Latest Fieldnotes

Interesting one this. I was just back up to Aberdeen for the weekend and got my OS maps out to check which one it was. Turns out it’s also known as Clune Hill as well. In fact there is ( or was ) even a local council leaflet on the place – got a copy of it sitting back at my folks house in Aberdeen. ( There’s a whole range of info. leaflets produced by the local councils on some of the stone circles, pictish things and the like which quite surprised me ).

Anyway, more to the point... Recently there has supposed to have been a “Deeside Offroad Centre” opened up which was going to be going through the woods round about that circle. In fact rumour had it that they may have destroyed the circle in the process. I wanted to get up there at the weekend to check it out but family issues meant I didn’t get the time – might try to go when I’m there at christmas though and will post something again if I do. Meanwhile, if anyone can shed more light on the matter then give me a shout because I’d be very interested.

As for the circle itself... was quite a good one, on top of the hill, great view... and good vibes!

Zeppo

Julian failed to visit my homeland of the Isle of Wight for the MA, but while the island may not be exactly teeming with magnificent sites there are a number of number of prehistoric remains scattered around the downland. There are numerous round barrows atop the hills, iron age hill forts, although only one megalith (the Longstone) which is in fact serves as the remains of a longbarrow.

Five Barrows is a wonderful site consisting of nine round barrows on Brook Down, one of the thin spine of hills running out towards the needles on the west of the island. The barrows themselves are of various sizes and condition, with the largest and best preserved example enclosed with a henge. The location is fantastic, commanding a fine view over the west of the Wight, to the chalk cliffs at the western end and towards Afton where the 1970 pop festival was held. It was on the very banks of this downland that some of my heroes including Miles, Hawkwind and the Lizard King himself put in some of their finest performances. On a clear day it is possible to see as far as Portland Bill on the western horizon, whilst clear views over to the New Forest on the mainland are often possible. To the east is Mottistone Down which itself has a number of barrows, and to the South the rugged SW IOW coastline, running down to the headland at Blackgang.

This place always gives me great vibes, and has a strangely different character on separate occasions when I visit, yet always hugely positive.

Until recently, I was a Tor virgin but I guess I had to make the journey to find out for myself if this site really is worthy of the claims of magical powers bestowed upon it. After the ascent the the top I sat there for perhaps two hours in the wonderful June sunshine appreciating the fantastic location of this sacred hill. I took with me my Yamaha QY70 portable music sequencer and a pair of headphones and was interested to see if the Tor could inspire an interesting musical composition. Well it wasn’t long before a celestial melody popped into my head which seemed to perfectly encapsulate my experience of the place.

After descending the Tor and visiting the Chalice Well (and drinking the water) I felt a strange reawakening. Worth the effort after all then!

I had a spare week back in June so I went down to the South West armed with a few OS maps and my essential copy of the Modern Antiquarian. I wanted to check out as many sites as possible (hell, there are loads not featured in the MA), and especially this one since I hadn’t been before, despite having lived in nearby Plymouth for a number of years. Since leaving Plymouth I’ve missed the quiet desolation of Dartmoor and it’s many prehistoric relics, particularly when they are as fine as this. Far away from the tourist trail that can so often be overwhelming up here, the Greywhethers was worth the effort of a difficult hike across open moorland. By the time I reached the stones, the weather was turning from hot and sunny to dull and overcast, perhaps magnifying the bleek location that this fine monument occupies. These two well restored circles are a perfect representation of the solitude that can be sought around these parts.

I’d considered dropping in on these henges the last few times I’d driven up the M6 but never quite got round to it. Henges don’t send me aquiver in the way they should... or so I thought. Travelling back from julian’s Bolton gig early on Saturday moning, having been advised to check them out by the man himself, with no map or TMA in the car and only Julian’s directions from the night before to guide me, we neared Penrith. A downpour of some considerable intensity began as we got within 5 miles, almost like my resolve to go was being tested. Visibility out the windscreen was poor and I almost went straight thru the lights on the main roundabout off the M6.
Turning up the small road past King Arthur’s Table, driving along to Mayburgh with no real expectations, wrapping up and setting off for the short walk across the style. Climbing the raised henge, looking down on the solitary stone left in the centre of the ring – wow! Walking over the rather wet & soggy ground towards the stone and being enveloped by the surrounding walls of green – you could be 1000 miles away from the M6, not a couple of hundred yards. There was a feeling of ancient ceremony, almost being able to imagine a ring of people stood atop the henge ring lit by flickering torchlight ot moonlight and something heavy going down. So even in the pouring rain it grooves. Give it a look next time, don’t merely pass by...

