Latest Fieldnotes

5th October 2003

I took the approach from the telephone box opposite Sancreed Church, which had a sign advising that an alternative path was available 300yds up the road. The approach was long and narrow – no room for a wheelchair here. The path is quite clearly delineated, except for one point where stiles appear both in front, and to the right. I chose right, which was right! A short incline, and the well appeared in front of me. The first thing I saw was the ugly modern cross that’s been erected here. Climbing down into the well, I spotted the phosphorescence straight away, but it proved difficult to photograph. Sitting in the cracks on the far walls, it gave the impression of minute fairy grottoes, complete with lighting!

After 10 minutes or so, I began to feel uneasy, and had the start of a headache, so decided to leave. But before finally leaving I took a quick look at the remains of the small chapel just above the well. Only part of the walls remain, similar to, but in a worse condition than the chapel at Madron Well.

Leaving via the continuation of the footpath, after a short climb a stile led to the road, just around the corner from my starting point.

5th October 2003

After a false start, confused a little by the directions here, I found the stile easily enough. Park by the Alsia Farm entrance drive, and walk down (West) past the Mill. The stile is on the left, opposite what would be a parking place if not blocked off by stones. Climb up the stile steps and a totally unexpected view awaits. A pleasant meadow with a large informational sign leads to the far field boundary, where another small sign points to the (private) footpath leading to the well. Down the hill, the bracken and brambles open up on the right, and turning right into the brambles again reveals the rusty gate by the well.

Access: The initial stile is quite high, but the walk is reasonable across grassland. The return trip is uphill, and the stile can be tricky to return down to the road.

5th October 2003

From opposite Sennen Church (with its couple of fine old crosses), a private road runs back toward the farm buildings. The footpath is shown as going up to the shed, but I’m not sure where it goes from there. I ventured over the locked gate, and around the back of the shed, startling a large fox in the process.

The stone, visible from the road when the foliage is low, is built into the field boundary wall, is covered in lichen, and I’d guess stands approx 3-4 metres tall. Being on private land, permission should really be sought, but there was no-one around during my brief visit, other than a herd of cows in the neighbouring field.

5th October 2003

Having read the Cornwall Archaeological report from 1993 last night, I’m more convinced that this was a circle at some point in the past. On previous visits, I’d not noticed the buried stones, and the approach path from the track has what could possibly be a fallen (and now semi-buried) outlier across it. To me, this only adds weight to the theories.

4th October 2003

This place is seriously out of the way! Thanks are due to Goffik for his directions which led me straight there. This is not somewhere that someone who has a problem with heights (like me!) should go. Goffik’s directions state ‘take the left fork’. As the path clings limpet like to the side of a very high cliff, the only way I could see a left fork taking me was straight down. Luckily, the main path forked right and up, and the left fork consisted of just a few steps down to the well itself. There’s not much more than a thin covering of foliage stopping anyone falling off the cliff though, so I wouldn’t suggest visiting here in wet or windy weather.

Access: Not for the faint-hearted!

3rd October 2003

Last time I was here, it was typically Dartmoor damp. This morning, it was typical Dartmoor sunshine, a glorious day!

I took my time walking the rows, circumnavigating the circle and outlier and I actually found the cracked cist this time – I’d totally missed it last time round.

An excellent place to stop on the moor whatever the weather.

4th October 2003

I adore this place – I want to have its babies. The bracken was chest high, and I wasn’t sure how much I’d see of the circle today, but I needn’t have worried as the centre stone was easily viewed from the approach. When I was last here at this time last year, the stones were almost completely covered by the bracken, but some care has been taken this year to keep them clear. The sun shone, and the stones were all quite warm, apart from the large quartz stone, which was icy cold to the touch. Its magic worked on me once again, and I found it very difficult to leave. I daren’t look back as I finally left, in case I felt impelled to return.

Access: Difficult even in good conditions -it’s a tricky (though not long) walk from the road whichever direction you approach from. I’d suggest able bodied access only.

3rd October 2003

The northern row gave me slightly less difficulty that the southern row, but many of the stones are extremely low indeed. The blocking stone stands a foot or so high and was the most recognisable to me, the grass being fairly rough and high during my visit.

