Latest Fieldnotes

If you climb over the fence of the car park and walk into the field about half a mile away from the tomb there are three or four large rocky outcrops which are very comfortable to sit on and you can have an amazing panoramic view of Snodonia which form another piece of the complex landscape here. The bulls in the field were also quite scary at first when they circled me at a distance and blocked the way back to my tent but they turned out to be quite friendly after I decided to become a vegetarian. A white bull also stood by my tent in the morning and had a conversation with a horse in the morning when I got up. It is a sweet place to stay.

on our holidays in deepest dorset we came from beaminster, choosing one of the loveliest little roads we have ever seen: eastwards from beaminster via mapperton and (don’t miss the tiny road!)west milton to powerstock – an then alongside eggardun: what an experience to have one of the most beautiful parts of dorset on your left and the mighty hill on your right.
parked our car on the top of the and wandered lonely as a cloud towards eggardun. magificent, sublime is the view from here: you can guess the sea in the south an marshwood vale in the west. very quiet up there, except for the wind that takes the outer life away – even more quiet, if you disappear in one of the huge ditches.
were i forced to live my furher life as a cow, i would prefer to live between the cows grazing on eggardun hill.
just visit eggardun – surely one of the most impressive places in southern england where we ever have been.

I visited this amazing place on a bitter January day last year and was surprised but pleased to be the only visitor.
I had been inspired to visit by an enthusiatic Icelandic history teacher many years before, but, being prone to sea sickness, had never quite mustered up the courage to take the ferry from the mainland. Having finally made it, I can only say “you must visit this place!” It’s an awe inspiring glimpse at what our ancestors were capable of and it shattered many illusions I had held about my pre-Common Era predecessors being “primitive”.
When I compare the architecture of Skara Brae, which has withstood thousands of years of fearsome Orkney weather with the modern cement and plastic skyrises that purportedly represent the pinnacle of our city dwelling civilisation, I can only laugh. In two hundred years, these modern day megaliths will be crumbling and close to collapse (if they haven’t met the wrecking ball already). The builders and craftsmen of ancient Orkney really knew how to make their work last. You only need look at the perfectly hewn, carefully fitted stone masonry to see it. Not only that, but they knew how to landscape their homes to compliment the intense natural beauty which surrounded them. Form and function working together, six thousand years before the concept was invented!
The site is well thought out and constructed, allowing the visitor to get really close to the warren like village and to get a real feel of what it was like to live there.
Afterwards, I recommend a walk along the headland to Yesnaby cliffs to get a feel for the incredible natural architecture and geology of the area.
Living in China now, my friends are always boasting of their six thousand year old civilisation. After visiting Skara Brae, I can confidently make the same claim.

29.8.01 rnowen
Another signpost almost rendered invisible by overgrown verges and hedges, while because of trees, Tinkinswood itself is only visible across the field from one side of the lay-by.
On approaching the site even the close proximity of a huge electricity pylon can’t detract from the impressive structure. It seems to only partially emerge from the earth, additionally, the trees at the rear serve to confuse the distinction between the man-made and the natural. Exploring the woodland, it’s easy to become transported to another age, one without pylons.
There was much evidence of recent visits inside the chamber: beads, ears of corn, candle wax and the remains of joss sticks. Ashes and a circle of burned grass beyond the kist on top of the cairn indicated a small fire had been tended there in recent days.
Both Tinkinswood and St. Lythans chambered tomb are so situated as to seem remote from any built-up areas, but are in fact quite close to Wales’ most populous area, Cardiff, our glorious capital.
Extraordinary to visit such ancient structures almost within sight of Cardiffs’ latest monument, The Millenium Stadium.

29.8.01
On one of the few dry sunny days of this Summer, the dolmen was a joy to visit. Once it had been found. There’s a signpost at the side of the road but at this time of year the hedgerow and grass verge are so over-grown it’s almost impossible to spot.
Up close the stones appear extremely weathered and even have the odd nettle etc. growing out of the various nooks and crannies. Best of all, atop the capstone, there’s a very convenient patch of grass which makes for a comfortable seat should visitors wish to meditate there.
The grass surrounding Gwal-y-Filiast seemed to have been cut recently, maybe the farmer can be persuaded to direct his attentions to the hedge and the verge, as a public service.
Lovely place to visit, especially on such a day. The sun shone; insects buzzed; and a tractor hummed in the distance. Idyllic.

