Latest Fieldnotes

This is curiously wonderful and though I had seen it before in 1998, I couldn’t wait to see it again.

It has its own little neatly-tended lawn tucked away in its own plot between some very white, middle class holiday chalets. And yet, as soon as you see it, you realise you have entered fairyland, and the encroaching chalets cease to matter.

Enchanting, bewitching and tear-jerkingly cute, this little dolmen stands like a magic mushroom close to the Nevern river estuary, (from perhaps where the bluestones of Stonehenge were once floated down?) and points at the sacred mountain Mynydd Carningli.

I sat and looked and made a rather crappy sketch of it.

Go there. You’ll love it.

What a fine chap Kammer is! About 2kms from Parc-y-Meirw, at a crossroads on the edge of nowhere, just under the rocky outcrop of a high mountain, his car screeched to halt in front of us and he ran out to tell me: “There’s a cairn over there!” Well, I couldn’t see it, but we got out to look anyway.

Indeed, I didn’t see it until he was standing in it. It turned out to be this -Glyn Gath- a small ring cairn, about six to eight metres wide, camoflagued by lowgrowing gorse and heathers, with a ring-effect up to 3 feet tall in places. Not especially worth going out of your way for, (unless you’re really into ruinous ring cairns), but nevertheless certainly worth a shufti if you’re in the immediate vicinity.

Well-spotted Kammer!

This lovely stone row is cunningly disguised as a hedge or field boundary, and in May is replendant with gorse, bluebells, red campion, kek, young green bracken fronds, foxgloves, white campion and buttercups. Really exceptionally pretty.

Visited here with my sprogs and the lovely Kammer and his family.

Scrambling up the steep rocky hedgerow at the top of the field you could clearly see the the stone row pointed at the promentary at Fishguard off in the distance about 5kms away, where a ferry to Ireland was moored up. My son and I walked down the length of the row and counted 4 standing stones, one used as a gatepost and 3, perhaps 4 fallen ones in the verdant undergrowth. But what a view! You could even see over to St Davids, way out to the west. The stone row seems to follow an ancient track, the lane is very sunken, implying great age.

Go to the viewpoint at SN010384 up the hill from Dinas Cross and you’ll see this standing about 9 feet high in a field behind some cottages on the main road. The view from up here is utterly wonderful. I sat on a bench dedicated to the memory of ‘Big’ Glyn Somebody-or-other. The inscription read: ‘If you knew him you were lucky.’ I didn’t know him, but I knew I liked this view, as must he have done. I felt lucky.

This is another site from Barnatts book, and another ring or robbed cairn.
Although it’s buried under thick dead bracken.......I’d go for a robbed cairn, it’s not as tho’ I’m an expert or owt.

This is located on the second ridge that crosses the moor. A large bracken covered lump. Easy to spot on the ridge, when the brackens died down.
Not much to see

A small ring cairn 11m in diameter. Grass covered rubble bank. It has a small stone on the bank in the east, it lays flat in the bank, if it did ever stand it would be under 50cm. Barnatt says it might be a kerbstone or a standing stone.

It’s situated in a grass clearing in amongst the bracken. On the first low ridge north of the main track across the moor.
Excellent views as with all the Beely sites.

Another curious outcropping of the source stones for Stonehenge and Avebury. This is slightly easier to get to compared withThe Mother’s Jam and The Greywethers as it lies in the middle of the little village. It’s a NT property and there is a small explanatory notice at the entrance.
Disabled: Parking on Road, level access to gate, most can be seen from Rd.

Visited 24th May 2003: While Lou and Alfie dozed in the car, the rest of us hung out at Carreg Coetan. Jane sketched the chamber from the corner of it’s little enclosure, her daughter chilled out and sent some text messages, I took photos and the boys ran around making noise.

We were there for a while (at least, longer than my last visit) and it was good to have the time to explore. The chamber isn’t especially complex, but watching it from different angles gave me some new perspective on the place. Mynydd Carningli is a big focus for sites in this region, and Carreg Coetan is no exception, orientated towards this sacred mountain rather than the sea.

Returned here at Easter and guess what – it was raining again!! Still, adds to the atmosphere, I guess...

I was lucky enought to come across a course at Lancaster University that ran for 2 days in April – Neolithic Stones and Circles – and a field trip to Bleasdale was how we spent the Friday afternoon. It was interesting to revisit the site with an archaelogist in tow.

I would encourage anyone interested to contact the Dept of Continuing Education at Lancaster University – the course usually runs every year and I found it stimulating and interesting. You will get into arguments with peo-ple over the whys and wherefores of it all but it was a good fun couple of days.

