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Chambered Tomb
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Unlike just about everyone else on TMA, I declined to park on the A4 verge due to the madness of various daredevil drivers. Instead, we headed for the car park at SU159699, and I took a longer, leisurely walk along the bridleway at the opposite corner to the entrance to the car park.
The bridleway is bounded on the left by a white topped, electrified fence. I didn't test to see if it was on, but after about 500 yards or so, the Den appeared on the near horizon. It seemed a long way away, and following the fence, I wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to get access, but the fence and bridleway headed left eventually, and down into the dale. A gate at the bottom of the hill led to the overgrown footpath, about 500 yards away from the barbed wire 'stile' near the stones. This last stretch was muddy, and I'd imagine could be quite overgrown in high season, unlike the lush grass track I'd taken thus far. The round trip took me an hour, and I'm not as fit as Moth, so it's probably a comparable distance, with no difficulty parking.
The location itself is stunning, but I kept asking myself, 'why here?' Surrounded by hills on all sides, there is no obvious view or alignment for the 'barrow'. The stones lie on a distintive mound, but I suspect most of this is field clearance, as the restoration is is quite obvious, and the concrete was, for me, quite off-putting. I'll be back though, if only for the views from the approach.This post appears as part of the weblog entry Old and New Friends in Wiltshire |
Posted by ocifant
31st December 2003ce
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