Latest Fieldnotes

Tick.
Seen it.
Shall I bother to return?
No.

Ha! Fifty elves dancing hand in hand, round and round, and me at the centre, dizzy, enchanted, trapped!

An embanked stone circle restored. Restored?
It doesn’t feel right.
It might be exactly right, and it is me that is out of kilter, but again again again it doesn’t feel right.
More reminiscent of hut circles on Holyhead and in Cornwall, I imagine a conical thatched roof over my head and a secular purpose: the moot-hall for tribal chieftains, or the place to give tribute to the overlord.
But not a sacred space.
Then again: there is definitely signs of a cist, covered by a cup-marked stone, so no doubt at some time at least one of our ancestors was buried here.
But too puzzling. Too restored. Not right.

A freezing cold place at the Winter Solstice, the sun standing still almost defeated by the bright, shiny, slate-grey clouds and flurries of snow.
Trying to light candles in the biting wind, the children stamping their feet to feel them, and the offering of wine left un-corked and frozen.
On the moorsides hereabouts our ancestors lived and toiled, remains of their field systems still evident. It is hoped that the climes were more clement then.
I notice a scar across the middle of the circle; a caesarian cut to birth the Earth Mother’s mystery into the hands of the archaeologists. To learn more they should be standing as we are, reverently, shivering, at the turn of the sun and welcoming the youthful Mabon back into the world.

Loved this site! Very easy to reach from the roadside although no direction signs .Very peaceful place only saw 2 other people. The church and henge are very accessable grass is kept very short. Earlier in the day we visited Badbury Rings hoping to find peace but found a heaving carpark and hoards of people walking off their Christmas dinners!

It seems the early Christians made a habit of taking over the old religious sites such as Knowlton Henge. This could be blamed on Pope Gregory who in 601 C.E. said..

“The temples of the idols in the said country ought not to be broken; but the idols alone which be in them . . . If the said temples be well built, it is needful that they be altered from the worshipping of devils into the service of the true God.”

The is a good article on this subject at..
watchtower.org/library/w/1999/3/15/article_01.htm

As you can guess from the URL, the site is Official Web Site of Jehovah’s Witnesses! but it makes interesting reading whatever you chose to believe.

Kernow Phil

Sarah Miners

I first visited this wondrous powerful place in 1994 and we agreed that we would bring our children back to the moor as I felt a massive spiritual connection with the place.

Indeed in March 1999, we returned with our son Chalie and gave him his name in a pagan ceremony, with some dear friends, who each held chalie as I read a poem.

My hubby gave me the modern antiquarian two years ago as a xmas present and I immediatley truned to the gazetter section to read what was said – I cried as i realised that the power I had felt on the moor was part of a massive understanding – and that Julian had felt what I had felt too.

I dream of the moor and am angered to the extreme thaqt they may quarry – I offer my meager talents to the campaign in any way i can help – here and now – for I have just read the essays fromn the book and am recently starting on a pathway, where I have realised the significance of stanton moor, amongst other sites and special places, to my spiritual journey and well being.

It is one of the few places on this island where I have felt truy at peace and at one with the goddess – the other being at the Quirang on Skye. And I want to preserve this moor so my children can be connected with their names to the energy within the stones and can return with their childrn to my special place.

-In memory of Dixie and Jeanette-
This stone sits in a field just off the main Alloa to Kincardine road. Comely bank is the raised glacial beach between Alloa and Clackmannan, which overlooks the carselands of the Forth Valley to the south with a sweeping view of the [Ochil] Hillfoots to the north.
The stone is a striking slab, which leans at a slight angle, and when you see it from the main road it’s 9ft sits on the horizon.
The only feature which gets mentioned is a cross which has been carved onto one side. If the intention of the christian carver[s] were to take mystery and power away from this stone, then it has worked in the sense that it is pretty much ignored nowadays (this of course, could also be a good thing in a way) as the carving makes the stone very unusual and difficult for the historians to fit it easily into any one culture – it just seems to throw everyone. The cross is pretty crude and certainly less intricate than the usual pictish/celtic stones (as has been the suggested origin of the stone) and looks pretty much like a paranoid and rushed christianisation of a previously revered and ancient thing. For these reasons, it seems, no-one wants to claim or talk about this stone. It doesn’t even really have a name.
I first visited this site 5 years ago at 2 in the morning with Norie (of the photos) and 2 other night travellers Dixie and the sober Jeanette. Dixie was enthusiastic about this site, had (proffesionally) photographed it several times and that night offered to be our guide while the ever patient and benevolent landlady, Jeannette taxied us there. The guys waded through, what we christened mad grass, a thick stalky crop which took forever to get through, while Jeannete waited with the engine running. We got there eventually (although it should be easier to visit now as the field is more accessable now and folk will of course be more responsible and clearer of mind than we were).
Despite all the confusion, this stone is worth the visiting.
This stone, like Hully Hill, now has it’s own nearby MacDonalds for spiritual and bodily nourishment.

