Latest Fieldnotes

I have submitted this photo for folks who haven’t had the privilege to view this most beautiful of Scottish Mountains.It’s no wonder the wee folk live here.

It is easy to miss this one, I stopped in a gateway to check the map-looked around and there it was in the self same field. It has that evocative feel about it, like the Fortingal stones.

Visited 9th November 2002: We went to the wrong place first of all, which was a bit embarrassing (my fault). On our second attempt we made it to the right valley, and found the circle without too much trouble (I’ll spare you the details).

Eglwys Gwyddelod is a cairn circle, or so the experts seem to think. There’s no remaining in-fill that can be positively identified, so I’m not sure how it was decided that the site isn’t just a stone circle. It’s much bigger than the cairn circles I’m familiar with (e.g. Dolgamfa or Hirnant) which are kerb cairns. At Eglwys Gwyddelod the stones are approximately one cubic meter in size, which I grant you isn’t big on stone circle standards, but on local standards it’s quite large.

The circle sits on a natural shelf overlooking a small valley with beautiful views, particularly to the east. Through the valley runs the old mountain road (and I use the term loosely) between Pennal and Bryn Crug. This is the best way to get to the site on foot, but look out for the enormous water filled trenches caused by off-roaders. Also beware slippery rock on this track, as it’s had hundreds of years of polishing from a variety of feet & vehicles. Wellies aren’t a bad idea if it’s been raining.

Well worth a visit, but it’s a bit of a way from the road.

Take the Errol road running due east out of St Madoes, and keep an eye on the left. At the entrance to Pitcoag Farm there is a sign – Hawkstone Cottage. Park carefully and ask permission to view the stone at the cottage. This was readily granted when I called, and the gentleman also pointed out some carving on the east face of the stone – the word ‘Caledonia’ has been engraved at some point in the past, at least 70 years ago according to the cottage’s current owner.

Other than this there are no marks on the stone. This stone is connected with the Hays of Errol, and the Falcon Stone near Knapp.

The large and very beautiful hillfort Maes Knoll lies just south of Bristol, and besides being a very beautiful hillfort, it also figures as western terminus of West Wansdyke. On the NW side there’s a large earthwork, know today as ‘The Tump’, which blocks the access to the fort from the ridge. This may be the actual place where Wansyke starts/ends. The name ‘Maes’ comes from AS ‘merces’ meaning ‘border’. Visited 1996.

Website:
wansdyke21.org.uk/wansdyke/wanwesteast/wanwest1.htm

Literature:
Tratman, E.K. (1963): Maes Knoll Camp, Dundry, Somerset, 2: The Iron Age Defences and Wansdyke, in: Proceedings of the Spalæological Society, University of Bristol 10, pp 11-15

These stones are quite easy to find now and there is a car park,the reason is a statue has been erected in memory of Colonel Sir David Stirling dso,obe.founder of the SAS, just off the road. You can park and then walk across the field to the stones,the field had just been ploughed when I was there and by the time I got to the stones I was about a foot taller.

I parked in a field gate, by the house is a stile. I followed what seemed like a footpath, but it was a sheep track and went away from the stones, so I got my feet wet in the long grass. This place commands great views over miles of open country and over the Severn estuary. Peaceful atmosphere that is usually found in these places.

This site is just about discernable in it’s overgrown state, but not worth the effort to come here for it’s own sake – the view however is something else.

This is a beautiful place, and it was a pleasant sunny afternoon in November when the Megaraks visited. Sadly, there was evidence that some idiot had lit a small fire in the centre of the stones. Fools are everywhere, and unfortunately even remote spots like this suffer from them. However, we tidied up a bit, and the area remains a nice place to visit, as the photographs show.

Visited 9th November 2002: Croes Faen is very easy to find, and you can get good views of it from the road. The stone is exceptionally tall and slender, with two vertical edges on the south east side of it.