3rd October 2003

Lying to one side, in a cleared area parallel with the forest track, the cairn sadly had a significant fire pit on top of the mound. Despite the low number of stones, the circle can clearly be seen.

3rd October 2003

From the access track, several very low stones, barely poking above the earth were evident. Also apparent were several moss covered tree stumps, which confused the picture somewhat, as it was necessary to determine which were stones and which were stumps. It was quite tricky to make out the stone row, which didn’t seem that straight to me.

Visited 3rd October 2003

Like Martin, we drove as far as possible along the approach road, past the official car park. The forest track heads off to the left from this point (don’t follow the footpath immediately ahead). The track rises steadily for a way (took me what felt like about 5-10 minutes, but with no watch it’s hard to say). Suddenly the clearing appeared to the right. Two large stones proclaimed the entrance, but I think they’re there to stop possible vehicles (which obviously use the track) from progressing further. The site opened up from this point on, everything being nicely laid out before me.

There was no fire damage evident within the circle, although there was a fire pit just outside of it. What was obvious to me, was the slant of the circle, with taller stones on the south progressing down to smaller ones on the northern side. I’d seen this effect before, during our trip to Ireland earlier this year. I don’t recall seeing this in other circles in this country, but then I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning!

Later: I saw this Frith photo which shows the site in 1907 – quite a difference!

Access: A fair uphill trek to get to the area of the sites. I wouldn’t want to push a wheelchair up here – it’s quite a bumpy path.

Visited 3rd October 2003

Even at 7:30 in the morning, the A35 is a damn dangerous place! Parking on the wrong side of the road in the ‘makeshift layby’, I precariously made my way the 50 yards along the road to the small concrete bridge across the ditch to the oasis of calm that is the stones. Despite laying only feet from the roar of the traffic, I was surprised at how little it intruded upon the stones.

A ritual had obviously been performed here the previous evening, as a clear swept circle of leaves remained in the middle of the stones. Unfortunately, the light was all wrong for photographs, and I encountered the same difficulties in taking pictures that I had when trying to photograph the Hoar Stone at Enstone. All were out of focus, with a strong colour cast, despite using a monpod.

Access: Dodgy, even for the fully fit, due to the traffic hazard.

The moss in the fogu does indeed appear to glow but you have to be positioned just right as what is happening is the moss is reflecting light straight back very efficiently from small water droplets.
If you’re tallish then stand in the middle of the round room and look straight at the walls, move your head around and you’ll suddenly catch the brilliant green reflections.
Short people have to get in closer to get the right angle.
It really is remarkable to see the whole wall light up in some areas.

While you’re there why not go on and visit the holywell nearby, take the path out near the top (with the ‘pottery’ sign ) and turn right when you hit the road opposite a very nice garden with a building being refurbished (good luck to whoever’s setting up home there!)
after walking a little way up the road (not far at all, 20 yds maybe) take the slightly overgrown path to the left along the boundary of the above mentioned garden.

I was lucky enought to end up here on a glorious October day, with a fantastic view, lovely clear skies, and warm weather.

I’m not convinced of the antiquity of these stones, but the location is so stunning it hardly matters. The views out over the levels are second to none.

The stones are easy to find – park up at Ebbor Gorge, then follow the road on foot uphill. There’s a couple of footpaths off to the left, and I think it was the second one that leads to the stones, which are clearly visible from the style.

Knocknarea dominates the landscape of its peninsula gloriously. We were camping at Strandhill and by the time we had been there for 3 days I was itching to climb it.
I had read about the old tradition of taking stones from Maeve’s Tomb at the top, and how the local council were trying to encourage a new tradition of ADDING stones to the tomb instead, and I was mightily tempted to carry a large stone all the way up the hill form the beach at Strandhill.
In the event my father joined me in the climb and time constraints led to our driving half the distance and then walking from the car park at the base of the steep climb up its south east side.
The path is treacherously rough, a REAL path I prefer to call it, and you really felt you had earned reaching the top. From there it is a short easy walk to Maeve’s Tomb, which looks close up distressingly like…well a pile of stones. But then again I’m from a neck of the woods where we don’t have that much stone to pile up, so that was probably just me.
The real interest is on top of Maeve’s Tomb, where there is another small cairn. In my photo of this all the ground around it is the top of the Tomb, which is a lot grassier than one expects. From the top you can also see words spelt out in the heathland all around the Tomb with rocks from it, presumably for good luck or in remembrance of those passed. Okay, so this does involve taking stones from the Tomb, but it was very touching to see nevertheless.
We added our stones from Strandhill beach to the cairn and it felt a great honour to add to the building of an ancient site. I did my druid thing and honoured the site with a libation of water, then we enjoyed the view, which is incredible.