I was a student at Stirling in the mid 90’s before the recent unnecessary developments around Airthrey stone (which I didn’t know about until reading about it on this site). The arable land that surrounded it then was a really quiet place way away from the bustle of the campus and I often tramped up there after mind numbing lectures to chill or with friends to take in the atmosphere. I recall approaching it for the first time with my cosmic mate (Steve Moffat where are you now?) during one frosty starry autumn night and stopping in our tracks, such is its presence. I hope other students can still appreciate its magic as my friends and I did.

Torrisholme Barrow was the old Law Hill of the Lancaster area, superceded by them building a whopping great big castle on the omphalos South of the Lune. But this was the original burial place of the ancestors. Old maps show a Low Lane running north from Torrisholme and to the West of the Barrow and ending up at Treason Fields, where the rail line now runs.

The natural mound has an ancient groove running around the Eastern edge right round to the north and then up the hill driving South. As this part is ascended Warton Crag can be seen to the North and Black Combe rises to the West. Sometime between 1844 and 1919 the Morecambe Corporation built a Sanitorium here and traces of the foundations can be found in a the woods that block the path here. Climbing up through the woods eventually brings you to the end of another old path, called Barrow Lane. The houses have encroached right up onto the hill but the paths are still here in parts, running behing the gardens of the quiet suburban semis.

Continuing South brings you to a groove running up from the West, where the houses are, and this groove runs up to the top of the hill and the tumulus. By this stage the whole of Morecambe Bay is beginning to be visible and following the groove brings you over the crest of the hill looking East and you get quite a psychological thwack through the front of yer face to the back, like, with the sight that greets you (the unmistakable crest of Ingleborough in the distance, which dominates the Lune Valley). Hurray!

It is really worth getting up here on a good clear day and making this route, rather than just going straight to the top of the mound over the stile from Hexham lane at the South, and taking in the view (360 degrees of it, which includes the missing-pixel-like power statement at Heysham, whoops).

Also a very unusual perspective is got of the Llancaster omphalos (where they built the castle and priory) and the ur-temple mound (now quarried) upon which stands bigus dickus of one Mr Williamson (thank you kind sir). But hey. If you want a bit of the reverse – seeing the barrow from a distance – a good place to go is Williamson’s park and the barrow is the first rise of land to the right of Lancaster.

But it is Torrisholme Barrow which would have been the Law Hill of more ancient origin, calling in the authority of the sacred hills that surround it.

A tidy little hill-fort, with spectacular views across the western chilterns and all the way to Oxford and beyond --- I didn’t pick out Wittenham Clumps/Dorchester-on-Thames complex from here the day we visited, but they should be visible.

At the top of a massive hill, just south of Aylesbury, this forms part of the Icknield Way family of settlements, from Ivinghoe Beacon to the north, and joining up with the Ridgeway further south. Cholesbury is a 20 minute walk

The banks are pretty eroded, and obsucured by thick vegetation, but it’s still a highly popular spot for picnickers. Go there.

A must-stop on any visit to the Uffington White Horse or Lambourn Seven Barrows. Head east from the White Horse towards Wantage. Look for the crossroads at Kingston Lisle, with the sign pointing North to the “Blowing-Stone” inn – turn South (towards Lambourn), and the Blowing Stone is on your left, at the start of the row of houses at the bottom of the hill. Parking is dodgy, but there’s gate further up on the right where you might squeeze in.

