Latest Fieldnotes

Very hard to describe this, it’s a circular, curbed site with a wall within, containing cists, with mounds inside and surrounding. I think it has been restored, but only marked on the OS map as a cairn, it’s much more.

The hillfort and carved stones of Old Bewick are not too far away and the mother hill visible as always.

The ruined farmstead nearby is also interesting (well it was for me), as are the rocky outcrops beside, which have been partly walled for shelters. You can see how people wanted to live up here. But you can also understand how it fell into ruin! Tried to work out when it was last lived in, perhaps early 20th century. Looks like it’s used a lot by campers, and is on a mapped cycle route.

A lovely day although very overcast. Definitely one to come back to when sunnier.

.o0O0o.

This circular enclosure lays right next to the Roman road Batham Gate.
Over the years the enclosure was thought to be a Roman camp of some kind, until the road was found to built over and around the section of the enclosure it crosses over.
Nowadays it’s thought to be a stock enclosure dating to the Bronze or Iron Age.
A modern drystone wall cuts the site in half.

Access is easy as it’s by the side of the road, parking on the lane ain’t.

Muddy is really just an understatement. It was also freezing cold. Mrs IronMan decided to stay snug in the car with the heating on while I tramped out across the fields to find the site. A few minutes of picking my way through the least muddy parts of the track were swiftly cast aside as I shouted out an almighty “F*CK THIS” and waded through the thick ankle-deep sludge.

The Hellstone is in quite a location, and from here it was easy to pick out the barrows in the surrounding landscape. There seems to be some concern over the accuracy of the reconstruction of this site, but my main problem was with the muddy duck pond in front of the tomb!

I hung around for a while, till the sun began to set, then made my way back through the sludge.

I was last here a few years ago, on a bit of a random day out, we just stumbled across the place. A few weeks later I read about Brean Down in Ronald Hutton’s excellent ‘Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles’. In the book the focus is mainly on the Romano-British temple that once stood here, but very close by is a Bronze Age barrow, and there may well have been more. The temple fell into ruin and was built over with a christian shrine. This too has now completely gone. So in terms of sacred sites, there isn’t a lot to see. However in terms of the sacred landscape this place is completely awe inspiring – I can’t think of many places I have visited which are quite so elemental. You really do feel on top of the world gazing over the edge. The vastness of the sea stretches out before you, and behind the flat marshy plains of the Somerset levels with Brent Knoll clearly visible in the distance, itself the home to an Iron Age fort.

As we left Brean Down the wind howled and a storm was starting to blow in from way out at sea. This is a truly heathen place.

Information taken from “Prehistoric Sites of Breconshire”, Monuments in the Landscape, vol 9. Children/Nash, Logaston Pr, 2001

Precise location: unknown, destroyed.

“...George Clinch remarks in 1854 that about 250 yards north-east of a medieval enclosure within St Margaret’s Park Wood is a flat, horizontal slab of limestone like the upright of a cromlech”

capstone 9m x 3m, in places more than 1.8m thick

1804 “...stone slab stood wholly free from the ground on certain upright stones, there is still at the west end of the slab, but at a slight distance from it, an upright stone, flat at the top, which may have originally been one of those on which it was supported. It seems probable that these may be the remains of a cromlech”.

Grid reference is given for a lime stone slab found on a recent visit, which authors believe may once have been part of the capstone. May represent the south-eastern limit of the Black Mountains Group.

Eyam Moor II lays right next to the footpath but is probably the hardest circle to find on the moor. Despite its closeness to the path it was only rediscovered in the 1980’s.
The four remaining uprights are near enough totally covered in bilberry and none are above 30cm. It is a small circle approx. 8x8m, and there is a small dug out cairn in the centre of the circle.

Visited 11th January 2003: At Meini Gwyn are three quartz standing stones, two relatively close to each and one further off in the garden of a nearby cottage. Of the three stones, two are fallen, the third (in the middle) is probably in it’s original position.

The two stones to the east are easy to see from the road (the fence is so poor that you could slip underneath it without any trouble...if you wanted to that is). To the east of the furthest stone are the (probable) remains of a cairn and a small tumulus, but you have to squint really hard to make them out.