From Maeve’s Tomb we walked northwest to the edge of Knocknarea, to look down on Strandhill where we were staying. Wonderful views.
Returning to the Tomb I went to sit on the cairn at the top again. This time I was attacked by wasps, which I took to be a message to leave!

A wonderfully simple stone, with the modern base seeming not to detract from its power.
From here it is easy to believe that, on a clear day, 20% of the land mass of Ireland can be seen from Tara.

I have no Irish ancestry that I know of, but as my partner is half Irish I chose this place, as a Druid, to quietly say hello to the land and formally introduce myself.

What a fantastic spot...

What a confusion of ditches and banks! Not really helped by the fact that the British Israelites dug it up in the early 20th century looking for the Ark of the Covenant!

This should tell you all you need to know about that particular crowd: themodernantiquarian.com/post/3418

According to a guide at Tara, one of them still turns up yearly with a shovel and a map and asks to dig a test pit. Let’s hope this happens while a crowd of Modern Antiquarians are there, so we can help him to occupy it...

The figure at the base of the larger stone was described to me as being of Cernunnos or a Sheila-na-gig.

The second one seems more likely, given its setting.
However you decide:

pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/europe/celtic/sheila-na-gig.html

In my considered opinion this strikes me as being a cursus. But then again, perhaps I’m biased.

I walked its entire length in both directions anyway, just in case...

Although it’s more than likely natural...a bloke named Sainter noted the stone as a Dolmen in the 1800’s..

The Bawd Stone is in a great location between the gritstone outcrops of Hen Cloud and the Roaches....Ramishaw Rocks are visible in the distance too....

Worth a look...

The reason folk come up to Grin Low today is to admire the view from the victorian thing called Soloman’s Temple.....a little stone tower built onto the round barrows top.....
Long range views over the White Peak and to another 17 Bronze Age barrows.

Allegedly there were earthworks around Grin Low but the old lime workings have made the hill a grassy looking lunar landscape....making it impossible to pick out anything older than the workings.

Bit of a strange one this..
A glacial erratic that has supposedly been shaped on a coupla sides to square the eastern face off.....can’t say I really get it.

Only just in a field, hiding behind the wall on the south side of the road as you pass through the little village of Ginclough.

Green Low has been about a bit....one time thought of as a stone circle...then robbed cairn..followed by ring cairn and marked on the map as a cairn circle...

The NMR seems to go with ring cairn...and if it is it’s easily Derbyshire’s best...a well defined grasscovered rubble ring approx 22x20m with a bank 50cm high...a smaller rubble ring is visible in the northern half of the cairn.

Located a few KM west of Mam Tor the ring cairn is unmissable as you walk along the path, starting at SK091 824....800m along.

250m east is a smaller cairn circle 6x8m in diameter and a bit tired looking.

Another long barrow along the lines of The Tong. From what I can find out it’s not for certain that this knobbly bit of land, 32x17m is really a long barrow....
Ok so it’s orientated E-W.. but that don’t necessarily make it so.

In the field to the right the ‘long barrow’ is a smart little round barrow...well...it makes it that the journey wasn’t a complete waste of time.

The fact that the site was only rediscovered by Barnatt in the late 1980’s.....says so much about The Tong.....a West Kennet it certainly ain’t...
It’s hard to say how big the rough ground that’s supposed to be the barrow is....

The rough looking barrow is visible from the road to Wheston 2km outta Peak Forest....it’s a 150m walk if you wanna get up close and personal.