Latest Fieldnotes

9 August 2003
As we approached the site I was disappointed to see that the haze would mean that the usually beautiful views of Morecambe Bay would not be visible. In fact Bardsea and its church on their raised platform could barely be seen, never mind the bay itself.

The consolation though was that in more or less the opposite direction, the sun was just starting to set and bathing the white stones of the circle in a beautifully subtle (but apparently unphotographable) orange tint. The sky was photogenic though!

This visit confirmed that this is a lovely site and a perfect peaceful and picturesque end to the tour. I can’t agree that it doesn’t seem genuine and if it has been restored at all (and I don’t think it has) I can’t find much fault with it. Other than that if they were restoring it, why didn’t they do the outer circle too?!!

Admittedly I’ve visited both sites before, but I have to say that I didn’t find it an anticlimax after Sunkenkirk. No disrespect to anyone, but the sites are so different that there is no comparison. To me it’s like comparing, I don’t know… Arbor Low to Doll Tor.

Caesar’s Camp Hillfort – Wimbledon Common – 7.8.2003

After Jamie (Juamei) had left me at the end of our day out I went off to Caesar’s Camp. The best place to park is just off Camp View around TQ229711, opposite the Club House for the Wimbledon Common Golf Course.

Then walk west towards a small split in the road, and walk past the sign that says “Camp Rd, leading to Kinsella Gardens, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development”. At the end of the tarmaced road (TQ225711), the footpath across the fort is directly in front of you. Unlike the egalitarian Wimbledon Common Golf Club to the North, this hillfort is on the private Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Just as you enter this section there is the chance to officially trespass and explore the east side of the fort, by using the gates that leads to the greens/tees of several holes in the area. A badly broken large stone plaque lies unkempt inside this fence and says “…….[broken bit]…probably in the 3rd Century BC. The fort was surrounded by a circular earthwork, about 300 yards in diameter, two ramparts with a ditch between, it’s outline is difficult to follow but the footpath passes through the middle of the fort. Its easterly limit is marked by this stone, and its westerly limit by a post 300 yards along the footpath and inside the fence. Re-erected by the John Evelyn Society 19??” (looks like 1968 but can’t be certain).

Or before you enter the fenced in footpath you can also quite easily sneak down the track that leads south towards the centre of the golf course, and see the south east side of the fort just as the trees clear. It’s a nice site I think.

Walking along the footpath to the west the most impressive easily reached section of the ramparts is at the western end, around TQ222710. There are also handy gaps in the fence here (both sides), although these are presumably not there at aid TMA’ers but to aid golfers who have shanked their ball onto or over the normally fenced in footpath. There is also a small metal plaque close by, just on the north side of the fence, which says “This camp is protected as a monument of National Importance under the Ancient Monuments Acts 1913-53. Min of Public Buildings and Works”. This is presumably ‘the post’ alluded to at the stone plaque, although it’s not actually the westerly limit because its just inside the limit of the inside of the fort.

PS – possibly unsubstantiated info from www.thelondongolfer.com – if all the Caesar’s Camps in England were stayed at by Caesar himself, he must have been a very busy man – “Royal Wimbledon Golf Club – .....Its gently undulating land also attracted Roman emperor Caesar to camp there on his BC foray to Britain. One of the holes – the fourth – demands a short chip-and-run over what was once an embankment of the emperor’s camp.” And it conveniently ignores our history, as if we had none before the romans. rant rant.

St George’s Hill Fort – 7.8.2003

Thanks to info from the splendid Juamei I joined him and several other interested folks on a potted history and guided tour of St George’s Hill Fort, organised by the very friendly people at Elmbridge Museum (Weybridge). I believe the next (free) trip is on 18th September so call 01932 843573 to put your name down.

The staff gave a short talk about the fort and its history, and handed round a few archeological finds, plus a few maps, paintings, and pictures of the area. We then drove out to the St.Georges area, widely described as one of the most exclusive housing developments in the UK. It has security guards, and even a map of the roads and houses, rather like the classic Tube map of London. Anyway, stuff the houses, we came for the hillfort.