The Caiy Stane (AKA Kel, Cat or Camus Stane), Caiystane View, Edinburgh
Tuesday 4/9/01, 12:50pm
Ah- a megalithic lunchtime! It’s not often I get a chance to do much during my lunch-break, but this is one of those rare occasions and I took the opportunity to (re) visit this splendid monolith. It’s funny- every journey I make to sites such as this feels like some sort of pilgrimage. Even the journey up here through the Oxgangs housing schemes on an LRT No. 17 bus felt special. Here I am in a quiet South Edinburgh suburb in the shadow of the Pentlands next to an almost 10 ft. high red sandstone monolith. As well as being tall it’s also a wide beast- about 5 ft. or so with curious large grooves out of either side at the base. The NTS wall plaque says this stone is over 5000 years old and the immediate vicinity was populated with cairns, cists and urns suggesting that this hilltop was used for burial/ritual in the Bronze Age. Nothing remains apart from the Caiy Stane- everything else has disappeared under driveways and gardens. I also read somewhere that legend says this stone marked a battle between the Picts and the Romans. Jeez- the last time I visited this place I was still at school! Unfortunately the reverse side of this stone is heavily vandalised- loads of spraypaint, carvings out of the stone, chewing gum stuck in the cupmarks- how clever. The reverse side is also the most interesting as it has many small cupmarks including six in a straight line which I don’t think I’ve seen before. The founders of our great city saw fit to name not one, not two, but seven streets after this standing stone. Unfortunately its’ obviously not regarded with such high esteem these days. C’mon NTS- get someone round here to clean this fab stone up.

Directions
Catch a No.17 bus from Princes Street heading south (towards Hunters Tryst). Travel up Lothain Road, down Morningside Road and through Oxgangs. Get off the bus next to the Safeways at Hunters Tryst. Walk back down to the roundabout and turn right along Oxgangs Road. Continue and cross at the first traffic lights next to Caiystane Drive. Continue up Oxgangs Road and turn off at the next left which is Caiystane View- the Caiy Stane is on the right of this road- you can’t miss it!

Situated high above Pontardawe, visited this site in lunch time from Swansea Enterprise Park (beats a sandwich and a coffee). Views are spectacular, the cairn is situated just over the brow of the hill.. The road up zig-zags but the u-bends have plenty of space to have a couple of goes at getting round. The central cist/chamber is only couple of yards square and there appears to be another collapsed chamber although it could just be some re-arranged dry-stone wall rubble. Sadly had to get back to work. Another to re-visit.

From St. Nicholas at the lights follow the signs for Dyffryn Gardens and about a half a mile down that road park under the powerlines. The site is sign-posted from the pull-in. The cap stone IS one huge mother and yet again has me scrabbling to understand the unfeasible mechanics and all from around 4000 BC. In it’s completeness it reminded me of some of the dolmens on Jersey. It’s all the more saddening when you see what places like Devils Den, Lanyon Quoit and Spinsters rock etc would have been like pre-agricultural clearance. There was plenty of debris around the surrounding fields but didn’t really have time to explore.

Since the local authorities limited the parking by the side of the Tor and introduced a park and ride scheme from the town centre the journey to the Tor can be somewhat less than a pilgrammage.
Best plan is to park in the Town centre car park, and walk along Chilkwell street to the Chalice well gardens first... although there is a charge for entry here (it can be omitted and the well water obtained from the spout in the Tor road proper).. the Gardens are extremely well maintained and are a haven of relaxation and contemplation, and a good place to drink the Chalybeate water of the Red Spring.
Next visit the source of the white spring which is in an old reservoir building 50 yards up the Tor road... I don’t think that this source can be drunk, unfortunately... but revel in the mystery of the two distinct springs joining side by side at the foot of the Tor...
Go back down the lane and on the left is a footpath running up past some cottages in what was an orchard.. I believe occult writer Dion Fortune lived here for a while... and now start the climb of the Tor proper... up the spine of the Dragon path...
Notice the remains of the spiral paths, forming a labyrinthine maze, which if you have three or four hours to spare would be the truly correct way to climb the Tor , indeed on special festival days the maze is still used...and is a powerful and evocative tool for attuning the mind to the ritual in progress...
Once at the top, take your time... this is a powerful place and believe me, the energy that can be experienced here can be overwhelming... the Xtians didn’t plonk that tower there for no reason (mind you, an earthquake took out the rest of the building.. so think on that).. and whether you think Arthur and his Knights slumber within, or that it conceals the Grail, or that it is the focus of many ley lines which radiate outwards from it’s divine essence.. or simply its just a place to be...meditate for a while and see what comes to your mind.... you will be changed by the experience.

