quite a mathematical corner of Stirlingshire , cup marks come in pairs e.g. the pair of “spectacles” the same stone had another pair of cups as had a new one with two pairs. The triangular shaped stone has cups at the bottom right and was probably once part of the erratic close by . It is an equilateral triangle , sides of 1.2m and mirrors Ben More in the background . I doubt any self respecting megalith builder would be as crass as to erect something so Pythagorean so I assume it was done quite recently , past 2000yrs approx. The “dolmen” is in the past 20 yrs .

There’s a public footpath from the road up the private road to Elva Plain farm – turn right into the farm yard and follow the track keeping the buildings on your left. The circle is in the field at the top of the track.

The number of times I’d driven along the A66 and never turned off to Elva Plain .... when eventually I did, it was the perfect day for it – with views from the peaks of the northern lake district across to the sea.

This is probably a site best visited in autumn, winter or spring. The stones are awfully wee, and were being dwarfed by the grass growing around them today. Access is via a farm track (no vehicles) and the stones are high up, so wet ground shouldn’t be a problem.

Although the mound on which the stones sit is was excavated in 1894 and reported to be a natural morain deposit, it does look very suspicious, and there are stones on the east side of it which could be the remnants of a kerb.

Finally found this site here today in glorious sunshine (and have the red face to show for it) after failing miserably in miserable weather 2 weeks ago. This is the remains of a four-poster, with 2 of the stones still standing, one half fallen over, and one lying on the ground.

The stones sit at the end of a much later building, and one of the stones has been incorporated into the farmstead.

This is definitely a site to visit in summer (or summer weather) rather than winter. The ridge on which the stones stand is littered with stones, and if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for they can be difficult to spot. However, when the grass is dry it’s possible to see a very faint sheep track contrasting with the rest of the grass, and this will lead you direct to the stones (see directions below). There appears to be the remnants of a stone-marked track running past the stone setting – perhaps an original route through the glen, up away from the river and the wetter ground?

Treligga Common Bronze Age Barrows
Interest in the sites on Treligga Common started for my son, Philip, and I in the spring of 2004. We were at that point walking along the coastpath towards Trebarwith Strand and he had asked me about the two sites we have come across near Start Point. Whilst I was able to tell him they were probably remains of Bronze Age Barrows I could not tell him any more.

When we returned home I looked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer map number 111 and saw they were marked along with a further one some half mile or so further south and towards the centre of the common. Later, I looked on the ADS Archaeology Data service) online catalogue and the 1888 Ordnance Survey map (fig 2) which combined started the rot! I realised if I was to try to make any
sense of it I would have to do more research and make another site visit which I did so in the spring of 2005 when the overgrowth was low.

The positions of the barrows given by various parties and what I saw on the ground can be compared
on the map (fig 1)

POSITIONS OF BAROWS BY SOURCE
Ordnance survey 1888 SX04431 85719
SX04518 85548
SX04552 85386
SX04318 85162
Ordnance Survey Online 2005
Northerly Group SX044 857
Southerly Group SX045 855

Croft Andrew SX04 85

P Christie SX0431 8515
SX0443 8573
SX0450 8559
SX0453 8552

English Heritage SX0431 8515
SX0443 8573
SX0449 8559
SX0450 8559
SX0453 8552
SX0453 8556
SX0456 8537

National Trust SX043 851

For clarity I have used ‘groups’ to describe the possible barrows we saw. The appearance of the groups is as follows.

Group a have a clearly defined inner loose slate wall with a rubble area in the centre. There are two of these

Group b are misshapen mounds of various shapes and sizes overgrown with bramble. There are three of these.

Group c are flat with a slate ring and slate in the centre. Four of these were noted.

Group d are pits with turf walls, some appear to have loose slate inner walls. There may be more of
these but the area is very overgrown.

Lastly Area an on the map is flat and heavily strewn with slate.

As to how many there really is:

The Antiquaries Journal states ‘Nine sites were dug, but five yielded no evidence of use in ancient
times’.

P. Christie ‘The barrow group was marked on the OS maps, and site 7, where the wartime excavation began, is marked on the OS 6” map (1907 edition) as a Trig station, but without altitude figures. This was the most southerly and most prominent of the group and even after excavation it remained visible until continuous ploughing finally caused it’s disappearance by 1973’ ‘Whilst there he (Croft Andrew) also managed to examine seven other potential sites on the land between it (site 7) and Start Point. Of these, three contained archaeological materiel (sites 1, 2 & 5) three were natural rock knolls and the last “had been decapitated by a scraper and told us nothing”’ ‘Two further sites (8 & 9) on Treligga Common are marked on CKCA’s area map, but details of them do not survive’.

