Latest Fieldnotes

Visited 16/1/05 – the carving was partially obscured by soil which had crept over the rock. Cleared the worst off by hand, but it is still difficult to see the image.

Got very close to nature up at Bellever Tor in the summer of 2002... Was camping at the Dart Valley Country park and took a bus (once a day service) up to Dartmeet. Walked from Dartmeet to the tor in ever-increasing rain. Found some shelter under the granite, and proceeded to take everything off and wring it out. Managed to re-dress before a group of walkers emerged from the trees to the north. On reflection the site is a kind of omphalos (sacred navel) for Dartmoor: it is roughly in the middle of the National Park, and even appears on both sides of the OS Outdoor Leisure map due to its central position. Don’t visit this site in the rain unless you’re clothed in 100% waterproofs: the things that make it great also make it very exposed to the elements.

What a fantastic site! There’s so much to enjoy here: still plenty of barrow mound left and the huge capstone of the once-covered chamber, fractured now, juts out from the earth, looking rather like a breaching whale. The side stones of what once was a curious curved entranceway snakes off to the north.

I can’t comment on how the monument fits into the landscape as we couldn’t see it. It was p*ssing with rain and the cloud hung very low indeed. There may have been mountains, dales, volcanoes and glaciers all round us, but we missed them all, the weather was so gloomy. However, I liked the site massively so I sat down on my handy bin liner, put up my umbrella and made a quick sketch.

Go here! Even in the rain!

Visited 30th July 2004: Armed with insuficient notes and a grid reference I tried to find this circle. I found some stones that weren’t conclusive, and subsequent research suggests that these are nothing to do with the circle.

So, where are the stones I was looking for? They’re not exactly tiny, so how did I manage to miss them? I was searching to the south of the little road to Cuidrach, but I’m not 100% sure that’s right. Hopefully someone else will have better luck than me.

Visited 30th July 2004: I left the others in the car and walked to the stones on my own (they were suffering from megalith fatigue). I made my way across the field without any adverse bovine attention, and got a few shots of the stones before running out of memory on the digital camera.

The stones are pleasantly perched on the edge of Loch Eyre. They’re not especially close to the water, and with the lower sea levels of the Bronze Age it would be a mistake to think of the stones as strongly linked to the modern loch. These two megaliths are big and bold. They leave you in no doubt that someone wanted to make a statement here!

10.45pm 11th Jan 2005

Returning back across the moors from a meeting at Jamaica Inn, as I rounded the corner before reaching the turn off to the pool, a large barn owl swooped down and flew along in the in front of the car. it then turned to the left and dissapeared over towards the pool.

I just had to stop the car and get out. All around was black, a faint crescent of moon shining through thin cloud, the only sound that of the wind blowing across the bleak moor. The owl had gone, somewhere to my left sat the pool but it was too dark to make out anything.

As I went to get back into the car I heard a hoot from somewhere in the darkness....

Ken Watts in “Exploring Historic Wiltshire” records that a 19th century farm labourer recalled moving the stone from Kinwardstone Farm at Burbage 5 miles away. However it seems odd to move a large stone this distance to such a remote spot when field clearances normally involved moving sarsens to the edge of a field or breaking them up. Kinwardstone itself is the name of the local medieval hundred.

The stone is highly unusual and only a geologist can determine whether the markings are natural or man made. Some sarsens carry striations caused by glacial movement and the lines look less clearly man made than the grooves for example on the Polissoir Stone at Avebury.

The stone lies at the edge of a pit (which may relate to the building of the adjacent Roman road along Chute Causeway). There are three sarsens in the Churchyard at nearly Tangley and remnants of a sarsen chambered tomb at Tidcombe longbarrow a mile away.

The Andle Stone appears to me as a theatre of thoughts, a stage of silent memories. Powerful in there fragmented form. A truely wonderful place to stop, think and absorb the landscpae surrounding you.

Finding Rains Cave on the eastern end of Longcliffe Crags is a real task, the small 2ft x 2ft entrance is well hidden behind large boulders. Only clue on the ground as to where it is, is the rubble infill that has been removed from the cave. Still ain’t easy to spot even then. Makes you wonder how it was found in the first place....and who was the first person down there.

Once through the dirty squeeze entrance the low cave chamber slopes downwards for about 35ft. Possible crawl offs from the chamber.
Not the most pleasant cave I’ve been in, but it’s location high on the craggy dolomite outcrop overlooking Rainster Rocks is excellent

Managed to follow-up my exploring around the Fontburn Reservoir area. These findings are in the area S of the Fallowlees Burn, W of the main cup-marked boulder described by Beckensall as Fontburn b. There is little surface rock on much of the moorland and there also appears to be some limestone in the SE which may account for natural erosion patterns on some rocks, the presence of sink holes in some areas, and the location of the reservoir.