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This is a wonderful circle situated at the end (or start) of a 3 mile walk encompassing The Grey Mare, The Hellstone and another stone circle. I recommend following the proper footpath as the path coming from the North towards it (marked on the OS map) is effectively non-existent.

Whilst you are here, make sure you visit the site marked ‘Enclosure’ on the OS map. To find this from the circle, head north down the side of the field away from the circle and perpendicular to the path. On the other side of the field go through the gate and head left. Keep walking past some sinkholes? until you reach the crest of the hill. You should find a horseshoe shaped banked enclosure about 15-20 feet across overlooking the most amazing view.

The circle was special but the view from the enclosure was something else entirely. Wow.
If anyone has any ideas about what this may have been, I’d love to know...

I was lucky enough to witness a Pagan handfasting within the circle when i was at the Uni of Glamorgan across the valley. It was a full moon and the skies were clear (a rare treat around Ponty) with much wine, cider and merryment.

Stones of Stenness, Orkney Mainland
Monday 12/8/96
Today we visited loads of sites including Maes Howe, Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae etc, but of all the places we ventured today the Stones of Stenness were the most impressive- they were just daunting! They were absolutely enormous and so beautifully shaped with their amazing sloping tops. Apart from the three huge monoliths there is also a fabulous setting of two smaller stones set next to each other only about 20 or 30 cm apart that just demand getting down to look through em. Directly in front of these two is a horizontal slab that just feels like some sort of ‘altar’ stone. Two other stones next to these complete the setting that just blew me away. It was quite quiet when we visited so I went back to the car and got me dowsing rods out and did a spot- unsurprisingly there was a lot of powerful energies around this amazing place.

This is pronounced “ro-aw” Tor in case you are asking for directions, I used to come here as a child with my hippy parents.
There’s a few spots on the top of the Tor that are bucket shaped, I don’t know how, I doubt weathering or glacial movements could cause such a thing, but if you don’t mind sitting on some lichen, they make excellent seats!

Theres no hotels or such like around this area, its dead on Bodmin Moor. There is a car park.

At the top is a little black post, placed by OS I think.

I’m going from memory here, as I live on the other side of the planet these days, but Roaw Tor is certainly a special place, when the wind kicks up on an autumn evening, looking up at the steadily brightening stars, you can feel like you’re the only thing alive, on this barren outcrop of granite.

Port na Con Souterrain, Sutherland
NC428613 (9) Thursday 8/8/96
Today we had a lazy morning but eventually set off from Durness camp site and went to Smoo Cave once more- good fun and we found lots of hag stones on the beach. Then we headed for the souterrain by Loch Eriboll- we stopped off at the Tourist Information on the way through Durness for directions to the site- the woman was v. good and knew exactly where it was. Out of the car and over the road in amongst a load of bracken we found it- the entrance was quite a deep one with small stones steps, it was pitch black and creepy as hell! On the way down into them I keep telling myself that they are no more than iron-age food stores. However, once out of them your mind can really start to wonder what they were used for and I really don’t think so many man-hours would have been spent building big stone lined tunnels just so they could keep their sliced loaf in there! Kat actually came down into this one for a look, but we couldn’t go very far as most of the floor was submerged and I wouldn’t have gone much further if my life had depended on it as we had no way of knowing how deep the very black water was, or how long the souterrain was. Photos were taken and Kat managed to smack her head of one of the roof lintels and her knee on one of the steps-ow! All in all a very satisfying (if somewhat scary) souterrain.

