Latest Fieldnotes

Lovely walk up to the Twelve Apostles. Plenty of mud and puddles, path repairs on the way up meant we had to take several boggy diversions, then when the circle was reached the land immediately was drier and more forgiving. The darkness descended while we were up at the circle. I took a few snaps, and stayed long enough to get a feel for the atmosphere of the place. The circle is very fragile, some of the stones sit on the surface of the soggy moorland, propped up by smaller stones. They must get blown over by the wind and propped back up all the time.
The walk back was interesting, my torch wouldn’t work, so we found our way down with the little remaining light and using our feet to feel the way.

We arrived at the farm car park, after just reading Julian’s note about the barking dogs. Sure enough stood waiting in the car park, unchained, was one of these dogs! We sat in the car for a while, the dog strolled over and plonked itself outside my door, then just stared. Images of savaged ankles ran through my paranoid brain. Eventually my mate braved it and got out of the car, to which the dog rolled over – it only wanted to be petted! So much for the barking guard dogs! Next the dog proceeded to lead us round the site – first the henge and circle, waiting on the burial mound as we took it all in, then ran over the field to Gib Hill, again waiting while we took it in. Once we were done it was off into a nearby field and just ran round and round as we drove off. And it didn’t even expect any payment.
My advice for future visitors: Take some dog biscuits!

O yeah, and the site is amazing!

Visited here in 2000 when a friend was working at nearby Roddenlaw. I’m sure I’d seen this stone before that day – from the train maybe??

Totally destroyed, only a grass covered long depression remains.

this is my favorite spot in England; something about the surrounding countryside viewed from the top of White Horse Hill; the trees and meadows take on a timeless quality. Sounds silly but I feel a part of something there. Looking down towards Long Compton on a clear day...magic. I love the walk along the Ridgeway to Waylands’ Smithy too.

I recently got the white horse tattooed on my back. :)

there will be an interesting event there at summer solstice and for a few days afterwards: Terry Pratchett’s Lords and Ladies will be performed in the stones. It will be nice to have a play there since last year’s production of Cymbeline with Mark Rylance (ooh la la) was cancelled due to foot and mouth and other problems...

I have not been to the Rollrights (or England) since Samhain 2000 and am looking forward to coming this summer for the ASLaN conference and other events...

Sunkenkirk is tucked away on a dirt track off a quiet country lane. The surrounding landscape gives the circle a protected, private feel. The nearest, small hill – Knott Hill – dominates the view to the SE. To the North & West the craggy ridge of Swinside Fell cuts across the skyline. On a clear day (?!) the distant lakeland mountains peer over the low lying fells to the North East. This circle feels quite wild. The location, out of the way of the Lakeland tourist trail, the lack of signage (I think there’s only one signpost) and the fact you have to walk to it, albeit not so far, mean there’s a good chance of being left alone here.

Definitely not for the hygiene-obsessives amongst us.
An early start and an 80 mile drive saw me’n’Bony at Drumtroddan Farm by 10.30. The farmer lady gave us a fine welcome and directed us behind the farmhouse to the fenced cup and ring stones.
‘Muddy’ is an understatement, the field with the carved stones held only a horse, which stared at us nonchalantly. No mental cows anywhere.
An unfeasibly mild and windless, though colourlessly grey January day meant it was actually a warm walk across the field.
The circles and cups are indeed impressive and the visitor is rewarded with patient inspection of the lichen-covered stones. In the shadowless light we encountered, it was actually quite difficult to make out the shallower patterns – in fact I’m sure there WERE some we missed; photography was pointless because of this. Superb stuff though.
The third group behind the dry-stane wall are very easy to reach thanks to the protruding stones set as steps to aid the clamber.

