CARL

I made the (near) big mistake of visiting tis site in the summer which made it even more difficult to find. An O/S map is a must although it is easy to park once you get to the edge of the forest. This has to be one of the most remote sites I have been to. The best tip I can give is that the burial chamber IS just about visible on your left. It is VERY low to the ground so you need to concentrate. It’s only a short walk off the track but it took me a long time to find. Not much to see really but I guess it is satisfying when you do eventually find it!

In my quest to visit all 120 CADW sites this was one of the first I visited back in 2007. Difficult to find and an O/S map is vital. Despite being a CADW site there are no sign posts to help. Park as best you can at the entrance to the farm (not much room and the tractors were fast and frequent when I visited). Take the ‘path’ through the trees oposite the farm entrance and make your way along the right hand side field until you come to a gate. Climb over the gate, through more trees and you come to the hillfort. When I visited in the summer the grass was high and it wasn’t easy to spot the defences although they could be made out. Perhaps best visited during the winter months when vegetation is low? – and less tractors about!

Trelleck is a fantastic place to visit. Not only does it have Harold’s Stones but it also has a motte, Holy Well and a broken medieval cross in the church yard – all within a short walk of the car park next to the village hall? There is a decent information board opposite said car park. The stones are easy to access but be careful crossing the raod as it was surprisingly busy when I visited. The stones are cracking. This is obviously a very special place. I wonder what it all means? Must visit again when I get a chance. Make the effort to visit this place – you won’t be disappointed.

Another site I have visited many times. (when visiting here you should also visit St Lythans just up the road) Parking is easy and a 10 minutes walk across the field takes you there. The cap stone is huge and the chamber quite well preserved. I have never actually crawled into the chamber as every time I have visited it has always been very muddy. Unfortunately I usually find lots of rubbish / beer cans etc throw into the chamber by the less well educated in society.

I have visited this site several times over the years as it it not far from where I live and is so easy to access. Oddly enough, although Tinkinswood gets all the ‘glory’ I actually prefer this site. On a windy day the stones for a sort of ‘wind tunnel’ when stood inside.

Easy to find – just head for the sports centre! In front of the centre, right next to the road, is this rather ‘unloved’ standing stone. A small information board is next to the stone (equally unloved). I am sure that most people who pass this stone have no idea what it is. If in the area stop and give it a pat. Let it know there are some people out there who do care!

The common is easy to find although if you do have a problem just ask a local! Plenty of places to park and I was surprised how pleasant the common was for a walk. Lots of ‘modern’ standing stones about – circles / avenues etc. Somehow it seemed a strange place to find these recreations. All in all a nice place to visit. Don’t forget to look for the cist (Coed-Pen-Maen) when visiting – not easy but worth the search.

I drove down the bumpy track off the main road towards the house at the end. When I parked up the door opened and two blokes came out. ‘Here we go’ I thought but to my pleasant surprise they were very welcoming and seemed very interested about the stone next to their house, asking me lots of questions – as if I knew what I was talking about?!! They were amazed when I told them how old it was and I was welcme to stay as long as I liked. This gave Dafydd plenty of practice in trying to catch the chickens!

When I visited I parked near the farm and took the path past the farmhouse and barns, through the gate into the fields leading to the stone. It was a lovely sunny day and no one was about. This was one of Dafydd’s first sites and he loved looking at the animals. The stone is large and is quite easily seen despite being in the hedgerow.

Agree with Jane on this one – completely knackering walk – particularly on a windy day! In saying that the views from the top looking down along the coast line does make it worth it – just about! At least you can get a cuppa in the cafe when you arrive back at the car park. The path is clearly signposted from the car park and obvious up Rhossili Down.

There is a large (but bumpy) parking area next to the main road. Maen Ceti is easily seen in the distance and can be reached by a 15 minute fairly flat walk. The cap stone is HUGE – as are the views across the Gower. Plenty of people about although this didn’t detract from my visit.

I love these type of sites – Next to a church or in the middle of a village. The stones are next to the road and easily seen without leaving the car if you don’t want to. Lovely little village.

Probably as most people do (judging by the ‘path’ through the grass) I had a quick look after visiting Maen Ceti. A pile of stones – but a large pile at that. Easily seen from Maen Ceti if you don’t fancy the short walk.

Although I visited this site in the height of summer (2009) the first field you walk through at the bottom of the hill was very, very wet – luckily I had my wellies in the car. Follow Postman’s directions and you will be there in about 10 minutes. I had the place to myself, blue sky and a bird or prey hovering overhead – bliss.

As you drive up the hill over the common, look to your right (the ‘up hill’ side) and you will see the stone about half way between the road and the summit. Once you spot it it is easy to walk to although when I visited it was quite boggy in places. A nice stone though and worth a visit.

