Like the Matfen and Warrior stones, Swinburne has cups and weathered grooves. Most pleasing to the eye. Unlike all the other stones in Northumberland, this one is of a decent size.
Access isn’t bad, though from the road, the track is bumpy, and there’s a gate. There’s a decent parking spot next to the ex-chapel at Ox hills, and the short walk allows the chance to have a deks at the strange terracing. Permission to sneak off the path can then be sought at Swinburne Castle, where the chap was quite pleasant, and more than happy to allow us to wander, once he’d assured himself we weren’t going to carve out initials on the stone.