ADS Online
‘NTSMR-ZC3’ Bronze Age Barrow SX043 851
‘EHNMR-63600 Barrow 1 SX04 85
‘EHNMR – 63601 Barrow 2 SX04 85
‘EHNMR – 63602 Barrow 5 SX0485
‘EHNMR – 63613 Barrow 7 SX0485

NMR – NATINV – 431979 no title
Barrow group on Treligga Common comprising 6 barrows now either destroyed or badly mutilated.
SX0431 8515
SX0443 8573
SX0449 8557
SX0450 8559
SX0453 8552
SX0453 8556
SX0456 8537
(yes, that is seven)

So, by my reckoning:

The Antiquaries Journal -CK Croft Andrew
5 definite but a total of 9 SITES

P Christie Site 7 plus 7 other sites, 3 definite, 3 without and 1 unknown. Plus 2 further sites (8 & 9) making 10 SITES.

ADS online National Trust I site,English Heritage 4 sites,Second English Heritage state 6 sites but gives 7 locations 7 SITES

On The Ground Visible Possibilities 10 Sites plus known lost site of barrow 7 making 11 SITES.

As to their currant condition. P. Christie ’ even after excavation (site 7) it remained visible until continuous ploughing finally caused it’s disappearance by 1973’. I have difficulty with this as the area concerned, whilst certainly flattened, is very stony and I can see no reason why a farmer mostly concerned with pastoral farming would plough an area that would be useless for crops. P. Christie ‘In January 1941 the mound was partially destroyed when a 12 foot trench was dug through it by a mechanised scraper’. The site does not actually sit on or block any of the WW2 installations nor is it in the way of the airstrip. It has to be said that someone was up to no good! P. Christie ‘As a result of this unexplained action, and the resulting outcry, CK Croft Andrew was sent in by the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate to retrieve what information he could from the mutilated barrow. Whilst there, he also managed to examine seven other potential barrow sites’ ‘Two further sites (7 & 8) ‘are marked’ ‘but no details’.

Historically that’s it! As a result of the ‘unexplained actions’ the continuous ploughing’ and, it has to be said, the ‘excavations’ of CK Croft Andrew we have a situation where all of the barrows/sites are either lost or mutilated. There are potentially eleven sites, four where materiel was found, three others, which are anybody’s guess, and three where we were told non was found. We have three strongly identifiable groups, which have the same appearance and type.

Treligga Common is easily reached by the reasonably fit on foot. The area falls from over 200 metres at nearby Delabole to the 90 metres at Trelligga Common. The site of the common is on a piece of land separated by the sea on the West North West, the valley leading to Backways Cove on the North North East and the valley towards Treligga on the third and Easterly side. The last side is fairly flat until the area of Tregonick where the ground drops into the valley leading to Tregardock village.

The area holds much of interest, disused WW2 installations, airfield history, Bronze Age barrows and interesting flora and fauna.The easiest way to travel there is via the coastpath from Tregardock. Travelling from Trebarwith
strand from the opposite direction entails some very stiff climbs up Dennis and Start Points via Backways Cove. Though there are numerous farm and quarry remains to be seen en route at Backways. Parking at Tregardock village is usually OK as long as your visit coincides with low tide as Tregardock beach is popular with surfers and there is no dedicated parking available.

2005 May Stephen Redpath – Bergman

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Society of Antiquaries of London. The Antiquaries Journal
ADS Online
National Trust
English Heritage
The Royal Institute of Cornwall (Courtney Library) Wartime excavations by C K Croft Andrew 1939 –
1944 – Patricia M Christie 1985
Ordnance Survey Explorer 111, Online 2005, 1888
PERMISSION GIVEN BY AUTHOR FOR USE BY WIKIPEDIA
END

This site is included in the Beckensall archive although hadn’t been visited. I had just read the description of a bleak, boulder strewn hillside and five panels with basins. It was discovered by R Charlton and described and illustrated in the magazine of the Redesdale Society in 1983. I was expecting to find a few basins like those common as natural erosion features on fell sandstone outcrops and boulders. To my surprise the motifs are amazing, thought provoking and very unusual.