The stone was moved here sometime in the 18thC, when it was the centrepiece of the old Blowing-Stone inn ... the story is that if positioned correctly, you can get a note out of this (like so much around here, there is a local-boy King Alfred story attached). However, you would need to be both insane (to put your lips anywhere near the thing) and have the lung-capacity of an elephant to get even a peep out of it.

If you do, then the whole valley will resound to it’s magnificent timbre

Good luck

No-ones really sure about this site ... is it a “true” site, or is it a later addition? It stands by Carn Bica, on the path along the top of the Preseli ridge (by the famous “crossroads” that have caused so much speculation). The stones are about 2 ft high, and all tend to lean inwards.

The site isn’t listed in Burl, but is definitely there, and in one of the most spectacular locations. You’ll need to walk for at least 30mins/hour to get there from any road, but it’s worth it.

There’s not a lot going on here now ... it’s in the middle of a “pick-your-own” field. Arial photography has picked up fairly substantial crop marks here, suggesting a bronze age barrow cemetary. On it’s own, not that interesting, but it’s part of a chain of mounds and other sites dotted along the banks of the Thames

Access is possible at certain times of the year, but you need to be quick, and there’s nothing to see anyway ... but, remember --- Context and Landscape!

RG

Dun Troddan Broch
17/7/94
…and just a mile or so along the road another spectacular broch- these are just fab! The wall height on this one is just a bit smaller than Dun Telve, but the walls are mega thick again. These are magnificent monuments and a great start to our hols.

Dun Telve Broch
17/7/94
A fantastic summers day and what better way to spend it than exploring brochs?! The road across here from Shiel Bridge, the Mam Ratagan Pass, was terrifying, but the views back down and across the Five Sisters were breathtaking. This is the first broch we came across with Dun Troddan just further along the road. This broch is still about 10 m high which is testament to those who built the place, but I guess having walls 4 m thick helps. Up the inner walls are the remains of what looks like two ledges- probably the upstairs!

Dun Carloway Broch
23/7/94
A spectacular setting! This broch is perched high above Loch an Duin with views over to the sea to Bernera. One of the best preserved brochs in the Western Isles the back wall stills stands about 10 m high with a wall almost 4 m thick! There’s a guard cell by the door and there’s some neat steps up inside the wall from this cell. An inspiring view and great place to stop on the road to Callanish.

Steinacleit (AKA Lower Siadar) Stone Circle and Cairn
22/7/94
From our great wee campsite at Siabost, we headed north east today up the A857 on our way to the Butt of Lewis, stopping of first at the massive Clach an Trushal, then this site. This is a very complex place- there are only about 5 upright stones, but loads of others and the remains of a (supposedly) chambered cairn in the centre of the circle. I dunno- it’s a rather sad and disappointing place- I was mebbe hoping for a more grand stone circle- now it just looks very messy.

¼ mile west of Sancreed church, through the farmyard opposite the church and follow a path which swings north to a small

An enchanted site with a very impressive well, reached down a flight of steps. There is room to stand upright underground, next to the water.

Adjacent to the well are the remains of a chapel; the walls are about 4 feet high and several carved stones are lying around. A modern cross stands nearby.

The site is very atmospheric and has an air of sanctity lacking at other more famous sites.

bath.ac.uk/lispring/sourcearchive/fs3/fs3lh1.htm

Details snipped from...

bath.ac.uk/lispring/sourcearchive/fs3/fs3lh1.htm

Reached by taking an overgrown track leading westward onto Tredinney Common from the Iron Age settlement at Carn Euny near Brane, two miles west of Sancreed. As this path begins to widen, after about 100 yards, the well is immediately on the left.

It consists of a flight of steps leading down to a clear spring in a stone lined recess with a large granite capstone.

Another smaller well lined with four large granite slabs lies a few feet to the north west and carved stones from the chapel which once stood here may be seen in the surrounding undergrowth.

Services were held at the well chapel during the 18th century and the site has only been neglected since then. The stonework of the well is still in a good condition.