Croes Faen is almost certainly not prehistoric. It’s thought to be the remains of a Medieval cross, the head having been removed or knocked off at some point. Croes Faen means stone cross.

October 2002.

Visited here with my 2 oldest friends Norie of the photos and George. We didn’t tell George where we were going – but anyway.

Asked permission from the old couple at Crofthead Farm and went to the stones.

The higher up, north pair of standing stones sit quietly at the side of a stream. I read on the Ancient Scotland website that the tip of the tallest of these two stones may mirror a distant peak in the Lomond Hills on the Southern horizon above the Keillour Forest.

A hundred yards to the south, down the hill are two large boulder type stones which may be the remains of one stone which has been split.

The megalithic culture remained strong in this area – you can visit a giant pictish carved stone inside the church in the village – there is also a full sized replica of this stone which stands in the village.

We headed out towards Perth.

We parked and asked permission at Dalchilra farm.

The stones sit low on the Machany Water Valley downstream from the Dunruchan Hill stones.

The solitary north-western stone stands proud about 12 feet from the level of the field although it’s hard to judge it’s true size as it looks as if it may be propped up by the pile of stones which surround it. This looks as if it might be a re-erection job although it’s hard to say. If this is the original state of the monument then it’s pretty unusual.

The two other stones sit in a nearby field to the south-east.
The larger of the two stones has weathered cup markings on it’s east face near to the base of the stone.

About three miles up the single track road from Lothbeg on the A9 you see on the right a solitary standing stone. It doesn’t look far so you decide to stroll over to it. It seems to get further away from you ‘till you realise it is a greater distance than you had thought, the nearer you get the taller it grows and when you get there it has reached about 10 ft. The silence is wonderful there is nothing but the breeze and the midgies, I wanted to stay longer but a far off Malt was calling, so I left to find it.

I visited these en route to the Sherrifmuir Inn, for the annual march to commemorate the Battle of Sherrifmuir. These stones are also referred to as the Wallace Stones. Situated in Stirlingshire close by the site of the Battle of Sherrifmuir on 13th November 1715 (the Jacobite Rising), they are also traditionally held to be where William Wallace and Andrew de Moray rallied their troops prior to the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1296). Marked as 5 stones by the OS, I can only find 4 of them! They are aligned on a SW-NE axis, and about 100m apart. The third stone in the sequence heading SW is virtually buried, and the fourth is actually two stones very close together. There are what appear to be cupmarks on the inner face of the westerly stone of this pair.

Visited 9th November 2002: There’s no public access to this stone, but you can get a reasonable view of it by parking a 4x4 or van in the lane next to it and standing on the roof.

This is the point I got to before I resigned myself to trespass. A genteel sprint to the stone was much more productive, and I enjoyed tranquil seconds at the site before it was time to sprint back to the car. Is this normal?

Issues of precedence try to fog me but it is only subtext.

What came first? The kerbed cairn (as the marker would have us believe) or the circle itself to be filled in by a burial cairn, last resting place for some bronze age glitteriati, hunched double in a clay box.

My money is upon the latter, if a kerbed cairn then about half of the stones are missing seemingly alternately, that would nae happen. Why nick only half the good stuff.

Either way it matters not, what is obvious is that someone saw this place as a portal to elsewhere after life. Frankly its easy to see why.

Forming a clear marker on the node on a boundary on sacred land, the source of food and life of love and hope. overlooking the fertile waters of the sound. resounding off the wooded hill sanctuary across the way, warmth, security.

Our predeceesors must have valued what we do, there is an unbroken thread, I pootled off in my motor car.... connected, just as lost.

Steg little

furry dan has it,

there is just too much to get your heed about here. good fun to try though.

all that is said is true , this place was revered ,maybe to fault by those who farmed here.

very wet and lost in the concentrics. Rain sluices down , twas spooky, dark.

for what its worth, my favourite one is the smallish boulder circle, that has , 12 stones of six men & six ladies. perfect balance and and off centre alignement , just past the last tall circle ( with the three big feather reds. weather beds), tis on the right with a smaller flooded ( rain permitting) circle to the left.

according to the upright authority of the bill boards that sought to aggregate and categorise the unmeasurable... it was circle number 3 or 4 or was it 1 , 2 5,or 6. I canna remember.