I visited this site winter (it started to snow!) and couldn’t find it. However, as I was about to give up, a couple were walking their dog and by luck they knew where it was. I can’t really give directions other than to say it is in the middle(ish) of the common and is quite small – about 2ft x 10 inches. Only the top couple of inches are sticking up above the grass. Good luck!

I really liked this site – much better than I expected. Easy to access – park right next to site, up the bank and over the metal stile (slippery when wet!). It may not be as big as the other rock art sites but is much easier to get to. Well worth a visit, particularly if you are unable to walk very far. Easy enough to view over the metal railings.

My favourite cain in the group. The fact that you can climb inside made it special for me. I don’t know why but visiting sites where you can climb inside seems very peaceful and somehow connects you to the past – moreso than ‘surface’ only sites. Easy to access but watch your ankles on the loose stones. Didn’t stay as long as I would have liked as Dafydd wanted his bottle – which was in the car!! Cracking place to visit.

All the cairns are worth visiting and to view them in a line up the valley is something special. This place must have been amazing when the area was at it’s peak. A very special place indeed.

The perfect site to ‘visit’ in the rain. I sat in the visitor’s centre with a hot cup of tea and a cake and looked at the site through the conservatory windows – this is the life!!

It is perhaps surprising that although the other sites in Kilmartin had lots of people visiting (despite the weather) there was no one here. I parked in the lane near the house (also a B+B) and took the short walk up the little path which runs alongside the house. I had read about the axe head carvings and spent ages laying on my belly with my head in the cist trying to spot them. I was jusy about to give up when I noticed the other cist – and there they were (3 of them if I remember correctly) quite easy to spot once your eyes adjust. The first, and so far only, axe head carvings I have seen. Well worth a visit.

The rain eased off as I approached the cairn although the wind got stronger. Dafydd was safely secured in his push chair under his rain covers and I had a quick look around. Stuck my head inside the cist and tried to contemplate the whole landscape – too much for my small mind!

This was the last site I visited in my day out at Kilmartin. By now the rain was torrential and I made my tired and wet way up the narrow track behind the hotel to the site. The effort was worth it although I am sure I would have enjoyed the experience more in better weather! To make things worse I (somehow) took the wrong track back to the car and ended up the wrong side of the hill – resulting in a long walk along the road which runs around the base of the hill – much to the confusion of passing cars!

When I visited last year I failed to spot the henge. I know it looks easy to find on the map but I just couldn’t see it on the ground. Perhaps the constant rain was putting me off?! One to re-visit next time I get chance to visit Kilmartin.

I got absolutely drenched visiting this site (days before I had my waterproofs!) but it was well worth it as the rock art is amazing and the rock face is so large. I doubt a place like this would have survived this long if it was easier to get to! In saying that, the path from the car park is obvious. Just keep walking and it takes you right there.

I really liked Templewood. Easy to access and a very pleasant setting amongst the trees. (Disabled car parking is available right next to the site). Even though there were plenty of people about everyone seemed to respect the site and quietly observed from the edges as opposed to climbing all over it as I have seen at other places.

Visited last summer during a week long stay in Scotland. Called in when visiting the Crannog Centre (also worth visiting). Easily seen right next to the road and parking easy as well. I brought the whoe family to see this site as access is so easy. Unfortunately only myself and Dafydd got out of the car to have a look around (and he didn’t have a say in the matter!). Lovely site and well worth a visit – despite what the rest of the family may say!! Cracking.

When I visited it was pouring down with rain and the road was like a stream. Eventually found the site thanks to directions from a farm house. Also, a special mention must go to the chap who stopped us in his 4x4 telling us the ‘road’ we were about to go down was flooded to a depth of 3 foot!. Despite this, it is a cracking site right next to the road. If only the weather was better!

Worth visiting when seeing Long Meg. The stones are near the field hedge on the left hand side as you enter the field. Very small although there are some nice markings on one of the stones. Might prove a little difficult to spot if the grass gets too long!

I visited this site last December on a gloriously sunny winter’s day. I parken on the lane next to a phone box near the entrance to Perth-Y-Pia. The walk up to the hillfort is very, very steep but the views you are rewarded with make the effort worthwhile. I sat for quite a while surveying the surrounding landscape – lovely.

Visited (from afar) 5.6.10.
This was my last site on a hot and humid day. I could see the hilltop on which the hillfort stands as I approached Llanfilo through the country lanes. I thought I would park next to the church for a closer look through the binoculars but as I entered the village it soon became apparent that you couldn’t see anything because of the trees. There is no public right of way to the hillfort and I was too tired and didn’t have time to walk up through the fields. (Looking at the O/S map a better approach would have been via Hillis farm where I assume permission could sought?) The church looked like it was well worth a visit but time was against me, so I headed home and looked up again at the hillfort as I headed out of the village. Perhaps a return visit one day?