There isn’t a great deal to see, but it was great to get the chance to see it, and to chat about it to the museum staff and the other people on the tour. Basically the council owns a semi-circular section of the rampart / ditch, which is all they can show us. The bank is about 6m tall, but the ditch has silted up, and only traces of a bank in front are visible. The remains of the ramparts are now heavily overgrown, and not easy look out from, but in a few places the steep incline off the main rampart / ditch is obvious.

A number of investigations at St George’s Hill have failed to discover evidence for regular occupation, while in contrast, testing of a small area at St Ann’s Hill suggested it may have been intensively occupied throughout the Iron Age. The archeological finds we saw at the Museum were from the general area, but not the fort itself.

PS – Laughable info from www.surreyproperty.com “St George’s Hill to the south of the town is one of the most exclusive residential estates in the UK. With its origins as possibly a bronze age hill fort……” Umm, Bronze Age??

Ashtead Common Earthwork – revisited 7.8.2003

I revisited this with Juamei. It’s a lot quicker walk once you know the way, and also if you take the path from TQ176605 (marked as ‘Route 32’ on the wooden direction post), which leads you almost directly to the North east side of this rectangular enclosure (there is just one slight junction to navigate – take a left / easterly direction).

The detailed map on the Corporation Of London website (see link below) shows the sites of a roman bath house, a roman villa, and a roman tile works to the north east, bits of which were probably the mounds I found on my previous visit.

We are still wondering what the earthwork is! Juamei reckons it might be associated with the (spit) romans….

This shield-shaped contour fort is defended by a single bank and ditch on the north-west and south-west, while on the eastern side where the entrance was sited and the approach less steep, the defences were doubled. The interior area of the fort is a modest 4 acres. The woods nearby are strewn with other earthworks which may date to the Iron Age.

This lovely rock is a bit of an oddity.
Most of the other carved rocks on the moor have the carvings on their southerly face and so you view the carvings whilst looking over the escarpment edge and into the valley and the landscape beyond. This rock contradicts that. Many of the carvings are on the north face and so look back into the moor, the carvings on the ridge can only be viewed by climbing onto the rock itself. This would indicate that this rock may have had a different function from many of the other carved rocks on the moor.

The stone circle at Machuim is in quite a ruinous state, but nonetheless has an impressive feel to it. With a look more akin to the circles of Aberdeenshire than Perthshire, it is made up of several large stones crowning a round mound protruding from a long natural ridge across the field. It has previously been listed wrongly by writers as Machulm or Machuinn.

Only four stones remain standing, while there are a further three that look as though they once stood. The earth mound on which they stand is approximately 10.0m in diameter, and on its SE side reaches a height of 1.0m above the field surface. Some field clearance material has been placed within the circle, but there is also a circle of kerb stones around the base of the mound.

Although the condition of the circle is quite sad, it enjoys a position on the lower slopes of Ben Lawers, which rises impressively behind it, affording good views across Loch Tay to the hills on the other side.

An old and dear friend was very fond of an expression that I still remember to this day.

‘Words fail me. Please see sketch.‘

Such is the impression that Old Radnor leaves you with.

Upon arrival, you find yourself saying ‘Is that it?’, but hours later, on the drive home, you find yourself mulling over what you actually saw. It is true that first impressions are underwhelming. The geography of the landscape, and the immensity of the plain on which the stones are situated, tend to detract from the scale of the construct. Approached through mountains, then hills, the visitors field of view remains on the horizon, and the stones, magnificent as they are, cannot compete with the surroundings.

And yet, and yet...

Turn your gaze inwards and puzzle. Exactly how deep are these beasts? What do they feel?

Struck deep into a soil that has fed generations for thousands of years, these monsters know all there is to know about the seasons and their cycle. Empires have come and gone, farmers born and died, but they have remained constant.

I felt humbled.

The pure depth intrigues me. Try stamping around the bases and listen to the acoustics. Are there chambers below? Trace the cupmarks with a finger. I struggled but then found them, and their gentle bowls and furrows made perfect sense when traced in tandem with a survey of the distant mountains.