We visited Grimes Graves in Summer 2000, following a bit of a Megalithic crusade around the UK.

It is the only Megalithic site in East Anglia (apart from Seahenge), and it’s pretty good.

We got quite an erie feeling coming out of the forest and seeing loads of pockmarked holes in the large clearing. It is very strange to don a helmet and descend into the earth to see a site – the temparature drops by about 10 degrees. Once down the ladder (a feat in itself) you can see the workings of the ancients as they scrabbled about for flint. It is amazing to think that they did this without A) electric light and B) a nice hard-hat!

Well worth a visit, but 2 words of warning:

1. Don’t plan your trip during the school holidays as only a few people can descend at one time...

2. They close for lunch!

Bye! Bob & Tracey...

PS and don’t forget to wave to the US airforce!

Came up the road wondering if we’d find it, but it’s unmistakeable. The day & landscape were beautiful & the Andle Stone sitting happily in it all. DishBench climbed it & reported the view from the top “not much different” from below – but confessed later he only said that so the rest of us wouldn’t feel left out. Apparently it’s amazing. The metal handholds look Victorian however, and the fact that the first one seems to have rusted through & snapped right off did not inspire confidence...
The opposite side of the stone (opposite to the hand/footholds) has chiseled into it a dedication to Wellington? & other big military hero I think (I didn’t write it down). Why? Does anybody know?

8th August 2000-Clachan an Diridh, Pitlochry
The woods are ALIVE! It’s fly-city up here and I’ve gone and forgotten the insect repellent! There are so many butterflies out as well. It’s been like walking through a tropical forest to get here as its so humid and nothing moves. Thankfully its now starting to rain and the flies are starting to disappear. The stones look really different in the summer- wow- the rain has just stopped, the flies have gone and the amazing silence of this site is once more. The New Year offerings have all gone and it’s lush green grass all around. I’m having to finish this back in the van cos although this is “Rite-in-the-Rain” paper it’s not a write in the rain pen I have and the weather got the better of it! I never seem to spend enough time at the Clachan an Diridh and today the insects got the better of us. Swarms of flies, ticks, massive dragonflies the size of small planes were all out and I managed to get bitten by both midgies and clegs. Harrydog and Kat were both being devoured by our exoskeletal friends so we had to beat a hasty retreat- oh well- it was great to be back there even if for a flying visit!

2nd January 2000-Clachan an Diridh, Pitlochry
These are just the most quiet peaceful woods, the silence is amazing up here. Kat and Harrydog have gone further along the old Strathtay route through the forest. Unfortunately the path up here is now waymarked and leafleted so we have passed hordes of people, but luckily the two crowds of about a dozen folk each have turned off before the stones. The path up to this place is still like a river- I remember the first time we came up here about 5 years ago and it was snowing really hard. The woods were even more silent then as the falling snow muffled out all sounds and I remember coming up to the clearing off the main track and walking round the stones in huge snowfall. I’m sitting near the edge of the circular clearing with the stones in front of me. The Clachan an Diridh are now three uprights- one almost a completely square slab with the oppostie stone being similar but having a huge quarter notch out of the top. The third stone is smaller and leans slightly. This forest was planted around the 1920’s I think and is a dense forestry commission job so any sightings with the notch in the large stone are now lost in the trees. I’m now in the middle of the stones, listening. All I can hear is the water from a distant hill burn and the silence of this site- too many people from the main path in here and the silent signal is lost in human static. It looks like there has been some Hogmanay revellry or similar as there is a small fire scorch between the two largest stones and in the ashes I can make out pound coins and 50 pences! I thought of clearing it out of the stones, but decide to leave other folks luck and Nature to clear it away with time.

Julian describes Chun Quoit as a megalithic mushroom , and he hits the nail on the head. This is a fantastic site and well worth a visit, along with men-an-tol & the nine maidens. Access from the small farm road just before you get to men-an-tol, space to park where the road stops, then a fine walk for about 15-20 minutes up a narrow path, with little sense of getting anywhere until the Quoit is right in front of you, arising from the heather with it’s rounded back like the veritable fungi it is. Such a perfect creation, compact, beautifully shaped. I had problems wiping the grin of happiness from my face when there. Walking round the stones there’s a chance to marvel at the different perspectives it takes on. It’s possible to creep inside, though just a little anxiety inducing if you happen to be in any way portly, and it was nice to see no defacing of the innards except for one small silver pentagram. This is Cornish heaven.
The nearby ruined hill fort/city is well worth walking up to to round off the walk.