Well i live near to the stones, the other one is on Princess Annes estate, tHE tINGLESTONE, and you need permission... to visit it....
tYHE OTHER i LOVE, IS AT the camp.... THE CAMP..... THAT is hardly visited, but i jumped over the wall,and felt “things” around it.... ideal for dowsers.
Ive been doing visits to the stone, near to the golfcourse, and every pagan festival, go and take photos of it, we still have to download our own bl and white photos taken last winter solstice, of it in snow.No it doesnt go down to the stream to bathe, or dance in the moonlight, this is, as most people thought, they were witches turned to stone!
To find it, its best to go to the pub,THE OLD RAGGED COTT, have a visite there, there are ghosts in there too, then go straight down the road, to CRACKSTONE... and turn right at bottom, and then its in that feild, its overlooked by the old camp, which is now a residential area of small houses. There is also of course THE DEVILS CHURCHYARD, nearby, a footpath goes through PEACHES FARM, I think.... check on OS map.... this is Im told my ye locals, an eerie place, also there are ghosts, all around here,s BE WARNED! STARGAZER.

Fortingall Churchyard Cup Marked Standing Stone

First visited this stone in 1982 after reading about it in a small guidebook to the church. My obsession with the nearby Fortingall stones brought me here on many occasions, but this stone seems to be forgotten about when mention is made of the Fortingall sites. I know this is sacrilege, but to all intents and purposes it looks like some sort of megalithic bird bath ;) This (along with two of the stones of the nearby Carse Farm I four-poster) is one of the few stones which I have seen that has cup markings on its flat-ish horizontal upper face. This got me thinking about sky maps. The stone is behind the famous yew tree in the corner of the Currie private burial ground. When visiting check out the yew tree, the Fortingall stones and the church with its ancient bells and Celtic carved stones- a veritable antiquarian feast!

Carse Farm I Four Poster (AKA Dull)
Sometime in 1981...
This site (along with Croftmoraig and Fortingall) was one of the first circles I ever visited and one of the first places that really got me started on this megalithic journey that I am still on almost 19 years later. My folks bought a caravan near here back in 81 and I must have passed this site loads of times on journeys around Perthshire. I clearly remember my face pressed to the car window watching the four stones whiz past each time we drove along the B846. I managed to get my (tolerant) folks to stop off here a couple of times (bad mistake- I then got them to drive me to Fortingall, Croftmoraig, Lundin, Dunfallandy etc etc!) so I could get in amongst the stones. The site is small, squat and compact- still one of my favourite four posters. One of the strange things about it is the cup markings on the two eastern-most stones- they are on the flat horizontal surface facing the sky above (also check out Fortingall Churchyard standing stone). These two sites were also the first to trigger something in my mind and start an obsession with cup and ring marks and their magick and meanings.

We visited this site in Feb. 2000. We just wandered around this valley floor all day – you need loads of time for all the jewels that the people left us here. The great X is one of them. We wandered and wondered round this unique monument.
The overall alignment of this whole monument is approximately the same as the cairn cemetry, the valley and the river. I cant say any more – it’s like much of this valley – a beautiful mystery.

The 2 circles here, sit high on moorland on the Braes of Fowlis above the hamlet of Fowlis Wester.
We headed for a strange looking dark, brick ruin and found the circles.
The stones in both circles have either fallen/pushed or were originally boulder like, but the circles remain obvious and tight. The 9 stoned eastern circle, once had 12 stones and has a rocked cairn mound in the centre.
There is also an outlying monolith close to the circles, which stands upright and strong, contrasting with the low lying circles.
According to the Ancient Scotland website (see links) Aubrey Burl visited this area and wasn’t too impressed – the writer suggested our Aub was having a bad day.
It is a strange site. The only thing you see on approach is the monolith and you only get the whole site when it is under your nose.
I felt it was well worth coming here, and we wanted to hang about longer, but the sun was down and I was probably hungry.

This is a cracker ... Heatherwood Hospital is just across the road from Ascot racecourse, on the big roundabout. Strictly speaking, you should really be a patient, or visiting one, to gain access, but they’ll spank you for the parking fee regardless.

Inside the hospital, inside a tiny quadrangle, is a fair sized bowl barrow, probably late Bronze age. There’s a little sign by it, but otherwise absolutely no acknowledgement of it’s existence. Even the size of the space allocated to it demonstrates the begrudging nature of it’s survival ...