It was a strange feeling leaving the stones, but their attraction increases as you draw distant. Next time, I will approach with a far more inward looking mind, and greater subtlety.

But until then, substituting the word ‘sketch’ for the remarkable photographs found here on this site...

‘Words fail me...‘

Situated deep within the wonderfully named ‘Golden Valley’ this was a haven of peace. The stones appear to occupy a position of some influence, but fail to dominate the true summit of the hill, which extends for several hundred metres away to the north east, before giving way to the most exquisite and all encompassing viewing point.

The site itself appears to seek some shelter from the ridge behind, and appears almost ‘cosy’. Certainly, despite its appearance, I feel sure that some degree of shelter could be afforded here should the weather change rapidly.

The capstone is breathtaking, resting gently upon the supporting stones in an almost illusory manner of weightlessness.

Sitting within, a feeling of claustrophobia begins, as the sheer psychic weight of the structure feel as if it is bearing down upon you. Again, dampened acoustics add to the feel that sound played a part of the rituals here, irrespective of the fact that the tomb is not complete. Coughs and conversation soak into the stone that gives nothing back.

Crawling back out into the sun the oppressive mood lifts and spirits rise. A check of the cracks and joints reveal the customary offerings of coins and flowers, and a small corn doll ties with a pretty pink ribbon flutters in the light wind. Peace and contemplation are on offer here, but be prepared for questions.

By car, you can drive within 10 yards of the stone. Peaceful car park with stunning views, easy access to the site apart from a clamber over a stile.

Visited 17th July 2003: I was supposed to be on a work jolly to Caldey Island, but when we arrived in Tenby we found that boats weren’t sailing (no explanation). After a few hours in the pub, I made my excuses and walked south west out of town to find Hoyle’s Mouth Cave and Little Hoyle Cave.

First off, I’d recommend against visiting either of these sites in the summer, because the foliage is thick, and you will get stung by stinging nettles! There’s no signposting to Hoyle’s Mouth Cave, so a GPS is handy (even then you’ll be guessing). There are a lot of tracks through the woodland, and eventually I hit upon one that went up to the cave.

I don’t usually go for pre-Neolithic sites, but circumstances brought me here, and it was pleasantly surprising. I hadn’t brought a torch with me, so I didn’t venture too far into the cave. Sitting in the entrance looking out over the damp vegetation that I’d struggled up through, I felt rather sublime. The peace and quiet was lovely. The cave is obviously used by local kids, because there were the remains of a camp fire in the entrance. What a great den!

Parts of the walls of this enigmatic enclosure are really fresh. The facing stones and the rubble in-fill show that dry stone wall building techniques have changed very little in the past 3 thousand years.
Well worth a visit.

Visited 16th July 2003: For a bit of lunchtime exercise I went to see if I could find the crop marks to the north of Cerrig Llwydion, the remains of a possible henge (SN624838). I had it on good authority that they were visible from the train embankment, but managed to spot nothing. As a consolation prize I went to see the westerly of the two standing stones (SN62508354).

Visited 13th July 2003: We cheated to get to this one, driving up the forestry tracks from further down the valley (not recommended). The sensible way to reach this stone would be on foot from the peak of Pumlumon. Carreg Wen is on the edge of the forestry plantation to the east of Pumlumon, close to the source of the River Severn. At 610 metres above sea level it’s the highest stone in the area. Although very close to the edge of the forest, the stone is surrounded on three sides by trees like some sort of hidden woodland cul-de-sac.

I had both the boys with me, and the weather was scorching. As soon as we arrived, killer flies attacked, so we kept the pace up. The intense sunshine made it hard to look at the stone, because it’s made of a brilliant quartz. Near the stone was the remains of a camp fire, and at the foot of the stone I found entwined orange and purple ribbons (non-biodegradable) so I knew quite early on that the spot isn’t as obscure as it feels. After spending quite a while taking it all in I spotted naturally formed recesses in the stone that had been used to deposit coins. Most of these had small quartz stones placed in them to block them up.

