juamei

[visited 19/5/3] – Following an abortive first visit at night earlier this year (I was considering whether to tresspass when a dog licked my hand & I was so freaked I gave up :), I arrived here with the rain just starting. Luckily it was only a twenty minute shower and gave me a chance to eat some lunch.

So the skies temporarily cleared and I quickfooted it to the henge. In one word, wow. I loved the visual effects the makers had created, not being able to see the stones from outside the henge & aiming straight at the meeting of the two hills in the distance. I was lucky enough to have the sight to myself and if I hadn’t been on a fairly strict timer I’d have stayed much longer. As it was more rain & more sites to see drove me back to the car.

And so onto the incident which prompted the unwritten actual fieldnotes to start ‘Still shaking & ouch’. Whilst at the henge the kindly farmer had put cows, sheep & lambs in the field between the henge & the farm. I’m not sure but I think cows like to protect lambs in the same field & I am definately sure that a cow trotting into me is gonna hurt more than the electric fence I gripped two handed after leaping over the nearby stone wall. Watch the cows, keep watching the COWS!!!

[visited 19/5/3] – What a lovely site. Ignoring the rape of the landscape from the mines, the views are tremendous & the ambiance just right. I parked at the start of the Five Wells farm track & walked the 10 minutes across the fields, setting myself up nicely for the landscape to open up in front of me as I reached the summit. When you are at the site, stand on the mound and rotate 360 degrees, warmed the cockles of my heart that sight!

[visited 19/4/3] Yet another hacked apart site with only sporadic clues left as to what on earth was actually here. It’s easy enough to find due to the large stone standing defiantly by the side of the road. I found further stones in the hedgerow & field to the North, where the OS map marks a few stones. My notes say 6 or 7 in hedge & 5 in the field, the OS map has 7 in the field.

As to what I think was here, well... 3 in the field seem to be in an arc, giving the other two as outliers or even a row. Presumably the howevermany in the hedge were dragged there from the field. And the one by the road?

One final note, I _think_ you could see Avebury from the one by the road.

[visited 19/4/3] So first of all I went to the church in Alton Barnes, St Marys, which a pleasant enough Saxon church but not what I was looking for. A bit of intelligence took me to All Saints, the church in question located surprisingly in Alton Priors.

I can happily confirm it is indeed on a mound, there is a 1700 year old yew tree in the churchyard (according to the certificate inside the church) and there are indeed sarsens under the floor boards. The church is no longer used but is still consecrated and is maintained by The Churches Conservation Trust.

I was pondering on how I was gonna find the sarsens, but one is located to the right as you enter the church, under a handy trapdoor. I presume one is located under another trapdoor near the altar, but someone seems to have built a plywood stage over it...

This is well worth a visit if you are in the area and (I think) is open everyday in the summer. There is a note on the door telling you where to get the key from if its locked.

[visited 19/4/3] An interesting and bracing walk from Avebury, especially with a fierce cold wind straight into your face for the majority of the walk. But cross the ridgeway and head down over the gallops into the fields of stone and the heart lifts.

I walked to the south of the copse, then round the back with the density of stones ever increasing. It was a cold day but I spent about an hour here, searching for the elusive Polisher. I had to give up in the end, if only cos my Avebury carpark ticket was in danger of running out. However I didn’t go home entirely empty handed, I found two stones with holes in and a nice sense of well being.

[visited 19/4/3] Another ruined circle with Sarsens in hedge rows nearby and lonely survivors standing proud. Bizarre to find it so close to Avebury however, WK avenue is clearly visible, yet somehow seems to ignore this circle.

No purpose is apparent given the location, but who said anything had to make sense.

[visited 19/4/3] Whilst in the area I thought I had better take a look at a genuine archaeological fiddle at The Cove, as these things are getting increasingly rare. I was disappointed to see no info board & no activity but the complex metal work around the stones was fairly entertaining. Lots of other intrigued looking people as well.

This was a cleanup day around South London, visiting a few sites that I hadn’t before. I had a good day for it and some pleasant company, so the day was an undoubted success. We did a loop from West to East, starting at Diana’s Dyke, then Gally Hills, Croham Hurst and finally attempted to get onto Caesar’s Camp.

Having done my list within the M25 and it was only 3pm, we headed outside to North Kent. First up was Squyerres Park but another nono, so we finished up at Oldbury again which is rapidly becoming a fav of mine.

All in all a nice productive day.

A quick word though, if you intend to do this South London wander, make sure you take in Morden Park at the start and Chislehurst Caves & Winn’s Common at the end. Actually, depending on your start time, you might want to reverse the route as well. That way you can be first in to Chislehurst caves & set up the day nicely.