Visited 5.6.10.
Parked in the handy small parking area provided, I assume, for walkers and headed north along the Beacons Way. The first 30 yards or so are very steep but then the ground levels of a bit and it is a long, slow walk up hill – at least it is if you are mainly carrying a two year old! After 30 minutes you reach the top of the hill and the cairn in right next to the path – can’t miss it. The cairn is quite large and has a pile of ‘modern’ stones placed on top of it. Next to this is a hollow in the cairn where I assume it has been dug into in the past. There isn’t a great deal to see but the views are spectacular, making the long hot walk (just about!) worthwhile. I will be happy when Dafydd is a bit older and I don’t have to carry him so much!!!

Visited 5.6.10.
Easy one this. As you drive along the A40 through Bwlch the road bends to the left and the stone is easily seen in the large field to your left. There are plenty of parking places in the village and it is only a short walk to the stone. I am no expert by any means but it gave me the impression of a rubbing stone?

Visited 5.6.10.
Visible from the A479 if you have a quick look through the field gates. But be careful – this is a busy road with very little parking opportunities. Best bet is to pull in next to the field gate in which the stone stands. Although there is no public right of way to the stone it is easily visible and only a short walk to it you want to get up close and personal.

Visited 5.6.10.
O/S map required for this one.
I parked at the bottom of the bridle way and made my way up the very steep but obvious path. It was a hot and humid day and carrying Dafydd proved to be very difficult due to the weather and the steepness of the path. However, I somehow perservered and after about 15 minutes reached a metal gate. At this point the ‘path’ becomes less obvious but you can either go straight on or take a path to the right. Taking the path to the right takes you behind the Hillfort where you would need to make your own way (off path) to get closer to the site. The ferns were chest high and although you could make out some undulation in the ground there wasn’t anything else of note. This is a site which would be better visited during the winter months when the ferns are low. Suitable for only the physically fairly fit I’m afraid.

Visited 5.6.10.
Parked at the farm house and asked permission which was readily given. Follow the track which runs past the right of the farmhouse and take the immediate dirt track to the left which runs between the back of the farm house and the large metal barn. (Don’t do what I did and carry on straight up the tarmac lane – nice walk but no Long Barrows!). Once you get to the end of the barn go through the metal field gate on your right and you will see the Barrows to your left. Both Long Barrows are covered in nettles and both had Hawthorn trees growing out of the top. The first Barrow you come to is the smaller of the two but the better preserved with standing stones forming part of a chamber? Despite being so close to farm buildings there is a sense of seclusion here and I found it a lovely place to visit. To top if off there were cows in the field and Dafydd was entranced watching a calf take milk from its mother – that made the visit worth it alone. One to recommend.

I tried to visit this site last summer but failed! After a couple of hours on the beach I persuaded the rest of the folks that a small detour was in order! I approached the site from the west near the disused pier. After finding a suitable parking spot (not easy on the narrow busy road) I made my way through the undergrowth, up the very steep embankment. The soil underfoot was very loose and I had to pull myself up by hanging onto trees. As I approached the top I was confronted by a vertical cliff face of rock. I suppose it may have been possible to climb but I decided it was too dangerous and made my way back to the car. On my way down I noticed the sign which warned people not to enter the area as it was dangerous! I would recommend a visit from the east, although when I drove past I couldn’t see any obvious access points past the rows of houses.

Visited 30.5.10.
I had read a lot about this site over the years so I was looking forward to my visit – and I wasn’t disappointed! The free car park is well sign posted when entering the village and it is only a short walk to the public footpath along Castle Lane. A 10 minute walk up the steep hill through the trees and you are there. Myself and Dafydd then spent an enjoyable 30 minutes walking right around the hillfort enjoying the fantastic view all around. Well, at least I was – Dafydd was more interested in honing his ‘sliding down the ramparts on his bum’ skills he first learned at Bratton Hillfort a couple of weeks ago- much to the dismay of his mother!! Definitely worth a visit.

Visited 30.5.10.
Athelney – at last! I have wanted to visit this site for many years, ever since seeing it on Time Team (by the way this was Time Team’s first ever site and also their 100th dig!) Heading towards Burrow Mump on the A361 there is a large layby on the right hand side. In the layby is an information board explaining the site, which is very easily seen. I was surprised by how close the site was to the main road. For some reason I was expecting it to be a lot further away. The info board mentions the Time Team dig in 2002 and also states that this is the lowest hillfort in the UK. The monument is at the left end on the long low mound and there was a large pile of wood at the opposite end – looked like someone was planning a bonfire! There isn’t a huge amount to see here but it meant a lot to me.