And on to the standing stones... what a trip they are. Across a couple of fields from the carved stones and visible almost from the farmhouse, they CAN be reached more easily from the road if when travelling south past the farm entrance, you drive round the bend and take the first left. There are no signs until you have actually passed the stones – although they are clearly visible to the left of the road. However you have to be a wuss to drive round – we almost did but decided to brave the mud – the journey is half the fun n’est-ce pas?
These stones are monsters and are in such an exposed and elevated position that makes them seem even larger. The one with the thin base looks like a dagger driven deep into the very flesh of the earth, the other standing stone is almost triangular in cross section looking about to throw itself skywards.
A magical place worthy of your diligence. (Who wants to make these places easy to get to?)

Described in the 18th century as “the Silbury of the North”. This beautiful mother hill sits in the middle of Moorsholm moor a few hundred yards away from the busy A171. As its name suggests the hill was dedicated to Freya and was a focal point for ancient man. The hill is surrounded by groups of barrows and assorted earthworks. The summit bears the scars of two hundred years of treasure hunters seeking freyas hoard.
I can remember a few years ago when a unknown goup erected a number of brightly coloured flags on the summit, i’m sure the mother would approve.

Lacra A. Well this is all we could find here today. Or should I say this was all we could be bothered finding. It rained like I’ve not seen in a long time. It’s probably just the weather but I find this site depressing. On a good day the view out to sea, and of Black Combe would make this short walk worthwhile, but not on a day like this.
Lacra D is just a bit further on, after Lacra A – according to Burl this is ‘questionable’, and I’d go along with that!!
Lacra B is by all acounts the one to see, I’ve seen some shots and it probably is worth the visit. On a sunny day. A VERY sunny day. Mmmm summer...

Black Combe. People just seem to like saying the name of this hill. It’s domination of the coastal landscape round here is incredible.
It can be seen from very far away – on a clear day, along the coast of Lancashire it’s distinctive shape heralds the start of the Lakeland high ground. From atop the surrounding mountain landscape also, Black Combe is easily made out, part of the last high ground before the Irish Sea. Coniston Old Man has a particularly good view out to Black Combe, and from here you can appreciate how the surrounding landscape fits together.

Black Combe is a very special place.

It was a surprisingly calm and mild Sunday morning when we arrived – so mild, in fact, that we were eaten alive by swarms of bloodthirsty midges – in January!
Situated just off the road, (complete with a small car park – minimum walking effort required) Torhousekie is an impressive place. The only sounds are cattle, sheep and the occasional car, so it has a certain ‘desolate ambience’ to it. There are also 3 more stones on the other site of the road worth checking out. Well worth a visit – just be sure to pack some insect repellent!

View the location with multimap, click on ‘aeriel photo’. Just to the right of the red circle you’ll see a brown shape of heather, with a lighter rectangle within it. At the top of this lighter shape you’ll see some spots, zoom in on those – and THERE’s the circle!

The large white spot on the left is a pile of stones on the edge of the circle, and the other spots are some of the larger stones.

There is quite a large mound on the southern boundary of the circle, which might hide another low stone – or at least that’s what my backside thinks as it felt very uncomfortable in places!

As alirich says, just to the south of the circle are two rowan trees which are inline with the circle, follow those uphill and you’ll spot the pile of stones... hopefully anyway!

And do watch out for that bog/pool – don’t do a me and slip into it – it smells!

Absolutely gorgeous views looking out through Kildale to the outer edge of the Cleveland Hills. You can see Captain Cook’s monument and Roseberry Topping too.

Further north of the site is a ridge that runs across the moor to the Commondale – Kildale road, nice walk back that is.

The nearest to my home and it has been the hardest to find! The tallest stone is only around two foot high, which looks as if it has recently been re-erected. The other stones, are only around a foot in hight, which keeps them quite well hidden amongst the heather. An occurance that I’ve never seen before, is that some of the stones seem to be surrounded by what looks like coarse sun-bleached grass, althought the entire circle is amongst heather. One of these stones has a small hole in the top where people have left a number of coins (although they havent been forced in). There is a pile of stones to the west of the circle, which helps to locate the site from afar, if coming from the road, head towards a couple of Rowan trees that stand alone on the moor and the circle is a little further north. The moor can be quite boggy at times and watch out for a small bog by the edge of the circle. Its a truely enchanting place, especially if you stop to watch the sun go down.