This was a cleanup day around South London, visiting a few sites that I hadn’t before. I had a good day for it and some pleasant company, so the day was an undoubted success. We did a loop from West to East, starting at Diana’s Dyke, then Gally Hills, Croham Hurst and finally attempted to get onto Caesar’s Camp.

Having done my list within the M25 and it was only 3pm, we headed outside to North Kent. First up was Squyerres Park but another nono, so we finished up at Oldbury again which is rapidly becoming a fav of mine.

All in all a nice productive day.

A quick word though, if you intend to do this South London wander, make sure you take in Morden Park at the start and Chislehurst Caves & Winn’s Common at the end. Actually, depending on your start time, you might want to reverse the route as well. That way you can be first in to Chislehurst caves & set up the day nicely.

This was a cleanup day around South London, visiting a few sites that I hadn’t before. I had a good day for it and some pleasant company, so the day was an undoubted success. We did a loop from West to East, starting at Diana’s Dyke, then Gally Hills, Croham Hurst and finally attempted to get onto Caesar’s Camp.

Having done my list within the M25 and it was only 3pm, we headed outside to North Kent. First up was Squyerres Park but another nono, so we finished up at Oldbury again which is rapidly becoming a fav of mine.

All in all a nice productive day.

A quick word though, if you intend to do this South London wander, make sure you take in Morden Park at the start and Chislehurst Caves & Winn’s Common at the end. Actually, depending on your start time, you might want to reverse the route as well. That way you can be first in to Chislehurst caves & set up the day nicely.

[visited 11/4/03 & 14/4/03] So after a very nice visit to ramsdale, we meandered our way down and up some very steep little roads to this site. Lovely views but a sore site.

The standing stones and the Grouse Butts are just about the only things recognisable as man-made. I think I found the Cairn that Dyer mentions and maybe 1 or 2 outliers but otherwise a sad sad site.

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Despite its trashed state (and possibly because of it) the site lies just off the main Whitby to Pickering road, so as we headed back to London after yet another Whitby goff fest, I stopped for a quick second look. I noticed the huge number of 2ps seemingly welded to one of the stones this time and then we made a run for it as about 100 sheep converged on us expecting food...

[visited 11/4/03] Second time lucky to this and oh were we lucky. Last time I attempted these was with three ‘non-believers’, and I was beaten back 100 yards from my target by a combination of driving rain and complaints. This time I left the two ‘non-believers’ with me in no doubt that come driving rain, hail, snow, freak floods or thunder, I would be seeing these stones.

As it happened it was a perfect spring day, the stones were sumptious & the company very nice. We found the stones and then sat and stared out to sea. An absolute treat!

[visited 30/3/3] Another tree clad hillfort imperceptable as such unless you look closely. There is a sort of bank-ditch combo kinda encircling the hill, but not cared for and in one place replaced by huge girt concrete steps. The ever present distant roar of the M25 / M3 / Heathrow really detracts from this otherwise pleasant little retreat from North Surrey.

The best viewpoint in the place affords a nice view of a couple of rivers / lakes in the foreground and Heathrow just past them. We can only imagine what it was like even 100 years ago compared to now, I’m guessing somewhat more relaxing...

So in all, very nice I’m sure for the residents of Chertsey, somewhat less appealing for those of us who entered this area just for this experience. Go to Oldbury instead, you’ll be glad you did!

[visited circa 16/3/3] Unmarked on the main notice board & without an OS map of the area, these proved a tricky find. After coming down off the hillfort, walking through the village and failing to find the Cob Tree public house mentioned by Dyer, I asked a very helpful local. Luckily the first and easiest to find was 10 minutes walk up a path...

I recommend parking in the Hillfort carpark and walking counter clockwise around the ramparts of the fort, until you reach the edge of public access. Then turn right and head off the fort, down some very muddy steps and the shelter is off to the left, past a fallen tree. Not that much to see but enough to see it would have been cold, wet and not that much of a shelter...

By the side of the steps is a very curiously carved rock, from when I have no idea, anyone out there that can help??

Other shelters are accessible but I had run out of time. If I recall correctly, turn around and head back up the steps. You’ll meet an apple orchard on your right, head down the side of it till its end and then turn left, the other shelters are thereabouts (ps you will need to trespass to do this).

[visited circa 16/3/3] Finally I made it back here during the day & it was well worth the visit. A fairly large fort on top of a heavily wooded hill, the single bank-ditch combo is clearly visible and a well trodden path is available either at the top of the bank or the bottom. The trees (whilst nice for hugging et al) did iritate slightly as I’d have liked to have actually seen the view, but other than that they added very nicely to the general ambience.

Half of the fort is under cultivation, seemingly with apple orchards, but ‘apparently’ the farmer doesn’t mind people walking on it. I didn’t try this out however!

Park in the main car park & follow the hillfort bank counter-clockwise to get to the mesolithic Rock Shelters.