Found this place by accident after a visit to Carn Euny in September 2001. We went on a bit of a scenic route home, and spotted the “Holy Well” sign – thought it was “Holy Well Farm” or something! Looks like a garden gate to me... Still – we took the chance, and I am so glad we did! This is the most peaceful place I have ever been to. Every time I visit this place (about 5 times now), there is never anyone else around! It’s a place of contemplation and reflection... Sitting on the steps inside the well, staring into the water, it’s easy to lose track of time... I’m sure I read here that radiation levels are about 200% above normal, which could account for the luminous moss and the feeling of well being! I had a little pray, tied me cloutie, and went away a happy man. Again.

Visited 24th May 2003: We were on our way to the chippy in Dinas Cross (having just left Parc-y-Meirw) when I spotted the cairn from the car. Our convoy ground to a halt, and Jane, William and I went to take a closer look. Glyn Gath is very close to the road, but well hidden under heather and gorse, so it’s a bit tricky to spot (like one of those Magic Eye things). Once you’re up next to it, it’s quite impressive. The ring is well defined, especially on the south west side.

Visited 24th May 2003: This is the first site we visited with Jane and her clan. All seven of us clambered into the field, and sat at the top looking down the row towards Fishguard. The weather was (unexpectedly) great, and it all looked vibrant with the gorse in flower and the stupidly lush pasture.

There are definitely stones hidden in the hedge bank that were once part of the row, but only a couple of likely contenders are visible. The biggest recumbent stone is visible from the lane, and it’s truly whopping. It’s a shame that you can’t really walk around the stones, and get the over-all picture of what the row might have originally looked like.

Original entry: This is incorrectly marked on the OS map as the ‘Refuge Stone’, which in fact is some 2/3 km away. It is a small piece of sandstone, around 3 feet tall and perhaps 2 feet wide at the base, standing in a field a couple of hundred metres in from the road. There are no markings of any type discernible.

On further investigation, this may indeed be one of the refuge stones marking the preceptory of Torphichen. Canmore states:

“This quadrilateral upright boulder stands on the summit of a low flat-topped ridge. Of hard red grit, it is c. 4’ high, 2’ 8” x 2’ wide at bottom, and 3’ 5” wide at top. The ONB notes that the outline of a Maltese cross, almost obliterated, may be seen on the N face of the stone, when viewed from a few yards away. This is one of the stones marking the area of the sanctuary associated with Torphichen Preceptory RCAHMS 1929, visited 1923”

I visited this stone today on the way back from a trip round West Lothian. This is a large block of sandstone, seven feet tall and approximately 3 feet wide, and runnelled in a fashion very reminiscent of the Tuilyies main stone only a few miles away. The field it stands in is usually home to some horses, so ask at the stables here before going into the field. The lady there told me they will soon be erecting a fence around it to stop the horses rubbing on it, at the behest of Historic Scotland.

Visited 20th April and 24th May 2003: On these two subsequent ‘visits’ to the stone I viewed it from afar. The closest satisfactory view I’ve managed to get of the stone, without wandering into the field uninvited, is from the gate next to Mercury Garage (on the A478). The second view, is much more spectacular, but not so close up, from the viewing point to the south of Dinas Cross.

Visited 20th April: Bedd Morris is situated right next to the road between Newport and Pontfaen. It’s antiquity is in doubt because there are no records of it before the 19th Century. There are two inscriptions on the stone indicating that it was used as a Parish boundary marker (between the parishes of Llanychlwyddog and Newport), and opinion is divided as to whether the stone predates this use or not.

There’s a small car park right next to the stone, and a cattle grid. The stone is over 2 metres tall, so you really can’t miss it. It strikes me that this would be a good place to park and walk to Carningli from, as the gradient isn’t too steep approaching from the west.

Visited 20th April: On our second pass we identified a place to park near Cerrig y Gof. The road (the A487) runs adjacent to the field where the burial chamber stands, but you can barely see the chamber as you drive past because of the hedgerow [not what Jane says, but I’m sticking to my story]. It’s tricky to park nearby (and cross the road) there’s quite a lot of traffic, and the visibility in either direction is poor. I’d recommend you look out for the entrance to Oakfield Lodge and/or a brown sign with Taith Preseli Tour on it, and park on the verge as close to these as possible (both of these signs are on the south side of the road).

Cerrig y Gof was originally covered by a circular mound, but all that remains are five chambers, all facing outwards. None of the chambers have stones covering their entrances, and all but one have identifiable cap stones. The site is thought to be either a transitional type of tomb built in the early Bronze Age, or a special creation designed specifically for burials from five separate groups. Apparently it compares to some tombs on the west coast of Scotland (not sure which), but the likeness is not exact.

The stones are enigmatic, and do look like big cists. One of the fallen capstones looks like a dolmen, but I think this is purely coincidence. I’d like to go back and spend some more time taking it all in, but on this visit we were pressed for time. I only realised after we’d left that I’d totally failed to look for the fallen standing stone that lies in the same field.

