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Hillfort
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Got off the train at Colwall (4.7.09) had a quick look at Colwall Stone - humph.
This amazing hilltop towers above the village. When I first saw it from the station, I must admit to being rather overawed.
After a fair walk south, coming up on to the Malverns at Hangmans Hill and approaching along Shire Ditch, this is a terrific structure. Certainly one of the most impressive hillforts I have visited. It stands, devoid of any covering vegetation (except grass) with amazing views in all directions, only the continuing ridge of the Malverns to the north being any match in height. It was a warm sunny day, but this must be a cold, exposed place in the winter months.
The original site was the central core of the fort as it is today, which has been further altered by having a motte built on it (sometimes referred to as "The Citadel"). The ramparts to the south and off at an angle to the north-east were added later to increase the interior area to about 12 hectares. That such a vast structure was constructed using primitive picks and moving the earth by hand is staggering. The rock of the Malverns is an iron-hard, igneous type, which would present a challenge even to modern digging equipment.
An interesting cave sits slightly to the south of the fort, supposedly the cave lived in by the giant associated with Colwall Stone. Just as the stone is not that impressive, he must have been a pretty small giant to live in this cave!
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Posted by thesweetcheat
3rd August 2009ce
Edited 3rd August 2009ce
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