The flies and heat got to us all in the end, and we left in quite a hurry. I was genuinely surprised to find such a beautiful megalith here. On local standards, it’s quite a big’n. Needless to say I was two ribbons, and several copper coins wealthier by the time we left (lucky me!).

Gotta go with Stu and Chris on this one.
The name builds up a level of anticipation that this badly weathered stone fails to live up to.

This is a beautiful stone with three distinct sets of cups. The cups are lovely and deep and are totally enclosed within an outer groove.

This is a crackin’ stone which affords the weary walker the only bit of shade on the moor.
The diagram posted by Haus doesn’t seem to be completely accurate. Stu and I traced out a number of interconnecting channels which conected up most of the features on the left hand side of the stone.
Stu put forward a credible interpretation that the carvings on the left half of the stone represented a map of the landscape beyond the stone.

I have to disagree with Chris on the siting of the bench. The stone is set looking out into the landscape, you look at the carvings then you look at the Wharfe valley beyond. The bench serves the same purpose – it’s all about the location.

This is a crazy place and almost defies interpretation – we had a go anyway!
What puzzles me is, why did the folk who built the structures around these stones not remove them? they must have hindered them.
There is a possible ditch and embankment.
Stu and I came up with the following possiblilities;
A complete fake
Stones that were placed there when the structure was built and served some sort of pratical purpose.
A robbed cairn with part of the kerb still in situ
A fourposter
A horse shoe with central stone.
A circle – we found two different possible routes for the circle.

The site appears to be on a similar contour and looks across the valley to the Backstone Beck enclosure.

After spending the hottest day of the year traipsing all over the moor, I was started to become a little jaded. We had passed a path down to the Cow and Calf Pub and my mind was on the prize – a pint.
This was to be our last site of the day and to be honest with you I just wanted to get it done and head for the pub.
When we got to the quarry site I stopped for a rest but Stu assured me that it was just up a wee hill and then we were done, so once again I dragged my weary arse up the path. At the top of the path the first carving came into view and then as I looked around.......JESUS! I just wasn’t prepared for this.
During the day Stu and I had discussed the many possible interpretations of the various motifs on the rocks of the moor. Stu had even identified a possible map on one stone. But these are beyond interpretation and the only thing we could come up with was ...shamanic.
Stu had christened one of the carvings ‘the waterboatman’ which fits it perfectly.
If you only have time to visit one set of carvings make sure these are the one.

Some confusion here, compare and contrast. The first extract from Hampshire Treasures, the second from Pevsner/Lloyd “The Buildings of England”, “Hants and the IOW”

“Popham Beacons. Situated in arable field, on broad flat top of a prominent hill. The group consists of two bowl barrows, a saucer barrow, a disc barrow and two probable bell barrows.”

“This is a linear cemetery of five barrows. The S site is a fine bell barrow 7ft high and 130ft in diameter, N of it are first a bowl barrow 118ft in diameter and 6ft high and a saucer barrow partly cut through by the building of the former mound and by a second bell barrow. 40ft N is a further bowl barrow, 90ft in diameter and 6ft high.”

From a site visit the first impression is of only 3 barrows as the N barrow is hidden from view aproaching from the field gate. I think that the heights quoted are very much an under-estimation especially for the 1st and 3rd barrows, (Counting from the left ie S) and I would add possibly just about half as much again. Some trees on top which is a shame as they will surely be damaging the barrows. Middle (apparent) barrow lower.The N barrow, a smooth dome, clear of vegetation and shifted E of the line of the first three. Of the other two barrows mentioned, by squinting along the ground I think that I could just make out a vague, circular very shallow ditch between barrows 3 and 4.

A site visit by someone more conversant with barrow types than I am might clear up the confusion.
When I visited it was the begining of what proved to be the hottest day ever recorded in the UK, I will probably return when my brain will be less fried!

The “Three Barrows” mentioned in the original post are described as follows again by Pevsner/Lloyd.