Visited 30.5.10.
Failed to find this one – if it is still there? I drove all around the village and had a good look near the crossroads. All I could see was several large boulder type stones on the kerbside near the crossroads but no sign of a standing stone. The one local I saw out and about knew nothing of a standing stone when I asked him. Perhaps it has been destroyed at some point in the past or perhaps it is just well hidden?

Visited 30.5.10.
When I say visited, perhaps I should have said ‘sort of’ visited. You will need an O/S map for this one although the site is sign posted off the ‘main’ lane onto a ‘minor’ lane. Follow the small lane up the hill and it leads you directly into a large free car park with a couple of information boards. Alongside this lane on the left as you drive to the car park is a bank/rampart. When you arrive at the car park there are several banks/ramparts which may – or may not – be part of the hillfort? This was my last stop at the end of a long day and Dafydd was fast asleep in the car so I didn’t want to wake him. Instead I had a quick look at the possible ramparts right next to the car park and read the information board which indicated there were many more such banks/ramparts a short walk away. There was information on various walks you could take around the site and parkland. It was very pretty here and I am sure you could spend an hour or two walking amongst the trees and banks. One to visit again when next in the area.

This is a wonderful site and well worth a visit. Although there was no sign on the country lane telling you where to park I spotted a few cars parked in a layby and concluded this was the place – I was right! (I later found the E.H. sign had been knocked over and was laying on its side in the bushes next to said layby). I then followed the fairly obvious path through the trees and up the quite steep field. The walk was a lot longer than I expected but I knew I was on the right path as a few people passed me heading back from the site. When you finally arrive it is well worth the effort. I really enjoyed myself entering the largest side chamber and laying on my belly to stick my head into the other smaller chambers – much to the amusement of another chap who was paying a visit! If you are physically able to manage the walk I would definitely recommend a visit.

When I visited in the early Spring of 2009 the field had just been ploughed and was very, very muddy despite sticking as much as possible to the edge of the field – the rain didn’t help!Anyway, I did squelch my way across to the barrow and found it to be quite overgrown with fairly high grass – lots of places where it looded as though it had been dug in the past. All in all I found this to be a little disappointing although it is in a lovely setting – on a nice day!

Visited August 2009.
Nice and easy – just inside the field by a gate. Funny thing is though, that after visiting the Tinglestone and Gatcombe Lodge Longbarrow I was too nervous to enter the field for a ‘hands on’ visit and settled for a view from the gate. Silly I know and I now regret this. Another visit required when next in the area!

Visited August 2009.
As with most other people I took what I thought was the sesible approach and contented myself with a view from the lane which runs alongside the field in which the stone stands. Unfortunately I did make the major mistake of trying to drive down siad lane! Unless you drive a 4x4 forget it. Damage to exhaust now repaired!!!

Visited July 2009.

For directions see Martin’s post below.
I stopped off here on the way back from a visit to Edinburgh. There is a T/A building next to where you park and signs stating that you can’t visit when the flags are flying – which means there is live firing taking place! Luckily when I visited all was peaceful and I had no trouble entering the Souterrain through the unlocked metal gate. The site reminded me very much of Fogues I visited in Cornwall this year – very similar – so much so that my guess is they were used for the same purpose. Well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area.

Visited July 2009.
This is an excellent place to visit with easy access (although there is a bit of a steep walk) from the layby. It is a bit strange with the Second World War looking hut looking completely out of place and then the large concrete dome protecting the site from the elements. I loved the fact that you had to climb down a ladder top get inside – very Indiana Jones!! I have visited a number of Historic Scotland sites and I must say that I like the way they care for their sites and in particular how well sign posted most of them are – something CADW could learn from! The views are wonderful and I spent a very enjoyable hour or so here. Highly recommended.

Whilst in the area (and needing petrol) there was only one place to go! After paying for said petrol it was a 30 second walk to the stone and a gentle pat on the old girl’s/boy’s head. No doubt it will still be here when the petrol station is long gone. (You do get some funny looks from other motorists though!!)

I thought this was a cracking site, right next to the road at a junction. No real need to enter the field as the stones are very easily seen from the roadside. There were Shetland ponies in the field which were needless to say very cute!!

When I visited the forestry barriers were up and I was able to drive through the trees right next to the barrows. It was a lovely sunny day and I sat on the tree trunk on top of the barrows while Gafydd enjoyed himself with some sticks he found! The barrows are larger than I had expected and the forest setting was very pretty.