The stone in the garden is only just visible from the road. I asked at the cottage to take a closer look, and the man who lives there was happy for me to go in and take a photo. He was keen that I shouldn’t be in the garden at the same time as his dog, but I never saw the beast, so I can only guess at how big it was (6ft tall with fangs etc). The stone has been planted around, and made into rather a fetching garden feature.

Thanks to Rhiannon for drawing this site to my attention in the first place.

....if you can afford time from your busy schedule,
Park in the RSPB car park on the left then cross the road to a stile signed to the Hut Circles.
There is plenty to look at in the main settlement but a wonder up the dirt track brings you to the huts in the image above, once seen from the right of the track there’s a bit of a tricky climb down to them via a barely visable (and at the the time) overgrown footpath.

I always approach Eyam Moor III from the Leam side of the Moor. There is a space on the verge, near Leam & the footpath that takes you up onto the moor. (SK232794). When you reach the drystone wall, look left, the circle is near the corner of the wall 200m away.
The 4 upright stones are covered with bilberry and there are a further 2 laying in the heather. In the centre is a ruined oval cairn, with a large trench cut into it.

On my first journey here the farmer was totally ignorant of this chamber in his back garden pointing us down the road instead.

ATTENTION: The gridposition -and therefore the map too- is not correct and should have read: NU01353541, the main grid for various rock art locations along of what is left of the ridge in and outside the plantation.
The site lies 1 km NNE of Wrangham Farm, N of Doddington Moor and is accesible off the minor road that links the Devil’s Causeway with the A611. Ask farmer David Grey of Wrangham Farm for permission to walk his land.

3rd February 2003

We had quite a time trying to find this stone, mainly because we were looking for a “Standing” Stone – and this is a very “Horizontal” Stone, the snow on the ground and blowing in to our faces didn’t help either and stopped us taking photos.

The stone lays in a meadow close to the River Clun (it’s quite close to the road but there is no public access). It is about 3Metres long and 1.5 – 2 Metres wide (difficult to tell the other dimension as most of the it is below ground) sadly it is broken in to a number of peices, it’s still impressive though – very large for this area.

The longbarrow is around 35m in length and is situated in a field to the east of Minninglow. The actual barrow is rather unimpressive and it struggles to get noticed above the long grass.
As with Minninglow it lies on private land.

The road from Ystumtuen to Bwa-Drain farm is gated, so by car it’s easier to approach from the north. Don’t be put off by the sign saying the road is private. I’ve checked with Ceredigion County Council, and this isn’t the case. You can park near the farm, although there’s not much space (make sure you leave enough room for farm traffic to get through).

The footpath that runs past the hillfort starts just to the west of the farm. You cross a strange little wooden bridge over the stream before going through a gate and along the edge of the field. At the corner of the field you’re supposed to stay to the north of the trees and keep to the west of the ruined farm house (called Pen-castell), but it’s well worth taking a peek at the ruin. It’s only a Nineteenth Century building, but its state of decay is fascinating (obviously, don’t go inside). After this you pass over a stile and you’re in the same field as the fort. The footpath goes to the east of the fort, so at this stage you have to deviate from it. You can’t miss the earthen banks of the fort, and there’s a gap in the defences orientated in your direction.

The views from the fort are spectacular, especially looking west down the Rheidol valley. You can see the sea, and Aberystwyth, without much difficulty. You can also make out Pendinas with the chimney-like monument on top of it. Look out for steam trains in the valley below you in the summer.

I have walked around this area for about 6 years and must have passed within 200 metres of this stone over 100 times but it wasn’t until just before the winter solstice that I saw it. It was on a gloriously bright sunday afternoon, I was sitting on the top of a hill testing out my new pair of binoculars when I saw something glinting in the sun which looked like the top of a stone, I had to check it out and when I did I was stunned – I’d found a standing stone. I’ve no idea of its age but the stone doesn’t appear to be of a local type, it’s pretty heavily weathered and looks like it’s been there for a long while.

