Latest Fieldnotes

The good news is that the A1 has moved a bit to the west, the bad news is that it is now 6 lanes wide. The old southbound carridgeway is now called the A168 and runs parallel to the A1. A road from the town passes a few yards north of the southern most stone to join the A168. The middle and northern stone were difficult to reach due to a field of 3ft high crops. Still a rather noisey site but the immense size of the stones did not fail to immpress me.

Don’t expect to find the Thornborough Henges without an OS map. The gravel pit Julian refers to in TMA is now a wildlife conservation area for birds and has a handy small carpark. From here it’s just a short walk to the northern tree covered henge. It’s a very eerie place to walk round, in the center was the remains of a recent bonfire and evidence of some nob hacking at the trees with an axe, maybe the local pseudo-druids hang out here.

The central henge is clearly visable from the track that heads south from the crossroad east of the small carpark, though a little tricky to reach through tall crops. A circle of what appear to be young trees (only about 2ft high) have been planted three deep all the way around the henge about 10-15 yards from the perimeter, who knows why? To the east only a few hundred yards away is an annoying landfill site. It seems most of the local birdlife prefer this as a hang out to the newly created ‘conservation’ area. We left the visit to the southern henge for another day.

The picture in TMA gives a great impression of this site – all realistic looking modern stones and the giant rocking stone bang in the middle. When we visited, it was the usual valleys weather, with low cloud, drizzle, fog, etc. This seemed to concentrate the view down the Taff valley as the hills were obscured. Another treat is a small ring and cist about 200 yards west of the rocking stone on the common, just follow the path. The small stones enclose an area of about 20 feet diameter, with a well defined stone cist in the centre. Quite well preserved, even if small kids do use the cist as a hidey-hole. Worth a visit. Just as an aside – I was at the Poly of Wales for 4 years just over the valley and never knew this existed !!

A highly discrete, but strangely charming Chiltern hillfort. Hidden beside the A40 at Gerrards Cross, Bucks, just north of Slough (about half-an-hour from London), it’s modern function seems sadly to be the private dog-walking arena for the surrounding “exclusive” housing estate.

Take the A40 to Gerrards Cross, turning left at the crossroads with the B416 to Stoke Poges/Slough. About 150 yards on your right there is a road marked “Camp Road”. Ignore the “Private Road” sign, and park up (if you’re driving – good luck with public transport) wherever you like around the “No Parking Past this Point” sign (though it does look like the kind of place where the Locals might get shirty :-)

Walk up the road until you get to the houses. On your right is a village green type thang. Turn left, walk about 20ft, and look closely for the “Bulstrode Camp” sign on your right. It’s open for the public, but they’re keeping this quiet.

Walk up the dog-shit caked grass footpath, and you’ll notice a ditch ... yes it’s a double-rampart, running almost the entire circumference of this enormous Iron-age settlement. The ditch is 8-10ft deep in places, though almost impassable – large houses with swimming pools and nasty dogs now “protect” this area, magically strengthening its power by dumping their canine and garden waste into the once proud defences. Cross the ditch by the path, and into the huge clearing of Bulstrode.

The site is visually unspectacular, disappointing even, at first when compared to sites such as Maiden Castle and South Cadbury Castle, but give it a while, and it’ll soon grow on you. Apart from the Southern end, the defences are still well defined, if choked with undergrowth and compost, and parts are just explorable by the intrepid. There are lots of beautiful bluebells at this time of year (May). At the northenmost end (the A40 side, though you wouldn’t know, it’s a gloriously peaceful place) are a couple of trees that have been hit by lightning and hollowed out by the fire. It *is* possible for large adults to squeeze through the hole at the bottom, though you will end up covered in ash, and maybe bruises :-)

Not too sure about the historical details at the moment – the board says it is Iron-Age, and it’s slap bang on the A40, so there was probably some Roman occupation as well, but that’s only a guess. I’ll try and find more, but in the meantime, do try to get out here and have a run about ... it’s too good to be so hidden and secreted away “for the benefit of the parish”..

Do also note that Bulstrode marks the eastern end of the “Chiltern Hundreds” – the traditional way out of Parliament for washed-up, disgraced and greedy MP’s. A valuable place indeed.

Woah! This is something else. I’ve always seen this place on the map (just outside Salisbury, off the A30 to Andover), but never had chance to stop by. Coming back from the Blandford Forum festy with the kids, coated in mud, Monday couldn’t have been a better time to go.

