Balgorkar

Good to know about access. Always seems to have crops when I've tried to visit. Might give it a go next week.

I visited in June 2004 - time flies, or what? - and the field was under barley then.... however I asked at West Mains farm and the farmer was only too happy to let me have a look. Assuming it's the same guy, seems access isn't an issue - as long as you take the trouble to ask.

Go past it all the time, I wouldn't even bother asking, just go to the circle and observe the countryside rules.

Thats what I did, but it was fairly early in the mornin' and there was no one aboot

It's the farmers that have destroyed the sites, i can't bring myself to ever ask them, i once came down the drive at killin and thought i'd ask at the house, the posh English guy laughed at us and said people come in the back drive and don't normally ask, and the same at the stone row in a garden quite near kilmartin, he said that people don't ask and it was nice i did, and the Harestanes stone circle in peebleshire was a nice guy, that's about it! i'm gutted i didn't go to the druid's temple near inverness because i didn't want to ask a farmer, i think i may have cut off my nose to spite my face on that one.

I disagree.

At every site mentioned I asked for access and received nothing but friendly interest in what I was doing. And I'm apparently a cynical, miserable bastard. In fact the only places I've had trouble have been Yorkshire and Cumbria. To be expected, in my experience.

The woman who answered the door at Druid Temple probably thought I was a bit weird - fair enough - but readily agreed when I said I was an 'amateur archeaologist'. Suggest a less confrontational attitude is better for those that come after. We need to work with the landowners, where possible. Of course sometimes it is not.

My problem is just that farmer's are the main destroyers of these great places [now and in the past], so it seems strange to ask people like that to visit a place where our ancesters may lay, it has to be our rights to be able to have free and open access to all these places, bar none!

I come and go as I please, I wont ask permission unless its inescapable. To stop me they'll have to come and tell me to get off their land, 'till then it's my land. I expect many will disagree with my point of view, thats why i'll get to see the stones and you wont. Carefree, thats the ticket.

PS; what does Chris mean "Has no-one been here for six years?"

That is the reason things need to change quickly, you shouldn't feel like that visiting your heritage, and backing off just lets the fuckers win, because that's what they want you to think, like i said before we honestly laughed in their faces [they were in tweed for fucks sake] when they pointed there guns at us and said we couldn't go to see the hoarstone quite near you, we went anyway [we wasn't shot and they just started arguing amongst themselves, before my missus tried running one over], so i think you may have the worst landowners in the country around that way [David cameron!!!! says it all]].

Strange. I understood Mr Cope gleaned a lot of local knowledge about sites by actually talking to landowners. Talking.... I know I have. As I said , my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive - not exclusively so, granted, but more often than not people answering the door have been surprised I actually bother to do what I do.What we do. Therefore where there is nearby habitation I always go have a word. Often no-one is in, so I leave a note. I find it benefits me.... not least by putting me in the right frame of mind to try and comprehend what the ancients wanted visitors to think. Of more importance, perhaps, I try to spread the word that people like us are not out to rob and destroy, but to preserve our ancient culture, to learn. Nothing will ever change by declaring war on landowners. Hey, work with those who are receptive. Prove to those who are not that it would be a good idea if they were. Class war is bollocks. It's all about how we relate to other individuals, one on one. Orwell found that out fighting in the Spanish Civil War, not braving the 'wrath' of some west country farmer. Communism had one of the the longest trial periods in history to prove it is bollocks. Fascism far less. Recently 10 years of that lunatic Blair, promising a new brand, left us with an economy teetering on the brink of the abyss....not to mention an illegal war.... whilst he rakes in the millions from who knows where? Cameron is the sucker who volunteered to put his neck in the noose, tagged to that Clegg like a ball and chain. More fool him.

I've been to Balgorkar (and most of the other sites) loads of times surely we don't need to take pics every time. It's nice just to appreciate the circle, and all other sites, take in the scenery and try to picture what it once looked like. Plus I'd like to think I was trying to look after the place.