Burford Down

Nearest town:
Rattery (9km ENE)
OS reference:
SX637601
OS sheet:
202
Latitude:
50° 25' 27.43 N
Longitude:
3° 55' 8.55 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by GLADMAN

Worm’s-eye view of the cairn-circle looking toward the row. Stalldown Barrow breaks free from the mantle for a moment.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Mar 27, 2016
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by GLADMAN

The cairn-clrcle upon its watery ridge...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Mar 27, 2016
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by GLADMAN

The cairn-circle.... looking southwards back down the row.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Mar 27, 2016
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by GLADMAN

The row terminates at a rather untidy cairn-circle overflowing with vibe and character... not to mention water. The weather was quite atrocious, but there you are.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Mar 27, 2016
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by GLADMAN

After being mesmerised by the superb Harford cairn circle across the River Erme I wasn’t expecting a great deal here, merely continuing the walk since the hammering rain would allow me to sit no longer... however I was impressed by this row. Stalldown Barrow rises to the south (honest)

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Mar 27, 2016
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

The terminal cairn circle, looking towards the Erme Valley.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

Looking eastwards across the cairn circle to the Tristis Rock.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

The southern end of the row, teminating with a now-ruined cairn circle.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

The small stones of the row, looking towards Stalldown Barrow.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

Looking southwards along the row – the upright stones of the terminal cairn circle are visible on the horizon.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 11, 2010
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by Billy Fear

Cairn circle with row in background looking North.
23/10/09

Image credit: Billy Fear
Billy Fear
Billy Fear Jan 2, 2010
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by Lubin

The cairn/kist at SX637601 on Burford Down around 100 metres to the east of the row close to Tristis Rock.The upright stone near to the centre is the remaining side of the kist.

Image credit: Peter Castle ©
Lubin
Lubin Mar 20, 2005
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by RedBrickDream

Looking across the southern end of the row towards Tristis Rock and the Eastern side of the Erme valley

Image credit: Craig Gurney, July 2003
RedBrickDream
RedBrickDream Jul 30, 2004
Image of Burford Down (Stone Row / Alignment) by RedBrickDream

Looking north down the row to Yadsworthy Waste and, in the distance, Stalldown Barrow

Image credit: Craig Gurney, July 2003
RedBrickDream
RedBrickDream Jul 30, 2004

Articles

Burford Down

markj99
markj99 Sep 4, 2020

Visited 02.09.20

I followed the river path at Harford Bridge and a cow path up to Tristis Stone. The Chambered Cairn is 70 yards W of Tristis Stone and the Cairn Circle a further 90 yards west.
I followed the stone row downhill (due N) for 220 yards and c. 80 stones when i ran into extensive gorse and lost the trail.
The size of stones in the row varied from inches above ground to three feet.

Burford Down

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 23, 2010

The final row of the day climbs Burford Down, towards a visible terminal cairn circle at the high point of the hill. This last site pulls my tired legs onwards. As the row climbs the hill, I turn around for a last look towards Stalldown behind, what a wonderful landscape this is.

The terminal cairn-circle isn’t a match for the Dancers. There is a hollowed mound in its centre and many of the stones are missing or fallen, but this is still a grand enough way to finish the row.

Burford Down

Billy Fear
Billy Fear Jan 5, 2010

The row is about 500m long and has a ring cairn at its southern end, a fallen terminal pillar at its northern end. It is intersected by a leat and a field wall in the northern section.

Burford Down

RedBrickDream
RedBrickDream Jul 30, 2004

Park at Harford and follow the river up the valley. This N-S row is about 500m long and is the southernmost of the the three rows which stretch out into the Erme valley. The stones are often small, but fairly evenly spaced and offer good sport in tracing their line down towards Yadsworthy Waste. A cairn at the southernmost end of the row lies parallel with Tristis Rock which dominates both Burford Down and the lower Erme valley. It rained all day when I visited in July 2003. This was the day that I decided that paying the extra money for a waterproof map was worthwhile after all.

Miscellaneous

Burford Down
Stone Row / Alignment
RedBrickDream
RedBrickDream Jul 30, 2004

“Crossing’s Guide to Dartmoor” (1912) has this to say about the row:

Not far from the rock [Tristis Rock] there is a single stone row which starts from a ruined circle and runs North for a distance of 400 yards and consists of 112 stones (p 401).

Paul Petit’s (1974) “Prehistoric Dartmoor” adds the following:

The lower end [Northern] was originally marked by a tall stone, now cut in two. The base is 4ft wide and rsies over 2ft out of the ground at an angle, so that the stone was leaning when cut. Presumably this was done by a mason in search of a gate post who then abandoned it, leaving a slab over 7ft long and tapering to a breadth of 2 and a half ft lying on the ground. It must have been an impressive terminal, comparable to those at Laughter Tor and on Langstone Moor. (p 135)

Sites within 20km of Burford Down

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