Directions:
Take the B4465 east out of Bristol and just beyond the Shortwood turn off there is a convenient bus stop on the left. The Barrow is in the field next ti the bus stop. To make matters even easier there is a public right of way across the field. Access is therefore very easy.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that there is very little to see. The Barrow is now no more that a ploughed out mound no more than 0.3 metre high and spread over an area of about 30 metres.
To be honest I would have easily walked right past it if I wasn’t specifically looking for it. Don’t bother wasting your petrol.
The barrow is mentioned in Phil Quinn's 'Holy Wells of the Bath and Bristol Region' (1999) - it lies in a field called Bridewell. Was this spring, we ask ourselves, a reason for the barrow's location? Or maybe alternatively, the presence of the barrow helped gain the spring its helpful reputation? The water now goes into a reservoir - but once the water was renowned as being "very good for sore eyes and Diet drinks." (one assumes this meant good for your stomach, rather than a helpful slimming aid).
Etymology fans may see something interesting in the name of the nearby settlement: Pucklechurch (Puck's church? - but of course it may come from something quite different). Pucklechurch is also infamous for being where the second king of England, Edmund, was stabbed to death.
The 'Puckleweb' site (below) contains the local wisdom that "if a Pucklechurch boy is looking for a wife, he should look no further than Shortwood Hill". So if you think the locals look inbred, remember it wasn't me that said so.
Richard Osgood's page on the barrow including three reasons why it's difficult to see clearly: on the side of the road, being cut by a hedge, and lying under 1.2m of grasses. Better keep a sharp eye out.
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Posted by Rhiannon
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