It’s a little tricky to find, as a kamikaze has demolished the sign on the road, and the narrow track up the hill, past lots of private houses, doesn’t give any clues. Stick with it, and the track turns into a largish carpark. Keep away from the scary MOD notices (they own the land all around) and saunter casually up to the treat in store.

Forget the photo in TMA. No camera can capture even a glimpse of this fantastic site. A huge ditch and bank sweeps around the top of the hill, giving magnificent views of Salisbury and all around, but what’s this? An internal ditch! What’s going on here?

The English Heritage sign says that this was for extra materials for the bank. Yeah right. Why not just dig another ditch on the outside ... better defences that way. No, there’s something else going on here. Couldn’t tell you what, but as soon as I abandoned the dog-walking circuit and headed into the inner-circle, something happened. Not sure what, but for a few moments, I was totally lost in the long grass, and all I could here was the birds hovering in the wind all around.

The kids stayed at the entrance, rolling eggs, whilst I drifted, but by the time I got back, they had gone a bit weird as well, and had made little nests for the eggs in the side of the bank.

An awesome site, that just sits, glimmering in the sun. Welcome aboard.

visited 29/5/00

Last summer visited the stones of Addington and the Chestnuts with my wife and son. The sun shone down, illuminating the whole area with a pre-sunset glow. After asking to be shown around we were treated to a very informal tour by the very kind lady who “owns” the land (who was impressed by the book by the way!) and then left alone to take it all in. My two year old kept running in and out telling the stones they were cool. I agree.

If you’re in the area well worth the trip

This is just the most fantastic site. A now 10.5 foot high menhir with a burial at it’s base which has survived against all odds. It had fallen by WW1, and soldiers removed 3ft off the top for a road – cheers lads ! It was then re-erected, and Goonhilly Downs earth station (the one with the satellite dishes) was plonked right next to it. The best thing about the monument is the way it changes shape as you walk round it – no other menhir I’ve visited does this in quite the same way. It’s proximity to the wierd dishes and transmitters behind the high fence just 20 feet away gives some superb pictures, but does detract from it’s ambience. No matter, just go and hang out there – it’s awesome !

Possibly the most enjoyable of the Orkney sites. Why? Two reasons. The lady, on whose fathers land the site is on, is a star! When 4 blokes turn up (one in a Man Utd hat – eek) at your doorstep on a rainy April morning, you must have your doubts – none here – we were welcomed like relatives and treated like kings. A good 2 hours spent in her farmhouse-come-museam really gets the message across about how much the Orcadians care about their heritage, and there are some fantastic things to be seen – hold a 5000 year old skull, faaar out (just use both hands!) and fantastic ceremonial artifacts. All very REAL and basically a one off unless you work in a museam! It blew my mind.
Secondly, the place itself – pearched on a cliff at the extream south of the ‘mainland’ (although on South Ronaldsey – connected by The Churchill Barriers) the tomb is awe inspiring – especially after learning it’s history prior to seeing it – and getting in is a blast! Only one factor detracts from the whole experience – nasty covering roof on the tomb – but close your eyes, relax, forget about the concrete and enjoy. Don’t forget to press the button..........boo!

This was my first ever RSC visit ... working in Aberdeen for 4 weeks, I followed Julian’s advice and started with the perfect show site to know what the monuments should look like. The first impression was of joy at the lovely colour co-ordination of the stones and the poise of the recumbent, but tempered by the overly manicured look – all freshly mown grass, perfect drystone walling, nicely painted iron fence etc. It is a beautiful, yet somehow empty feeling site that left me in a bit of a puzzle about RSC’s, a feeling that was blown away over the hills by my next one – Tyrebagger ! As I left East Aquhorthies, wondering if all sites would be like this, an American and his small boy walked past. “Is this a landing site for spaceships”? asked the lad. “Hell, no” said dad, “it’s a temple to the gods”. Right on.

I started the day at Cairnholy chambered tombs, which were eerie in their gaunt, skeletal sort of way. I then went to Glenquickan via wandering around a field for ages amongst narky sheep trying to find a cup and ring marked rock. I found many rocks, but no cup and ring marked ones. Anyway, I then drove along the old military road (crap name, but a superb road!) into the wilds of the moors. The site’s very phallic centre stone is visible over a tall drystone wall, and there’s even a nice place to park by a gurgling stream. Aubrey Burl is right about the fences – a bit of a diversion to get to the site, but it’s only a couple of minutes stroll through a herd of sociable sheep with offspring of various sizes. The first impression is that the wire fence actually touches the monument – takes a bit of the polish off it, but after a bit it just doesn’t matter. Glenquickan is so perfectly situated and formed, with another burn trickling behind it. A large transmitter arial looms over from the east, but again it doesn’t matter. This is such a peaceful, powerful site and rewards a visit beyond description.