Directions
From Durness follow the A838 round to a sea loch called Loch Eriboll. Just before the few houses and pier that go by the name Portnancon, there is a small grassy siding off the main road on the right, you’ll find the site hidden in bracken bushes on the side of the road nearest the loch.

Barns of Airlie Souterrain
Visited twice in Oct 92 and May 94.
This has got to be my fav souterrain (or fogou if yer Cornish!) that I have visited so far- I think cos it’s ‘wild’- i.e.- it hasn’t been restored in any way- no plexiglass roof or nice safe ladders or doorway in. This is another one of these sites that I read about in “Scotland Before History” by Stuart Piggott long before I actually visited the place. The farmer has been totally fine about me tramping around his fields to go see this- be prepared though- in wet weather the side of the field you have to walk through to get to the souterrain can be real muddy and wet. At the end of the second field just to the west of Barns of Airlie farm there is a dry stane dyke, follow this along until you see a black hole in the field then drop down into this! It’s not the biggest of entrances! Along with my souterrain/cairn exploration stuff (powerful torch, candle lanterns, waterproof matches) I’ve also found it useful to take my caving helmet- I’ve smacked my napper off too many roof lintels! The passage is really wide- almost two metres in places and it’s apparently 24 metres long. There are a couple of cup markings on one of the roof lintels and what looks like some sort of snake pattern too. The thing that always gets me about this site is the temperature inside- I mean it’s cold, but in a strange way it’s really comforting- I could easily spend many hours in here in quiet meditation.

Directions
Follow the A93 north of Perth to Blairgowrie. Through the town, crossing the River Ericht and take the A926 towards Alyth. Past Alyth til you reach Airlie-there’s a road up to the left just past the school towards Kirkton of Airlie. Barns of Airlie is just after here on the left- ask permission (and directions to the site) at the farm.

I visited this site after discovering Silbury Hill to be fenced off and since I was in desperate need of solitude and peace, Devil’s Den is ideal.

I found the best way to actually reach the site is to follow the path along the side of the field until it tails off to the right. At this point follow the walked track through the plants (it was August) next to the field until you reach the closest point to the dolmen. The stones seperate from the Dolmen that Julian talks about in TMA lie here and the fence is usefully mutilated allowing easy passage.

The site itself is stupendous. I lay for an hour on the stone recollecting myself. I would recommend this site to anyone.

Having made the long trip down from london via stonehenge, primarily to climb and meditate on the top of the hill I was very depressed to find it fenced off.
It is impossible even to walk completely round the base of the hill at present (if it ever was), since barbed wire stops progress seemingly at every juncture.

Still, this being my first visit, I was awestruck at the sheer size and shape of silbury. It is easily within walking distance of West Kennet longbarrow, and a suitable consolation? is close by in the form of Devil’s Den.

Midhowe Chambered Cairn, Rousay
Wednesday 14/8/96.
Went to Rousay today- the wee ferry from Tingwall (’Eynhallow’) was cool- just really a dirty great noisy bus-on-the-sea! We hired bikes from a woman called Helga near the pier and started cycling (my backside is still killing me- it’s been a while since I’ve been on a bike and it shows!). We decided to cycle to the North of the island past all the sites and up to Midhowe chambered cairn and broch- then we’d visit all the sites on a leisurely cycle back down again- at least that was the plan! Of all the sites we visited on Rousay the most impressive was the Midhowe Cairn- it’s housed in a massive stone n metal hanger and it’s the biggest tomb I have ever seen- huge so it is! There are white metal girder walkways suspended from the roof that run the whole length of the cairn- it’s cool cos it means you can wander about above it and get a real good look, but not very hands on. Went out and had lunch below the broch and were amazed at the wave power in Eynhallow Sound- scary stuff.

What can you say about this place? You have to go, even though it’s a bit of a pilgrimage...I first visited last year for a few days, then felt drawn back and spent a week there this summer, staying in Ann + Angus Smith’s holiday cottage – an ideal location less than 10 minutes walk from the site.
The site is almost painfully impressive – maybe because of its scale or state of preservation – or maybe because of the nature of the stone that makes it. When you then add in the lunar (and solar) calculating factor one’s mind becomes blown! I found it was very difficult to stay in the present time when there – there seems such a sense of history; but also a sense of drama and maybe theatricality.

