Images

Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

Looking West along the edge of the enclosure(?) earthwork which runs parallel with the public footpath through the Freshwater golf course. It’s quite long and starts outside the course near the solitary barrow at Tapnell Down.

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

The corner of the enclosure(?) earthwork with a curious stone near the corner.

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

Two very large barrows located within the Freshwater Golf Course just before you start the descent towards the clubhouse. Glad to discover they hadn’t been tampered with like some of the other unfortunate barrows here.

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

The dyke which runs for some length along the ridge of Afton Down and into the Freshwater Bay golf course.

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

A pair of barrows near the footpath or are they merely bunkers on the golf course?

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

Three barrows near the entrance to the golf course with the public footpath running through the middle.

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

Interesting one this. The barrow on the left I think is genuine and the one on the right has either been added to by the golf course designers or is merely a heap of earth. It certainly didn’t seem consistent with others in the group.

Image credit: A R Cane
Image of Afton Down (Barrow / Cairn Cemetery) by A R Cane

Three barrows near the Clubhouse of the Freshwater Bay Golf Course.

Image credit: A R Cane

Articles

Afton Down

Afton Down is a strange site as it’s often difficult to tell what’s old and what’s been added. What looks like a Bronze-age barrow from one angle turns out to be a sand trap from another. It’s obviously a barrow cemetery consisting of two groups of 3 and 8 barrows and a dyke or two, but has been severely messed about by the morons that are the Freshwater Bay Golf club. How do these people manage to get away with it? You would think that this historically interesting area which is wonderfully beautiful and relatively unspoilt for the Isle of Wight would have had some sort of preservation order placed on it, but they’ve simply carved it up for the benefit of a few garishly-clad plonkers who tut at you when you stop to take a few photos because it’s interrupting their ‘game’. It might be quite interesting to have a closer look at some of the barrows in the evening after the golfers have gone home as you can’t get near some of them because you’re restricted to the footpath. On a nicer note, you can visit Dimbola Lodge, the home of Julia Margaret Cameron, pioneer Victorian photographer in Freshwater Bay which is a real treat.

Sites within 20km of Afton Down