The site is close to the Pennine Way, between Bellingham and Kielder, just W of Whitley Pike. The ridge has the extensive views common to other rock-art sites and is a remote and wild place. More traditional cup-marked rocks can be found about 1km NW on Padon Hill.

Five boulders or outcrops have markings which are nearly all recessed circular dishes or basins. One of the largest curves over the bend of a outcrop on both vertical and horizontal faces like the Dali watch in his painting: The Persistence of Memory.
The excellent Charlton drawing is given in:
rockart.ncl.ac.uk/panel_detail.asp?pi=698

There is some confusion over the Beckensall Archive decsription, grid references and illustrations, and I haven’t been able to match all 5 panels. There are about 10 basins, some very faint and possibly others that are either highly eroded or possible natural features. Two of the circular features also run to the rock edges and may continue on another face like the Dali watch motif. One groove shows what may be pick marks but some of the basins look too clean to be prehistoric.

It’s all very interesting, but is it rock art? I’ve not seen anything else similar in Northumberland. If it’s not rock art, what is it? The rock has many inclusions and nearby shake holes may indicate the presence of limestone. Some of the basins appear much too finely made to be natural inclusions.

If they are man-made who made them, when and why? As usual, more questions than answers. Just another typical day out among the rock art of Northumberland.

After spending some time in the village trying to get directions (which ranged from total ignorance to directions to the churchyard) a lady was fetched for me who ‘has lived here longer than anyone’. A lot of people struggle getting information in rural Kernow, but as a native I recognised this as genuine lack of knowledge, rather than the usual emit baiting. I was given directions, up past the round houses, to a field where ‘there’s nothing to see, though I daresay you might be able to tell there was a mound there if you were an expert’, but I was assured that there were ‘wonderful views’ and it would thus ‘not be an entirely wasted trip’.

The mound is the most pronounced I have ever visited in this country and stood out as a huge digitalis induced purple hump in a field of new grass. The concrete slab is a little ugly, but the mound is well structured and very well preserved.

One of the best above ground places to visit as a family, there is plenty of shade on the mound, and the views are dramatic, although it was very overgrown.

I found myself desperatly wanting to belive that there really was a huge golden ship with silver oars and, out of character, truly wishing that the excavation which made a lie of the legend had never occured.

Yet more stuff from under 12 cm of peat , this knoll alone will keep the recorders busy for a couple of days .

Grid ref accurate, but it’s nearer to Todmorden than Hebden Bridge. Make for Great Rock on Eastwood Road, walk down Eastwood Lane, past the house where lane swings right, and find style in wall on right (just after next lane on left). Walk on the path through styles in walls to wooden style where boulder is.
We went to have a look on the way home from Solstice at Castle Rigg- no tape measure- measurements approx; length 62cm, width 39cm, depth 30cm. The 4 larger cup marks are approx 23cm and 14cm apart. 5th smaller cup shown on artistic image not so defined (due to being walked on?).

This is a beautiful circle and the stones look as ancient as they should do, covered with a thick layer of lichen. Some stones are very human like in stature and shape and get really creepy when it darkens.

It rained heavily while I was here and I was very glad a stone causeway of sorts has been laid to take you to the wooden step-over that brings you into the field with the stones. Its still a bit boggy in wet conditions but could be a lot worse. Unlike some sites the locals (landowner?) seem to encourage visitors, there is a little purple sign to point you in the right direction as its not immediately obvious which is the best way to get to it.

The views are spectacular, even in mist and drizzle, the fog blowing over the mountains above adding to the epic-like feel.

No photos this time though.

As you can see in some of the photos above there is now a rope around the small cairn with a little sign ironically asking people to respect the moument. There was some small scale building work going on near the gate to the tomb at the roadside last time I was here and I had the horrible feeling they were building a turnstile or something to ‘manage’ visitors. Turns out its going to be a small wall probably with a plaque and some info on it. Or maybe a stall for selling “Mum went to Poulnabrone and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt made by a six year old in the Far East” type stuff.

While I was here I met some genuine bone fide idiots: two were dancing around it on one leg in their bermuda shorts making ‘pow wow wow wow’ noises and another was asserting to the older folk that sacrificed animals were placed on top to please the sun god. Marvelous.

This stone has been moved from it’s original site , a cairn , and ignominiously dumped by a drain . If it had been left in situ it would be a contender for a “best view” from rock art as the cairn looked straight into the quite wee (616 metres) but perfectly formed Am Bioran and also great views to Strath Earn and the bigger hills to the west .