When you go you MUST meet up with Margaret Curtis (see Gyrus’s post ). By all means visit yourself first – but you’ll never see it the same way once you’ve done a walkround with her. She’ll show you the burial cairn by her house(ruthlessly bisected by the road builders several years ago) which she reckons is the start of the place of procession to the site itself – maybe a mile up the slopes, much in the way one might imagine processing up the Avenue at Abury...then the alignments of the stones, the “windows” between various pairs of stones which align with landscape points relevant to moon set/sunrise etc.

One of my pleasures when staying for a week was to walk up to the stones after sunset and sit, in the starlight, in splendid isolation, playing appropriate sounds on my walkman – Odin worked particularly well! After an hour or so, it becomes as close to a shamanic experience as I’ve had anywhere (even the midges ceased to concern me).
It really is a must!

The path/road leads away from the Watermill/Heritage Centre car park and ford. It says it’s Private for access to B&B but some locals said just to say you’re going to the camp site at the end which is a Forestry Commission/Scout site. The cairn is in a field to the right of the top car park surrounded by trees. It’s kind of a naked Belas Knapp. Took some low level photos but thought better of emulating Julians aerial shot from the tree. Reasonable food and ale from the Gower Inn just up the road on the way back to Swansea

This site gets pretty busy, especially in summer. I’ve been there a few times in the past couple of weeks and it’s always got a steady stream of tourists visiting it, people jogging through it and all that kind of thing. I always find that when I first see them on approach I get butterflys in me stummick. It is a great place and SPACE. Also it’s a good place to see the local landscape as the three hills of Carn Brea, Cear Bran and Bartinney Castle are all visible from here and the line from these through Boscowan-un and into Lamorna valley can be viewed.
The second to last time I was here I experienced a very dramatic weather change – very low cloud or mist or something swept in in a matter of minutes and completely obscured the view, like the site was being hidden. Then later it left almost as quickly.

Living in Aberdeen and having explored many RSC’s , I was stunned to learn of this one so close to the city.

Just to add my agreement to the other posts below, it is a truly awesome site, large flankers propping an impressive, if slumped, recumbent, the other stones of the circle becoming smaller away from the recumbent.

The views down over the airport and the city beyond, to the sea, add to the appeal of this site, and give it an extra special sense of presence amongst the landscape around it.

Go Visit!!

went roaming about for this on Friday (28/8/2001), but couldn’t see anything, only arable farmland.

hot and sweaty, and stumbling over footpaths across fields being harvested ... dust in the air.

Cuween Chambered Cairn (AKA The Fairy Knowe)
Sunday 11/8/96
Visited Cuween cairn today- a wee climb up a hill to the mound and Historic Scotland sign. There was a wooden box next to the mound- so I had a look inside- lo and behold!- a torch- very thoughtful! The entrance passage was quite small and was a hands and knees job in the mud, but the main chamber is large enough to stand in and has a very impressive roof on it. There are three pitch-black side chambers where the remains of eight humans and 24 dogs were placed. Actually for all the complete darkness of this tomb and it’s history it doesn’t really freak me out- there’s a certain calmness about the place.
PS- I totally agree with a23- this is one of the most atmospheric places on Orkney.

Tomb of the Eagles (AKA Isbister)
Thursday 15/8/96
Tomb of the Eagles was totally fabby- best £2 I think I have ever spent (well- Kat spent as she paid me in!). I actually got to handle a 5000 year old skull (along with many other archaeological artefacts)in my shaking hands- wowsers! After the ‘hands on’ museum (which is housed in the conservatory/extension part of the farm house) we went to the next part of the tour which was the burnt mound and here we met the manny who had actually excavated the tomb (along with his dog ‘Sky’!). Then to the tomb Émost of the tombs we visited on Orkney (and elsewhere) are crawled into on hands and knees- but not here- oh no- you get down on yer belly on a wee cart-like thing and zoom in on it’s shaky wheels! Once inside I had realised I’d gone and forgotten torches etc etc, but luckily there was a guy in there (who was the double of Jarvis Cocker as it happens!) and he gave us a shot of his for a look into the side chambers- of course one of them has a button to press to light it up to revealÉÉ