Near to the circle at Boskawen-un
(across the road then along a narrow winding farm road). Never having been to a fogou before, wasn’t quite sure what to expect. An easy walk from the layby took me there, greeted by a man cutting the grass and his collie dog, which seemed determined to pull the laces out of my boots, but backed off in a big way when I went near the Fogou. It had been raining in the days before my visit, so there was about 8” water lying in one end of the fogou, making access to the creep wet! The main chamber was dry underfoot and very roomy, with a very peaceful feel all around. Not in the least claustrophobic. Village ruins are not really my cup of tea however – didn’t seem anything particularly special about them, but fogou well worth a visit

I too opted for the A30 layby route – just before a “no stopping” sign. An easy walk through a bit of gorse brought me to this stunning site – occupied at the time of my visit by a chap running thru some pagan rituals (and hearing voices, so he said). I was silenced by the power of this site – as soon as I entered the circle there was the most profound feeling of calm and tranquillity washing through me. I only get “feelings” of these sorts occasionally at sites, and those experienced here were as strong as I’ve ever encountered. Absolutely awestruck! Could have stayed for hours sitting in the centre despite the wet grass, but family left sitting in the car might have objected!
For me this was the single most inspiring site I’ve visited in Cornwall. Would be wonderful to be there in moonlight, I feel.

In an earlier posting about Scorhill I put forward the idea that a nearby natural holed stone (Tolman ) in the river Teign could have had some influence on the siting of the circle in this place. After some reading (I must get out more) I found a  bit of folklore that connects Scorhill stone circle not only with the tolman but also with the nearby double circle of Grey Wethers. Here it is.

“Faithless wives and wantons had first to wash in Cranmere Pool then return and run round Scorhill Three times. They next went down to the river Teign and passed through the Tolman ( a holed stone reputedly good for rheumatism as well as virtue ), then up to Grey Wethers where each woman knelt and asked forgiveness. If the stones remained standing all was well, but if they fell, and some did as can be seen, the woman would be crushed to death.”

Haunted Britain
Anthony Hippisley Coxe
1975 Pan Books.

Second guessing my way through Bibliographies I think the author picked this tale up from “The Witchcraft and Folklore of Dartmoor”. by Ruth E Gordon St Leger Published London 1965.

Stories about faithless wives and wantons meeting a grizzly death at stone circles sounds a bit like the usual attempts by Christians to demonise these places. That said the story may be a twisted, half lost version of some older ceremony which connected the circles and the Tolman.

My directions to the holed stone were a bit rubbish last time so I include another little extract which is so sweetly written it deserves to see the light of day again.

“The wooded gorge of the Teign below Batworthy is very grand and picturesque. Passing around the Batworthy enclosure, I gain the river, in which is one of the most remarkable natural phenomenon on the Moor, the Tolmen. It is a solid block of granite about 10 feet in diameter and 2 feet to 4 feet thick, through which the action of the water has worked a hole a yard in diameter, and two other holes appear to have begun by the same agency.
Although the Drudists do not, I think, claim this phenomenon, as they do the rock basins, to be the work of their favourite priesthood, they yet, I believe, assign it a place in their rites, as an ordeal or miraculous cure.
I fancy I have heard too that a superstition still lingers that anyone passing through the hole will be proof against rheumatism. He must take care not to drop into the river below I should imagine”.

An Exploration of Dartmoor Antiquities 1892 by John Chudleigh.
Pegg Publishing.

You can of course avoid dropping into the river below by going down under the stone and hauling yourself through. Which, given the powerful symbolism of re birth connected with these things would seem the obvious way to use them. On my last visit I even managed it. I wanted to walk on to Grey Wethers but the other half didn’t want to. I think the old wanton was worried about being crushed.

This six stone ring can be found in the gardens of a plant nursery alongside the A9.

The circle is in a good condition, with the largest stone to the SW a full 6 foot high and over 7 foot wide. Obviously sited on a the foot of a hillside along a major trackway, the circle retains an air of tranquility despite the rumblings of the A9 only a few dozen yards away. Easily accessed, and in fine condition, there is no excuse for not visiting this site!