I first came here when I was really sad. Things had not been going my way, especially with my health. I was brought here by someone with incredible gift for healing and she often came to this site to assist her. We spent an afternoon and she worked on me. Apparantly the folklore says that if you go through the holed stone three times you will be healed. Well i don’t know if that is true or not, but I do know that I felt better just being there. I did go through the holed stone three times and my friend did a lot of work on me that day. And yes it worked. I won’t go into what my problems were, but one month later I was fine.
I’ve been back there many times since and I was so sad to hear that it was recently attacked. I visit many sacred sites on a regular basis, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart.

big article in the Guardian on Wednesday about this:

guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4016280,00.html

Further information

pages.zoom.co.uk/~nineladies/
pixie-inc.demon.co.uk/nineladies/
purelocal.co.uk/stantonlees1.htm

Stunning views to the South and East up towards Glastonbury Tor. There’s a legend that this was the site of Camelot, and that old Art himself appears every year on Midsummer’s Day.

What better way to mark this than installing a large Round Table, right on top of the hill (lottery money apparently) Up in the centre, towards the South side at what is probably the highest point, there’s a circle of earth already cut out, so it’ll probably be there.

Hurry whilst you can then ...

(visited on Easter Sunday)

this is one steep hill! -- we went rolling decorated eggs down here on Easter Sunday. Too many ridges and paths to get a satisfyingly smooth roll though ...

but the sheer angle of the hill sways me away from the “can only see it from the air, so it must be for gods/aliens” type theory ... it’s the steepest non-cliff hill I think I’ve been on – perhaps its the nearest the designers were going to get to a suitable canvass for viewing the giant from the road/nearby hills.

Dunno really – just a thought – only by going up there, rather than just looking at it from the road as I’ve done before, did I think about it

What’s that huge scary looking mansion type place opposite all about then?

watch out for the ocean-like puddle! take your wellies if you’re going to go Quoit-squatting

that’s crouching under Quoit’s, like a little troll ...

If you need to drain your kids of hyperactivity, then have them try to charge Maiden Castle via the main defences – my record for running is halfway up the second ditch, before collapsing with breathing problems.

An interesting and practical introduction into neolithic architecture and defensive strategy ...

The Hurlers has the legend that it was a bunch of guys having a Hurl on the Sabbath, with the inevitable Petrifying Result

– the day we went, it was full of Posh Adolescents playing rounders, using a stone as some kind of primitive backstop, and braying at those peculiar frequencies only P.A.’s can muster – we didn’t wait to see if history repeated itself --- has anyone counted the stones recently? :-)

This place is great --- about 20 minutes outside Cheltenham, if you’re ever that way. TMA says that you need a map ... there were footpath signs when I went up.

You *do* need to be fit though ... bloody steep bugger of hill to get up

“Object lesson: the outward appearance of funkitude often belies a nature as stupid as any lager lad.”

:-)

9 ladies has had this before – one of the stones there got knocked over by car once as well – dunno if that was a during ritual though ...

I used to play on this when I was a younger. I went back there recently to visit family and friends (My old computer teacher lives over the road from the stone). The stone doesn’t appear to rock like it used to – you had to stand on it with your feet in just the right place to get it to move. Still, it is (on a nice day) a lovely place to look up and down the valley – not the prettiest place in the world, but a place I used to call home and as such makes me feel at peace.

Visited a day after being married. PERFECT!!!! Seemed the right place to be. Another special place.

WOW!!! ! The feelings, I just can’t describe. Go there, as I did, in dusk. Looking over that amazing view, you can’t help think they got it SO right.

what can i say....this circle leaves me speechless. Yes it’s set in a farmers field, close to a busy road, but the feeling of closeness to the spirits..... truely awesome......

By the way, this is Steph, not Chris!!!!

If you’re up north around the winter solstice and don’t mind the elements, this is a great place to see the solstice sun up. The circle’s a bit of a mess, gradually more so each year it seems... But it’s got such a good vantage over the Aire valley to the south, perfect for sunrises.