Hob’s grooved boulder, at the centre of a denuded cairn, is located further E of his reference within the enclosure that is crossed by the wall. The grid reference is approximately NZ 027 936. It lies just below a prominent double knoll E of the bridlepath which turns from a junction to run (largely invisible on the ground) in a NW direction.

Further W, a rock with clear cup-marks (see photo) lies within the rectangular improved field at grid reference NZ 01667 93254, close to the line of bridlepath, about 60m S of a gate in the NW fence. This small, flat rock is, I think, previously undescribed. It bears 2 deep and up to 3 shallow cups. It may also have come from a cairn, now dispersed. The field contains other small cairns (which may be from field clearance) and enclosure banks.

Near to the point that the Fallowlees Burn emerges from the gloom of the conifers of Harwood Forest there is, about 10m N from a prominent bend in the stream, a large, rounded boulder perched on a bed of what looks like horizontal limestone (NZ 01277 93129). It is probably a stone perched by glacial action. Markings on the top surface are probably natural erosion.

If these new markings are confirmed, the cup-marked stones in the Fallowlees/Fontburn region appear to lie on both banks of the Burn marking its course from the W. Marked rocks appear again SW of the Forest in the intricate cup and ring markings of Tod Crag which has been suggested may lie on the course of an old routeway.

A short walk up a public footpath from Sandhill Lane (near Marple Bridge off the main Marple-Glossop road) brings you to the walled, wooded enclosure surrounding this burial mound which seems in very good condition. Climbing the wall to get a closer look may incur the wrath of the land-owner.
On a good day the views are superb over much of Greater Manchester. A short distance away is a cairn – sadly dissected by a drystone wall – at Ludworth Intakes.

On a cold and wet day I decided to take a photo of this cairn and cist, but could I find it? Could I hell! Considering it’s not to far from Roundy Park Cairn and cist. There’s nothing unusual itself about the site, except that when it was excavated there was charcoal and an archers wrist gaurd made of slate found within.

Visited 30th July 2004: This is one of those sites where access couldn’t be much better. Wheelchair, pushchair and car friendly.

Three stones remain standing in the village of Borve, overlooked by modern houses on the other side of the road. They are thought by some to be the remains of a stone circle. The row is aligned approximately in a north-westerly (or south-easterly) direction, with the road running parallel. The smallest stone is in the north west but the other two are approximately the same height. Look out for the friendly sheep. They’ll want to know what you’re looking at.

Visited 30th July 2004: What a charming place! The views are great, but the site itself is also interesting. The remaining stones are relatively large, indicating something of the way it once looked. This must have been something special when it was in one piece.

Access to the site isn’t too tricky on foot, but the route in isn’t wheelchair friendly. Cnoc Ullinish is quite close to the road, and there’s space to parking isn’t a problem. You’re unlikely to bump into any fellow visitors.

Visited 30th July 2004: An Sithean is easy to find, sitting just off the B8083. Parking is easy, and it’s a short but moderately steep climb up to the stones (not wheelchair friendly).

The stones are dominated by the peak Beinn na Caillich, but no less significant is Broadford River which lies between the two. This landscape is not lacking in drama!

An Sithean sits enigmatically on top of a hillock, with one remaining standing stone on the very top. The rest of the stones are on the south side of the mound. What appear to be two or more natural ridges fan out from the central point of the mound.

What is this place? If it’s a chambered cairn then most of it became road building material a long time ago.

We drove to mow cop and the castle built in 1754. there is a suggestion that mow cop was used as a watchtower by the romans although no evidence has been found of their occupation. i could imagine this though standing their looking out as it would make the perfect location for a watchtower. even more than this the place does feel like it could have been an important ancient site, especially because of the hills prominence on the landscape for miles around and the natural outcrop of rock that looks so dramatic breaking the view on the horizon between the earth and the sky. there are also some upright standing stones here within the rocks but i don’t know from when they originate. as well as all this though there is the old man o’ mow, which is situated on an ancient cairn, before the castle was built the cairn would have been the highpoint of the land and it is though that it was a burial mound linked to the bridestones, although it could simply be a boundry between two counties.

