thesweetcheat

The eastern platform cairn. There is little to see of the surrounding bank.

Detail of the flank of the heather-covered western barrow.

The western barrow.

Wilmot’s Pool western barrow and eponymous pool.

Low cairn hidden by bracken – this is the easternmost of the Black Hill summit group, at ST 14742 38207. The big hill over on the right is Dowsborough hillfort.

The other side of the most prominent Black Hill cairn.

The most prominent of the cairn group to the northwest of Black Hill summit.

The southwestern cairn on the slopes of Hurley Beacon at ST 14125 37998, very overgrown with gorse and heather.

Looking southeast from Hurley Beacon cairn towards Wills Neck, the highest point of the Quantock Hills.

Expansive views from the top of Hurley Beacon cairn.

Hurley Beacon cairn.

One of the low, overgrown barrows on the summit of Thorncombe Hill, the southeast of the Thorncombe Barrow.

Thorncombe Barrow.

Looking west towards Exmoor.

The top of Thorncombe Barrow, looking northwest towards Bridgwater Bay. The hill on the right is Beacon Hill, topped with its own barrows.

Thorncombe Barrow surrounded by a wine-dark sea of heather.

The eastern rampart.

Looking down on Short Combe, which provided our route up, from the southeastern part of the rampart.

The western rampart at the bottom of the site.

The northern rampart. The village below is Bicknoller, where we walked up from.

Looking along the rampart, showing the steepness of the hillside. This can’t have been intended as a defensible site, the hillside above would favour an attacker. Presumably a domestic or stock control function is more likely.

Looking across the northeastern rampart. The eastern edge of Exmoor is on the left skyline, Selworthy Beacon and the coast near Minehead are to the right.

Looking down on the fort from the steep slope above.

This really is a superb site.

There’s a gap in the bank in the foreground, which may well be original, as a common feature of Peaks embanked rings.

Detail of the stones.

Looking to the rising ground of Bamford Moor.

The bank around the stones is superbly preserved and mercifully someone is keeping the vegetation away too.

Approaching from Bamford Edge to the west. Stanage Edge fills the whole skyline.

The possible southern outlier, looking straight towards the circle.

The northern end of Stanage Edge rises behind the circle.

The lovely gritstone stones.

Looking northeast.

Looking northwest towards the Derwent Moors.

Looking west towards Lose Hill.

The possible northern outlier, looking west towards Win Hill, with [[Lose Hill][ far right.

Lose Hill at its most conical, from Losehill End to the southeast.

From the other side, the barrow looks more like a natural part of the hilltop, hence the uncertainty about its status.

The eroded edge of the barrow.

Barrow with toposcope. Looking across the Noe Valley towards Win Hill.

The is-it-or-isn’t-it barrow on Lose Hill.

Looking along the Great Ridge to Lose Hill, from the slopes of Mam Tor.

Retrospective view from Back Tor towards Mam Tor, with Lord’s Seat behind.

The cobbled surface of the summit barrow. Lose Hill is far right of shot.

The view of the Vale of Edale towards Kinder Scout from the summit barrow.

Looking down on the southwestern barrow from the summit barrow.

The summit barrow from the southwestern barrow.

The southwestern barrow, with the summit barrow behind.

The southwestern barrow.