Visited 8th April 2004: These two bowl barrows are the closest to the National Trust car park, and if you're walking to Beacon Hill you pass very close to them.
The larger of the two barrows is very prominent from the surrounding countryside. It's easy to spot and relatively easy to get to, up a steep slope. There are excellent views from the top of the larger barrow.
The smaller barrow lies to the east of the large one, and is much trickier to find. It is a lot smaller and shorter. We visited during the early Spring, but I'd imagine this barrow would be more tricky to find during the summer. Not very spectacular, so if you can't find it, don't loose any sleep about it.
The most obvious mound is seen from the road that snakes up to the National Trust car park. Visible on the left it is thankfully realatively untouched and sits on the end of the beacon ridge in a prominent position. It is a reasonable size & has superb views accross to the reseviors at Tring and out over the flat lands heading north.
Continuing up from this along the eroded path there are the remains of a flattened mound, quite large in diameter, with a track cutting through it. Along the ridge towards Whipsnade are a number of smaller mounds, again revery worn but still visible. As you follow the ridge towards the radio masts it slopes down giving good views of one of the last mounds, to a fence where crossing a stile in front of you leads you into a usually ploughed field. The access here is good and in front of you is Gallows Hill, one of the better barrows on the ridge. Again there is a track over it, but thankfully the fence that also ran along the top has long since been removed. It is possible to walk all around the base. Beyond this mound is believed to be another smaller barrow, but farming has taken its toll and the area is not accessible.
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Posted by Kammer
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