A great place to lunch! Very well preserved settlement with a great fogou. Check the pottery shop to the right as you look down over the site. Follow path and your in someones garden. Pottery there! Very good stuff.

I’ve visited twice now and there is definitely something strange and magical about Arbor Low. Its such an awe-inspiring and majestic relic, so open to the natural elements yet isolated and removed from civilisation. It provokes, in me at least, such a sense of time, of change and of loss, while forever maintaining a constant and passivity that’s utterly mysterious and foreboding. A monument once so significant to a people long since departed still holds within its dark stony aura the capacity to bestow such thoughts of wonder and intrigue upon those that now walk within its sacred shadows.

I’ve visits twice now and there is definitely something strange and magical about Avebury henge. Its such an awe-inspiring and majestic relic, so open to the natural elements yet isolated and removed from civilisation. It provokes, in me at least, such a sense of time, of change and of loss, while forever maintaining a constant and passivity that’s utterly mysterious and foreboding. A monument once so significant to a people long since departed still holds within its dark stony aura the capacity to bestow such thoughts of wonder and intrigue upon those that now walk within its sacred shadow.

A huge site, that gives you some idea (scale wise) of what might have been at Avebury. I visited alone, had a good couple of hours to myself, then watched the sunset from the smaller circle.

Pagan Hill nearby gives it’s name to one of the country lanes. What an address!

A Class-A site if ever there was one! Enjoy getting dirty !) as you climb into the hole. A real warmth can be felt inside. Standing on the top, looking down the top of the mound is wonderful, but difficult to convey with just a photograph. LOVE this site.

Gefrin was the Royal Township of the Seventh Century Anglo Saxon Kings of Northumbria.

The plaque tells how the missionary Paulinus preached Chritianity to the paople for 36 days and then baptised them in the nerby River Glen (or were they trying to end it all after 36 days of Jesus stuff being rammed down their throats.)

pretty low lying for a settlement from then. I guess the rich arable land and the full river were the draws.

Beautiful scenery near Kirknewton, pass this way to access the College Valley.

These stones are very close to the road from Achavanich to Lybster and ¼ mile S. of Loch Stemster.
The stones set out in an incomplete oval measure 225 ft. long by about 100ft wide. About 40 stones set upright averaging 5 feet in height and made of Caithness flagstone look as if they may have formed a complete oval but there is no evidence for this. Probably about one third of the original stones are missing. Set about 8 feet apart the broadest sides are towards each other. A cist is to be found at the most northern stone. The monument is probably Bronze Age.

Apart from the stones in the rows knoan as The Hill O Many Stanes there are several otherfan shaped rows up the hill from the Cairn of Get monument. they were uncovered after a heather fire just a few years ago. They do not appear on any maps or are in any books. The Caithness filed club members measured them out and have diagrams of their layout.

20/01/02 – Wonderful day. The elements were in full force – muddy, rainy, windy, cold. We slipped and slided our way round the circle, as far as we were permitted, then warmed up in the Red Lion. Strange things happened with my camera today...

Wow, this place is huge!
First visit yesterday, with only 20 mins daylight left, and we’ll definitely return. Theres loads to take in, and you could definitely spend a day here.
The stones are very green (lichen), and although fallen, most stones are still in place, which really helps to visualise the site as it was.
One of Englands top sites, and as it says below-nobody comes!

19/1/02
Avebury again. Took our 7 week old twin boys for the first time outside of mums belly. Suitably disinterested! (They’d better get used to being dragged round these sites in all weathers!)

Maybe its the weather, but Avebury can seem quite sad at times-the destruction, and the intrusion of the village/public bogs/chapel etc.
Roll on the summer....