Myself and my girlfriend visited this site in the summer of 2001. The visitors centre was very busy and we were told there was a limited number of trips to Newgrange. Luckily we managed to get on the last-but-one bus out to the tomb. The lesson is go early especially if you want to see the other sites in the valley. It is sad that this place has been so commercialised but it is inevitable with the level of interest.

They had rigged a spotlight up to simulate the sun shining through the lintel above the doorframe which was cool, this was accompanied by a knowledgeable commentary by the guide. I can’t remember if there was a ban on taking photos inside, I certainly took some pictures (sneakily mibbe). My only gripe is that the time alloted to see inside the tomb and take pictures of the artwork is only _just_ enough if you are a very quick worker. Don’t expect any time to take in the ‘vibes’. Still, it is worth a visit. The carvings are absolutely stunning (as you can see from the photos here) and the tomb itself is a must-see.

I’m not normally one for churches (I tend to burst into flames!), but I couldn’t pass this one up.

Therer’s a delightful old wooden ‘turn’-stile into the field containing the church, which is contained in the middle of a field.

As juamei says, there’s a trapdoor to the right inside the church proper, and a sarsen can be seen here. There’s what looks like a drill hole, at least 6 inches deep into the stone, and the end nearest the door looks as if it’s been sheared at some point – very flat and angular. Sadly, the other trapdoor cannot be opened due to staging being constructed over it – I’ll try writing to the church conservation people to find out why.

It was a very peaceful and cool place to rest on a warm day though. And there are information leaflets available about the church (which don’t mention the sarsens at all).

Thanks to a friendly local, we had little difficulty in locating the ‘car park’, and the walk up the hill didn’t seem that far either.

First view is amazing as you come to the stile and realise it’s just there in front of you!

I had remembered my torch, and crawled inside, but found the external light was sufficient to see what I was doing. But, being a wuss in confined spaces, I didn’t go all the way in – just past the first side chambers was far enough for me to explore.

I tried a couple of basic chants to test the acoustics before I left, but found that the sound was just absorbed by the stones (the ‘eggbox’ effect).

Sitting outside and facing the entrance I noticed that the hills behind the barrow seem to surround and ‘cuddle’ the barrow itself. Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just my imagination? I was reticent to leave, but with Mikki waiting down below, I reluctantly returned to the car.

Approaching from the East, Lanhill Farm is on the left. Shortly after this, there is a pull in to a gate for a field, with a footpath sign present. I managed to pull off the road, out of harm’s way here.

Instead of doing the intelligent thing and taking the footpath, I walked along the road until I saw the barrow through the trees, then navigated the knee high nettles and jumped over the fence.

The barrow was an absolute delight, covered in buttercups. No livestock in sight. It certainly pays to circumnavigate such things as I wouldn’t have known about the chamber on the southern side if I hadn’t. Taking some photos, I had the fright of my life when I nearly stepped on a pheasant resting in the long grass. It took off like a rocket as I stepped backwards, framing a shot.

Looking in the chamber, some remedial work has obviously been carried out, as iron girders are holding parts of the roof in place.

A nice barrow, in a pleasant setting, on a glorious day.

Went back to Old Bewick to find the hogback... Luckily Jan&Gus had come all the way from Holland to show me the way:-)
It it hard to find as it is sunk below the normal ground level.
.o0O0o.

25-5-03. Visited as part of a group (RAM03), with permission from the farmer.
There are several panels of art here, some very worn, but some very deep.
Lovely feel to this site, set in a wood which today had lots of bluebells. Later in the year the panels may be hard to find through the ferns.
.o0O0o.

Visited 20th April: Easy to spot, right next to the A478(T) just to the west of Dinas Cross, Ty Meini (or the Lady Stone as she’s sometimes called) stands behind bars to the north of the road. Parking is a bit tricky, but you can just about get away with putting two wheels on the verge.

It’s good that the stone isn’t obscured by hedgerow, but why such strange school yard railings? Wouldn’t a nice wooden fence have done the trick? Seeing the stone from one angle is exasperating, and you can’t touch it. Still, well worth stopping for if you’re in the area, and easier to see than Parc Cerrig Hirion.

St Catherine’s Hill Fort – 24.5.2003

There were other sites I could have stopped at on the way down to the New Forest but with limited time this proved a decent bet, and probably more interesting for my passenger that an obscure barrow in the middle of a farm field.

The walk up from the car park (by the old railway bridge at 484280) is pretty harsh, but short, and the main path brings you straight into one of the most impressive parts of the ramparts.

A short walk on and you reach the north-east entrance, which leads towards the mizmaze. The east sides gives great views across Winchester. Fortunately the roar from the M3 isn’t that bad because most of it is in a cutting; and anyway, most people visiting the hill fort have probably just used the same M-way to get here so car drivers cannot complain that much. As you walk across the centre of the fort towards the south you slowly drop, which gave me the impression that the ramparts might not be very impressive on the south side, but they are and use the natural steepness of the hill. Walking down the wooden footpath and right, along the stream, brings you back to the car park.