The pictures say it all really, it stands in an amazing position with views of many other sites, and it’s 2.5 – 3 Metres tall and is around 350 – 450mm square at the base.

[visited about 29/1/03] Mud mud glorious mud. I foolishly thought that a London park would be non-muddy in January and my trainers paid for it here. This is a large tree covered mound with a kinda obvious ditch around the outside. As has been said it was once used as a tea-house and I found some pretty remains of a plate at the top.
The views from here are hidden slightly by the college nearby, but I was able to see the London Eye, about 10 miles to the North which was nice. I imagine the views when the mound was built were to the horizon in all directions, or at least to the hills in the distance to the south and west, which are 15 odd miles away. Oh and it looks damn like a classic round barrow to me!

And finally, I picked up a carrier bags worth of rubbish from this and could have had 2 or 3 more. Someone needs to teach the local kids to take their Hooch bottles away with them...

[visited 4/2/03] This being the closest ‘standing stone’ to my house, I thought I’d better go give it a look. It sits on top of a modern (well 19th century I think) stone plinth, surrounded by attractive blue railings. Very easy to find, sitting in the grounds of Kingston Guildhall, ignored by all who walk past. The stone itself is fairly large (compared to The London Stone) and could well have been part of a circle or more likely have been a markstone.
I presume it originally had a similar function to the now disapeared stone at the top of Brixton Hill, which was the meeting place of the local Hundred.
Quite a nice little visit if you are in the area though as per with London sites, not really worth travelling for. (I can imagine the cries from peeved family members, “You came all that way to see this???“)

A Perfect View

Just once,
I saw a view that was truly perfect.
Indescribably so.
And yet,
Amidst that choking beauty, I was sad,
For there are no words for me to tell of it.
And yet,
So what! Just go and look on top of Cherhill Down!

The book states that this is in the middle of a housing estate, and so it proved to be. There were a couple of burnt out motor vehicles and so much urban rubbish that archeaologists of the future will truly have a ‘field day’ here...

The source of the Lea is trapped in a concrete and steelwork cage, as mentioned by Julian. It’s very difficult to make out the layout of the bank itself from the lea-side. The course of the bank is more obvious from the road, but looks just like the soundproofing embankments so loved of modern planners. The only difference between the bank and its modern equivalent is that there are no houses behind it.

Wind. Lots of it. The Downs in February are cold. The gliders were out in force, swooping overhead like circling hawks. The wind was biting, taking my breath away, yet standing among the barrows, all seemed quiet.

Magnificent views to the north, and to the west is a slightly higher ridge. If the landscape were unchanged, I can’t help feeling that the higher ridge would have provided a better site/sight for the barrows, being in view of Ivinghoe Beacon across the valley.

Despite the signs exhorting no damage, the barrows all look as though bikers have been using them for jumps, each barrow having a track right across its top.

This is one of those sites you know you shouldn’t miss, its just a pure joy to be here.
Merlin would have definately stopped by here for tea though I doubt he would have been impressed by modern building techniques.

The site itself is a gem, even with the neighbours and without the stones. Being so close to the village and essentially the church my mind wonders over the history of this place and climbing up on the bank behind the site gives views to hills beyond which makes the neighbouring plots seem (a little) less invading.

Whilst driving towards Luxulyan from Lanivet this huge arse appeared over the hedge. After nearly crashing the car I stopped in a layby and stared in wonder......surely this was a place of worship?

This site has fascinated me for years; it is a bell barrow constructed around 1500bc probably with a central cinerery burial and perhaps side burials of later date. It is very clear on the skyline from Blackrod, but i do not know how prominent it is from the Chorley direction or if it is visible at all. If you know let me know.

This stone lies in fields adjacent to the road into Glen Prosen, by Cortachy. Park at the Scottish Woodlands cottage and follow the track up beside the wood. When you reach the top of the slope, look west and you will see the stone about a quarter of a mile away in the distance. It was an interesting stravaig today, as the snow was fairly deep. Tracks of hare and pheasant were clearly visible in places. There is one fence to negotiate.

The stone stands nearly 6 feet tall, with no discernible markings on it. Veins of quartz are visible.