To visit Tigh na Ruaich, turn off the A9 for Ballinluig some 3 miles south of Pitlochry. Drive past the filling station and down the old A9 ignoring the dead-end signs. At the very end, you will find Tynereich nursery. Ask permission, the owner is very friendly, as is Megan the golden spaniel. The plants are pretty good too, and a couple are now growing outside our front window!

Never having seen an RSC until Midmar Kirk I was really taken with them. East Aquorthies, Loanhead etc, we visted the others and were very impressed. Until this place.

Wow.

Think of the first time you saw Avebury, the shiver down your spine, the feelings.... This place is just fantastic. The setting is awesome, the modern intrusions terrible, but they don’t really matter. This site has a power which is hard to describe, but it’s true: the airport, the industrial estate, the mast – they all just fff fade away..

You HAVE to get to this site – you will not be disappointed.

Basic directions: Come off of the A96 at the western side of the airport, and drive through the industrial estate. Keep your eye out for a Shell filling station on your right, as there are 2 standing stones outside it; the larger appears to be pointing at Tyrebagger. As you go through the traffic lights, and enter the national speed limit zone, there is a service road on your left, take it. Immediately in front of you is the farm track – you can either park here or drive up. As you look up the hill, there are two masts, Tyrebagger is next to the left hand, darker mast (This mast has now been removed-only one remains on the hill – 2006). Follow the farm track up, and take the first left around the quarry. As you come to the green, with all the farm cottages, take the only left by the substation – follow your nose, and watch out for Heilan attack coos!!

This is an intriuging little site on the outskirts of Pitlochry village. Not mentioned by JC , it can be found on an OS map.

It appears to be a classic four poster, which has been ‘improved’ by the addition of some smaller stones (to a total of about 7) in order to complete the arc.

It can be found on the A924 heading north out of Pitlochry in the garden of Faskally Cottages. I wasn’t able to gain access to the garden as no-one was at home and time was limited. The circle can be seen through the trees from the road.

This site is a beautiful four-poster high above Pitlochry on forestry commision land. The whole area is planted with managed and processed confierous growth, but a large clearing has been left around the circle itself. Although only two stones retain their original size, the evidence of the others can be seen, and each stone is beautiful in itself with large seams of quartz running through it.
Although the original setting was obviously all about the view, the clearing now around the circle adds an air of magic and Rite. This is still a Powerful Place, as evidenced by the worn path, and evidence of recent fires. My favourite four-poster.

Clachan an Diridh can be found by following the ‘Clunie’ trail from Pitlochry dam, and taking the signposted turning for Strathtay. It’s approximately 1.5 hours from Pitlochry, and is fairly steeply uphill. Walking boots are a must, and if you intend to follow the trail all the way back, a compass, map and proper clothing are strongly recommended. In all the trail took us about 5 hours. – Well worth it though.

Don’t worry about the manicured nature of the site, everything about this circle still feels right (on), and despite their best efforts, everything in the curchyard is secondary to this fine RSC.

The outlier in the wood to the north, is a magnificent 8ft scarlet phallus, of such proudness it’s enough to make your eyes water!

Me and Tess driving over to Danby pass the wonderful Mother Mound, Freebrough Hill (Freyas Hill) once called the Silbury of the North.
Down into Danby then up to Ainthorpe, park-up and hike up to the Rigg. Elgee described the northern end of the Rigg as a Beaker burial ground, he wasn’t wrong, your tripping over cairns. As we moved through, the mists came down which was exactly what the scene called for. From the cairn field we moved onto a well defined cairn circle with a lovely big standing stone on the edge. Then onto the cross dykes and a large round barrow with a  lovely inscribed boulder perched on top stating the date of excavation and where the artifacts may be viewed (Whitby museum). Then we got a bit lost and decided to test our compass skills in the mist, to our suprise everything worked and we found a large hut circle exactly where we thought it would be. Bit more mooching then we dropped down into the wonderfully named Little Fryup Dale and the clement weather.
Down to Danby castle which has morphed from a ruined castle to a farmhouse and back to a castle (top abode). Further down the road is the Duck Bridge an 500 year old packhorse bridge. We sat under the bridge like a couple of trolls and ate our lunch listening to the voices eminating from the fast flowing water of the Esk.
All in all a top day, top company, top sites.

love Fitz

I visited this site in August with my daughter who is 7, and my niece and nephew ( 6 year old twins ). Din Lligwy is the remains of a village, and consists of several round huts, and a border wall which is over a metre thick. The site inspires imagination, and the children asked what the people were trying to keep out with such large walls. The “Chieftan’s” hut is clearly identifiable. Further along is the remains od a burial chamber – we sheltered under the huge cap-stone as the rain drove down outside. The silence was total and evocative. I have visited many of the sites in Anglesey and North Wales as a child, but unfortunately I have forgotten the name of most of them.