As we approached the Bridestones the sky was dark towards Jodrell Bank Observatory and the Welsh hills in the far off distance. we did encounter the barking of dogs on approach to the stones although they quickly stopped again leaving us in peace. As we entered the enclosure the sun broke through the sky and created amazing views past the stones and across the landscape. This is an amazing place to visit and in very good condition. By the gate there is what looks like a capstone to the tomb or maybe it is another standing stone which has fallen over at some point, either way it is huge.

Having studied this on the map for many a year, decided to take a very muddy cycle/push up to this fort yesterday. Marvelous ramparts – repelled me in parts when I came tumbling down into the deep leafmould. Redwoods are daunting and wildlife seemed rather large in brief glimpses. More trees being planted in plastic tubes – will be quite a wildlife haven. No indication that it is out of bounds. Didn’t mean to trespass – is it really private land...?

Trotted along to take a look at Long Tom today. A pleasant enough walk from Avebury, up to the Ridgeway, down across Fyfield Down along the old London-Bath road and up the other side.

Just before the reservoir, there’s a notice on the right denoting a private racehorse training field. Nicely cut grass, and about 100 yards into the field can be seen Long Tom, with a  much smaller partner on the other side of the ‘racetrack’. Very much a ‘finishing post’.

As to the stone iteself, it’s very angular and clean cut. Very little evidence of the lichen that covers all other stones in the area. All in all, it looks too ‘new’ to be that ancient, even if it’s thought to be Iron Age rather than neolithic. It looks very similar in condition to a small modern rubbing post I spotted in an adjacent field.

Overall, I’m not convinced.

Boxing Day 2004

Fantastic day for walking, not a cloud in the sky. The line of barrows stood out as we climbed the hill from Nine Barrows Lane their numbers increasing as you ascend the hill. At the top end there is what looks like a dug into barrow until you get close and realise it is just the earth that has been thrown out of a long ditch. I would guess this to have been created by miners looking for traces of lead (there is a large lead mine to the east in the valley)
As for the ditch the other side of the barrows, I am not sure. A gap has been left to allow the route of the path from the Priddy Circles to the Nine Barrows to pass and in my expierience it is unususal for miners to dig one long even trench.

I have never come across so many barrows in a small area, this must have been an impotrtant site. With the four henges so close by as well, I can see I will have to do a bit of studying.

Boxing Day 2004

In order to work off the festive feast decided to drag the outlaws up to Priddy for a walk. Didn’t mention my reasons for choosing the area...
Walked up through the barrows that fill the area to the road beside the henges.
Stood on the gate and looked into the field containing them but could not make out where they were. Didn’t enter as there were horses in the field and one of my fellow walkers said that the land was owned by the local hunt kennels, not the sort of people who welcome trespassers! even during the festive period.

I agree with akasha (10 March 2004) about “ritual litter” When I visited the barrow I was preceeded by a couple of “new Agers” who were coming down the path as I was going up. Nothing wrong with that you say, as I entered the barrow I was confronted by billowing smoke and I could hardly see a thing. These bloody awful people had only lit half-a-dozen (birthday cake) candles and left a votive offering of a dog biscuit. Ruined my day!

Today on large scale O.S maps Steep Low is marked as ‘Tumulus – Site Of’...
However John Barnatt disagreed with this in his Barrow Corpus and noted the mound as a “natural rocky knoll”.

Happens alot in the Peak District....Confusion starts with the word ‘Low’, which usually means high anyway, and can refer to either a conical/rounded hill or a burial mound. It’s pronounced ‘la’ (from Olde English ‘hlaw’ for hill?), by old school Derbyshire folk.

i visited this site for the first time with charlie and juamei on dec 27th 2004. juamei is spot on about it being very muddy getting to the stone in the winter time, so do wear good walking boots. the stone once you get there is magnificent, a really interesting shape with lots of detail. we found that we could get to the other side of the stone by going to the end of the field and walking back up on the other side of the hedge, this is a really nice approach to the stone as well but if you can’t be bothered to walk round you could always slip under the barbed wire.

Park up at SX579673, head in SW direction up towards Gutter Tor, then take the path past Ditsworthy Warren House that will lead you past the Drizzlecombe Monuments, carry on until you get to the ford where the Drizzlecombe Stream meets the Plym at SX589665 cross the stream and carry on up the Langcombe Valley, keep on the left hand side and soon enough you will see Grim’s Grave, it has a retaining circle of 9 stones. if you have time on your side there’s a delightful waterfall (Shavercombe Fall) not very far away at SX595660. where you can enjoy the solitude of the moors,you don’t get many people there. by the way Grim is another word for Satan