Latest Fieldnotes

A small embanked circle and well preserved, although hard to find. It has 4 outliers, one ‘The Old Womans Stone’ was nearly 8 ft tall, only the stump remains upright, after being split, early in the 20Century to stop ramblers using it as a guide stone

Exposed passage and chamber of one of the ‘Peak’ passage graves.
The passage and the grave are both the same width, a curled horned forecourt is still visible( just ). The site is thought to have been robbed since the Romans arrived.

Green Low is on private ground, 50yds away from the footpath.
Great views...except the quarry.

Far down the track from Stonehenge and past Normanton Down, as you approach the Lake Group, the path climbs up a hill. About half way up, leading up the edge of the Lake Group wood, an earthwork is marked on the map. No longer a ditch or bank, a strong cropmark jumps out at you. I’ve seen pictures of cropmarks in ariel photographs, but have been disappointed on the ground. Not here.

The cropmark is only visible on the eastern side, where grass is growing, becoming thick and lush on the site of the earthwork. A different crop is growing on the western side, and the site of the earthwork isn’t visible at all, not when we visited.

Not the most imposing of sites, but certainly worth the walk if you’re in the area (but the walk itself is certainly worth it), just to see what this cropmark business is all about, without the use of a plane ...

Spring Equinox, 2002

The stone rows run E-W according to my compass; could it be something to do with the passage of the sun at the equinoxes? Walking between the stones I felt like I was following a path countless others must have taken. I felt puzzled about the blocking stones. I wondered if the path represented the path of your life (E- sunrise to W-sunset)? so the blocking stones gave a symbolic beginning and end? There is only one at the east end of the main row, but two at the west. You can squeeze through the western pair – like a celtic boundary to pass through? to the underworld? Who knows.
Stupidly forgot my camera but drew a picture instead. Check out some of the stones – they’re stripey with quartz that glints in the sunshine, and dripping with lichens (grey, purple, gold) – bloody fantastic.

You’re looking at a landscape trashed by people in prehistory: the clay works are just an extension of that and when they’re closed there’ll be one more wild and exotic place on the moor. Turn your back on the works and you are alone.
The last phase of rescue archaeology on the works site excavated a couple of ring cairns and a reave-type boundary. The best feature however was a small unremarkable stony cairn that turned out to have a long stony tail made up of two or three large orthostats with smaller stones in between. If you stood at the end of the tail and looked beyond the cairn you were staring straight into the jaws of Rough Tor. Apparently a number of similar cairns were excavated before previous works expansions and all bar one had tails pointing to the same dominant feature.

These are situated VERY close to where i live, within walking distance. I visited them with my father for the first time a month or two back, and it is the first antiquity site i have visited whilst knowing what it is.

In the past, i have travelled past one particular one in the back of my parents car without ever knowing what it is ow that it had any significance whatsoever!

only shame about these sites is that they are situated very close to a VERY busy bypass (boo!) otherwise these would be great places for me to visit regularly.

Recently discovered hillfort. Rock strewned interior, protected by steep drops to the east and south. A boulder wall to the North and West.

The boulder wall uses earthfast boulders in its construction and there are only small sections left.....non of these are overly impressive and its a fair old search to find the sections that remain.

Definitely worth checking out......
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06/06
John Barnatt has suggested that this hillfort is in fact a ‘causewayed enclosure’ or ‘tor enclosure’ like Gardoms Edge or Carl Wark.

Pre-historic rock carvings have been found on the rocks, although where amongst them all....?

this one is just as much fun to climb as the cork stone
I sat on the top of it one night and saw and heard a meteorite
fall to earth

This is a great stone to climb! But it holds no other interest apart from its shape

In the dry stone wall south of the circle once used as a gatepost. May once have been part of the circle.

Head towards the tower from the Gorse Stone, in trees perched right on the edge of the moor

Can be seen from the Southern circle, on the eastern edge of the moor.

About 350-400 yards south of the Central Cirlce, right next to the path. The South Circle is roughly triangular in shape with a few surviving small stones on the internal edge of the bank.

Located south of the 9 Ladies, the largest circle on the moor, the only stones lay near the two entrances (N & S), and banking is well preserved.

A few hundred yards North of the 9 Ladies, follow the first stone wall you reach down to the right. The site is badly overgrown, but the banks and entrances can be seen.

beltany tops, near raphoe, co. donegal... on a wild windy day,made my way through the hills of inishowen to this fabulously dramatic circle. it is in the centre of a circle of mountains itself on a small hilltop easily found ( signposted from main road ) and then easy to lose yourself in!! the whole cairn is raised up and the stones lean out and up into the sky, some shot with white quartz and sparkling with energy.. as with so many beautiful sites, this is wonderfully unspoilt, a small heritage sign, scattered incense stick, tut tut.. but otherwise an incredible 360 degree view of the land all around you.. even the rain stopped for a short while, enough to light your face and warm the cockles.. this truly is a place with a playful joyful vibe and the stones an extremely comfortable place to sit awhile.. go to and enjoy! love lissy X

On the track leading to the Druid’s Circle the remains of this circle comprise of four low stones. The field is very close to the farm and is private. It’s best to peer over the wall, have a look and then carry on – there’s not much to see. Directly opposite the farmhouse, in the field next to the circle is a large ‘playing-card’ stone which is worthy of attention and isn’t at all out of the way.

The rubble remains of a huge cairn made all the more moody on this visit by the wind, rain and sheep skull decoration somebody had chosen to leave.

A low and broad circle, hard to spot amid the grass. If this were anywhere else it would be for the fanatical only but as part of the whole Tal-Y-Fan experience it is a must.

We took an alternate route to the ones suggested in the books. We drove from Rowen to the Rhiw Youth Hostel. From here we walked to the Bwlch-y-Ddeufan stones taking in the other monuments on the way. Walking this way, and the same way back there is never more than 10 minutes between sites. Perfect.

Here the stones are in competition with the ridiculous pylons. They win hands down.

The highlight of an excellent set of monuments below the top of Tal-Y-Fan.

This ‘circle’ is a ring cairn lying 150 metres or so up the track from the Druid’s Circle. The site is a confusing jumble of stones but is worth checking out.

A great end to a day spent visiting a lot of sites in the area. The lashing rain and howling wind didn’t put us off at all but made photography a very rushed affair. A lovely site with fantastic views, the small Irish Five-Stone ring (Circle 275) on the track leading up offers a great view of the Druid’s Circle and is lovely itself. Another on the summer visit list I think.