“...The group consists of two disc barrows, a bell barrow and a twin barrow – two mounds surrounded by a common ditch. the disc barrows have been almost obliterated by ploughing and are difficult to detect. The bell barrow, 70ft in diameter and 9ft heigh, was excavated in 1920 and found to cover a central pit containing a cremated male burial. The twin barrow, which was excavated at the same time, proved to have been robbed”

Disabled: Parking at field gate leading straight to site on level grass.

We only got to this stone thanks to Stubob’s GPS so if you’re GPS-less you’ll have to keep your eyes open or go in winter when the grass is low.
It’s a great stone and is well suited to it’s name.

The stone appeared worn out today. Litter again (aargh!) at it’s base added to an overall unkempt feel. I am undecided if this is an individual stone, or the remains of what were once many, perhaps resurrected in the distant past after it’s companions had been moved or destroyed. However, I still believe this is man made, and it’s slim lines astonish upon closer inspection.

From the road it appears immense, but closer inspection reveals a positively sylph like stone, the super model of its age. The positioning in relation to the nearby Roman road intrigues. This must have been one of the most foreboding tracks in the empire, the location being one of desolation. What role this site played in the dynamics of this landscape can only be guessed at, but psychologically speaking, it’s appearance must have struck fear into visting soldiers, especially ones who had been reassured ‘the old ways’ were no more.

Walking the Roman road, the stone strikes an unusual juxtaposition with its surroundings, appearing to play optical illusions as you walk south to north, appearing like a slender spear point at first before rounding itself into an axe head upon approach. Intentional? I can only guess, but it certainly unsettled me and my companion.

I left, cursing again the visitors who are too idle to reclaim their rubbish, and deposited a bootful of recovered junk in nearby Sennybridge. A worthwhile, but unsettling site, with many answers still to give up.

Park at the side of the road (a layby waits) and the stone is no more than 20 yards ‘inland’, open for all. Beware of visiting in wet weather – very boggy.

“Occupies an extremely strong position at the N. end of a spur. Defences comprise a single rampart and ditch with traces of a counter-scarp bank in places. There is an additional scarp on the N. up to 2m in height where the site is weakest. Original entrance is in the ridge to the S.”
Hampshire Treasures.

No entry I’m afraid as it’s on a private estate. Visible for miles due in part to the massive Redwoods planted on the summit probably in Victorian times. A surprisingly rural and wooded site so close to Southampton and on the Greensand rather than the Chalk.

Disabled: No access.

An Iron Age settlement overlain by probable Roman earthworks but a Mesolithic quartzite pebble was found here showing that the site has had a very long history.

Unlike Chilworth this modest little square earthwork was not built upon when this suburb of Winchester was extended from the 1950s onwards.
Disabled: Parking at shops opposite. Pavement on three sides, very small and shallow ditch.

“Small univallate hillfort I.A. Bank and outer ditch with 2 possible entrances.”
Hampshire Treasures.
A curiosity or a disaster?
In this very affluent suburb of Southampton an Iron Age hill fort has been converted into a sort of roundabout of detached houses. When was this built upon? None of the houses look much earlier than the 1960s.
The original bank can only be seen in the E. quadrant where it is followed by the road.
The nearby Castle Hill earthwork to the W. was probably a cattle enclosure.
Disabled: Drive-by only for all.

“Bowl Barrow 32M by 1.8M high. 2 ring ditches indicating 2 sites of other barrows”
Hampshire Treasures (Edited)

H.T. says this is 320M across which stirred the imagination but logic prevailed and, as proved correct, the edited version is nearer the truth.
Pretty well preserved with only a tiny chunk taken out by an old (?) farm track on the N. The ring ditches are probably only visible as crop marks from the air.
In this area of gently rolling chalk it commands quite extensive views including the upper reaches of the Test valley.
Almost impossible to photograph as it seems to disappear from sight within a few meters and there are no trees to climb to get a better view.
No info as yet on the origin of the name but it would be great if one of the other barrows was called “Cadabra”!
Disabled: Parking (with permission) at farm but then quite a long hill to site on good grass and track.