I condemned the arbitrary linear classification then hopelessly failed to understand what it really all meant on its own terms,

Truth is we impose our own patterns on the invisible and in doing so find usable meaning.

Strange attractor , bamboozles dinsosaur on the isle of witches

yesterday...

Wow, this was awesome. where the mountains meet the sea on the edge of a fertile landscape . seemingly a huge priaptic monolith..... but is it?

Not a sausage.

Pop up it’s flaccid neighbour and you have a welcome lic.hen covered minge. look inland and track through the uteric glen up to the head or ...

Turn about and look out and through & over to kintyre, across the sound .to see the near earth fold down into a roaring peat filled burn , noise overwhelming.dark brown, torrent fed.

Tah, who knows perhaps it was a fish worship monument , now half of the salmon tail nosedived into the earth by our hairy/hungry/hardy/happy ancestors.

Sympathetic magic calling the salmon to the burn. The sea and all its bounty fed from the hill, called home by a compelling granite whisper.

Happy steg monster in the pouring rain wondering at the magic of it all. To much overlay , blown away.

yesterday on the isle of witches

Visited 26th July 2002: I’m repeating myself a bit here (see Countless Stones) but parking for Kit’s Coty and Countless Stones is extremely poor.

The safest parking space we found was at the end of the weird dual carriageway (TQ74456055). Here it is on Multimap:

uk.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?grid=TQ74456055&scale=25,000

This might be the same place that ‘juamei’ is describing below. Take a flourecent vest with you, especailly if you go on to visit Countless Stones!

Visited 26th July 2002: Parking and access to Countless Stones and Kit’s Coty is appalling because the traffic on the small roads between them is fast and there’s no footpath. The safest parking space we found was at the end of the weird dual carriageway (TQ74456055). Here it is on Multimap:

uk.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?grid=TQ74456055&scale=25,000

Getting to Kit’s Coty on foot from here was relatively easy, but walking to Countless Stones from the same spot was a bit more hair raising. We had our three year old son William with us, which made it more scary.

There’s a ‘demi-lay-by’ right next to the entrance to Countless Stones, but you can’t really park there for long without feeling like you’re about to get shunted by a passing lorry. On the way back I went and got the car and collected Lou and Will from here (like some sort of SAS hostage extraction).

The stones themselves are well worth a visit, despite the nearby pillons and the dodgy road. They aren’t in a cage or covered in chalk graffiti like Kit’s Coty, so I got the impression that they have fewer visitors. Perhaps the road is actually protecting them!

Park near the bridge between Stony Stratford and Old Stratford.
From the bridge follow the river down stream, that’s right if you are facing Old Stratford.
Follow the river for about 70 yards and you will see it right next to the path, there is another smaller stone next to it.
Stones of this size 4 ft x 3ft are rare in these parts.
We need some one over to check this out.
We could do with a second opinion.

Hmmm not sure about this one, no disrespect, but I reckon Lacra gets a bit of a raw deal. (Though I do agree that good weather helps.)

Yes, it’s very ruinous & very difficult to find each monument, but the setting & the impression of what it would have been like in its day are pretty special.

Check out the links below, originally posted on the message board by baza. (Thanks baza!)

I walked up here a few years ago in the wind and rain, climbed on top of the cairn and dropped my lovely camera which broke. No photos, no camera. I haven’t been up there since. Thanks for the pics, Nick.

One of the Pipers has a ordnance survey mark carved into it and there is also a cross carved on one, was this to get rid of the pagan forces?

I visited yesterday, a fine bright clear November afternoon. Easy access, there’s a layby right beside the site, though the barbed wire fence is a bit awkward! An interesting little place.