Amen to all of the above. Don’t worry about the reconstructed nature of this site, it’s too special for such things to detract from it. Event the dry stone wall gives a feeling of hengeness from inside. We had the circle to ourselves, although someone had visited recently, as a diferent flower had been left at each stone. It added to the feeling of a well loved circle in a beautiful location.

Don’t worry about the reconstruction or the horrific communications mast, this site is well worth the visit. The view is fantastic (well about 340 degrees anyway) and only Arbor Low is windier. The site is in the care of Historic Scotland, but the custodian on the day of our visit, Harry, was brilliant. He knows all thats going about the place, and and his 15 minute chat is well worth listening to. The archaeoligical view of the sites history has changed since the publication of TMA, but apparently Harry has written to Julian, who may visit while in Scotland (He’s got a copy of TMA on his shelf, and thought Julian was an eminent archeaologist until his son put him right!)
Anyway, get yourself up to Cairnpapple, you won’t regret it.

Starting in the morning from the Old Courthouse B&B in Trevin, we hiked south on the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail. We found a fake stone circle assembled by local herdsmen on a lark, albeit a cool one. But we also found a long standing stone that seemed to be a marker for walking or sea-faring pilgrims. After hiking to the slate and bluestone quarry, the latter which could have easily been used as the backdrop for a B-grade Sci-Fi movie. This is where the Ancients got their bluestones for Stonehenge and elsewhere (such as the Marlborough Downs, I reckon). After reaching the once oil-damaged but healing Blue Lagoon, we returned north to our digs. Upon querying our hostess about the stones, she suggested going north on the trail for a mile or two to Carreg Samson, on the Longhouse Farm property.

Just before the rain and sunset we found Carreg Samson. Most planks would make a Spinal Tap joke about its size, but it’s still in good shape and a beautiful testament to its builders. It was our first sight of the brilliant quartz patches that ran through it. The cattle were restless as the wind blew off the coast and over the beautiful cliffs.

Being the pseudo-intellectual I am, I thought a hill behind the farm was maybe the “Longhouse Burial Chamber”, but their dogs soon ran us out, nipping at our heels. After a few laughs we raced home to beat the rain.

Samson was small in stature but stong in spirit. If you go, you’ll probably be the only ones there, and what more could you ask for, to be alone with the Mother?

An addition to my earlier review. Check out the following sites for proof of how mind-blowing this area once was (they are both from Bournemouth University’s pages).

For a plan of the area (a must see):
csweb.bournemouth.ac.uk/consci/pics_kn/plan.gif

For details:
csweb.bournemouth.ac.uk/consci/text_kn/knback.htm

16th August 2000 Park Neuk nr. Blairgowrie
(Re-written from rain-sodden notes!)
Sitting in the car just now under a dark grey sky listening to the rain battering overhead. This is only the second time I’ve visited these stones but was inspired back here after reading the entry in the MA, where Julian also wrote notes in the rain exactly 6 years ago to the day.....
Time to don the waterproofs and venture to the stones nestled under the trees up here in this desolate moorland. I’m in the trees by the first set of all flat stones- my notes are starting to smudge- thought I’d try another pen today but its as rain proof as bog roll! I’ll just have to try and shelter my notebook under my hood. There are 10 large stones altogether forming an avenue of two sets of three stones pointing approx NW and two other stones pointing approx NNW. Out from the trees and into the rain I go.... On the way to the other stones I’m surrounded by swallows swooping over the moor catching some lunch. This is certainly a magikal place with a magnificient view of the surrounding high moorland- the wet and grey afternoon certainly add to the atmosphere of the place. This is a great wee circle (possibly a Tayside 4-poster?)- I can certainly only see 4 stones- 3 of which now remain upright. What a fantastic setting this is. My previous page of notes has now become a magic ink picture and has actually formed a smiley face!!! Methinks I’ll have to re-write this back at the car!