Only once did I see the sun’s disc rise clearly over the horizon at solstice – and when it was exactly halfway over the horizon, it was bisected by a mast of some sort. Quite an odd coincidental alignment. I’ve failed to identify the mast so far – anyone have any idea about this?

I haven’t kept up with the plans to turn this amazing place into a quarry, but it seems from my experience that some so-called pagans are helping the process along.

I stayed there one full-moon night last year (around October), and the scene was wonderful for my first visit. There were naturally a bunch of other people there. Me and my friend Lee chatted to a few of them – they said they had met at a gay/bi pagan camp down south and were doing a ritual later on. They seemed cool, but we were tired and crashed before their ritual started.

Well, actually, before we got to sleep we were treated to the utterly bizarre spectacle of a large bunch of schoolkids being led around the circle by a few adults, singing really pagan-sounding nursery rhymes. They ended up doing the congo of onto the moonlit moor! Better education than I ever had...

Waking the next morning, Lee asked if I had heard anything during the night. Apart from the kids, no. He said he had heard what sounded like some sort of ritual, but it was interspersed with what sounded frighteningly like rocks being violently bashed together. I got up to look around, and sure enough, the few half-bricks and rocks that were scattered around the circle the night before were gone. A few of the circle’s stones had had chunks hacked off, with the tell-tale compacted bumps of soft rock left by bricks or whatever being smashed on them. Fragments littered the floor.

We were incensed, but there was no sign of life in any of the many tents around. We had to leave early, and as we didn’t want to shout blind abuse at sleeping people who may or may not have been responsible, we had to leave the arsehole culprits be. As far as I’m concerned, if they’re out there seriously trying to mesh with the pagan levels of reality, and doing *this* to stone circles, they’re cursing themselves anyway. Hope they have a really bad freak-out some day and wake up.

Object lesson: the outward appearance of funkitude often belies a nature as stupid as any lager lad.

This moor, sandwiched between the beautiful Wharfedale valley to the north and Bradford city to the south, is one of the most inspiring, mystery-riddled places I know of. The famous Ilkley Moor is merely a part of it – although it is this particular area, to the north near Ilkley town and the River Wharfe (sacred to the snake goddess Verbeia) that is most densely populated with fabulous cup-and-ring carvings and strange, strange tales both old and new. The best I can do here is recommend a few spots (get OS Sheet SE 04/14 Pathfinder 671 of Keighley & Ilkley):

- Up Backstone Beck, opposite the dishevelled but still-buzzing Backstone Circle (OS 1261 4613), are the remains of a Bronze Age dwelling (OS 1310 4590). It goes much further back than that, though – archaeologists have found evidence of Mesolithic dwellings here, perhaps 10,000 years old or more.

- As you approach the more from Ilkley town, the White Wells (old spa bath, presently a tea-and-cakes place) become obvious. To the west is a clump of trees with a waterfall beneath it flowing onto a ford (OS 1155 4660). This mound is a really special place. Local people leave wreaths to dead loved ones here. At the top of the mound is a massive carved boulder, too. When looking at the mound from below, I imagine the waterfall to be sacred fluids flowing from a cunt, and the mound to be the prone form of the local goddess Verbeia. The two stream either side even correspond to the image on her altar (which you can still see in All Saints’ Church in Ilkley town, next to the bridge over the Wharfe – well worth a peek).

- The Badger Stone (OS 1108 4605) is fantastic, such a seductive curve to the boulder – though sadly the prolific carvings are fast fading. A very powerful place, I’ve found – treat it with respect.

- The Swastika Stone (OS 0956 4695) is a must – a wonderful curvy armed cross carved at least 3000 years before the Nazi’s decided they had a monopoly on this ancient symbol. Extreme right-wing graffiti and stickers have been spotted up here – but their attempts to associate themselves with the archaic petroglyph merely underlines their simple-minded dumbfuckness. Sadly enclose by railings due to graffiti – be sure to look past the Victorian copy at the front to the fainter original.

- The Doubler Stones (OS 0722 4649) are great. Totally natural (apart from the basins and cups on top), they basically look like two ginormous mushies. Watch out for the close-by farmer, especially if you’re looking for the smaller organic cousins of the stones...

- The Buck Stones (OS 0920 4560) are again a natural formation, and again are great. A bit of a mess compared to the beautifully sculpted Doubler Stones, but there’s the power – a very primal, raggedy place.

There’s much more to discover, and I’ll leave my review brief so that you have fun exploring for yourselves. And remember to take more litter away than you bring!