[visited 22/3/3] What a weird & relaxing site. We found three standing stones and many many piles of stones scattered liberally about the fields. The main field is (I presume) used as a showjumping practice ground & I think some of the piles of stones have been cleared off the open spaces. However at least 2 piles looked like they had had a purpose, quite what I have no idea... RE the row, I was disapointed to see the three stones didn’t line up, make of that what you will. They are however beautiful stones, either naturally modified or by hand.

Oh and if you try and find the caves prepare for disapointment, at some point in the last few years someone has put locked railings across the entrance ways. Bah! Another thing to look for is the fort on the golf course, together with small standing stones scattered across it. Unfortunately I was not alone and the cry of beer stopped me finding the stones on the golf course.. next time gadget!!

[actually written & added 27/11/02] This is another hillfort covered in trees & especially at night, there isn’t that much to see. Apparently the east side of the fort is precipitous but we didn’t make it that far, preferring instead to stop at the west embankments and wonder what the sounds were emanating from the trees.

Probably a better place to visit during the day, unless you know where you are going and (possibly) have a torch...

[visited about 29/1/03] Mud mud glorious mud. I foolishly thought that a London park would be non-muddy in January and my trainers paid for it here. This is a large tree covered mound with a kinda obvious ditch around the outside. As has been said it was once used as a tea-house and I found some pretty remains of a plate at the top.
The views from here are hidden slightly by the college nearby, but I was able to see the London Eye, about 10 miles to the North which was nice. I imagine the views when the mound was built were to the horizon in all directions, or at least to the hills in the distance to the south and west, which are 15 odd miles away. Oh and it looks damn like a classic round barrow to me!

And finally, I picked up a carrier bags worth of rubbish from this and could have had 2 or 3 more. Someone needs to teach the local kids to take their Hooch bottles away with them...

[visited 4/2/03] This being the closest ‘standing stone’ to my house, I thought I’d better go give it a look. It sits on top of a modern (well 19th century I think) stone plinth, surrounded by attractive blue railings. Very easy to find, sitting in the grounds of Kingston Guildhall, ignored by all who walk past. The stone itself is fairly large (compared to The London Stone) and could well have been part of a circle or more likely have been a markstone.
I presume it originally had a similar function to the now disapeared stone at the top of Brixton Hill, which was the meeting place of the local Hundred.
Quite a nice little visit if you are in the area though as per with London sites, not really worth travelling for. (I can imagine the cries from peeved family members, “You came all that way to see this???“)

[visited 10/1/03] Very ploughed out and not much to see to be honest. In a county deprived of much prehistory, these need to be acknowledged but probably just one for the obsessives...

Only six barrows remain of the presumably seven that once stood here on a low ridge. Of those remaining, one is so denuded it is barely visible, two have been dug into and the other three have been ploughed low.

Its no longer the nicest of locations either; any views that once existed are gone, hidden by the trees...

[visited 10/1/03] Head into Thetford from the direction of the A1075 and you should go straight past this amazing earthwork. I took the road just before it and parked on the road just past it. This site is visually very rich though I believe most of the visible earthworks are Norman. The huge mound is very reminicent of Silbury Hill, though nowhere near as large. Plus this mound is surrounded by buildings and ramparts.

Watch out for the excessive mud in January as it makes climbing the Motte an “interesting” addition to the day.

[visited 12/01/03] Situated on the edge of the A146 just before the Stockton sign as you come from Norwich. This is a sad little stone, missed no doubt by 99 percent of the people hurtling past on a reasonably busy A road.

I noticed there was the remains of an iron nail or something attached to the top of the stone, so it may have been moved from its original location or it may not be a genuine ancient stone at all.
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And I also see from the photos a huge gash in the side. Was this stone moved from a field?

[visited 27/12/02] If ever a sacred site existed in Dorset this is it. Parking by Littlebredy farm (SY595883) at the mouth of the valley, I set off expecting a few large rocks in a field, I got a wonderful example of nature.

First off is the remains of a banked enclosure; guardpost, salesroom or temple, who knows. Then the train of stones starts, slowly at first like a small recumbent stone row and then it picks up as you head round into a small jumble of stones. Keeping on going the jumble continues into the undergrowth, not many stones visible, kinda like someone had created a freeform megalithic sculpture.

Then it happens, you reach a fence and on the other side is a huge number of stones stretching 1/2 a mile distant along the valley floor. There are some stones bigger than any upright in Dorset, just scattered about liberally. The stones go up one side of the valley wall and the suggestion to my mind is the hill to the left with these huge rocks poking out of it could be full of megaliths.

About half way along the valley floor is a cleared circular space about 15-20 metres across. Its not complete however as at least one stone pokes towards the centre, perhaps whoever cleared it stopped removing stones... It looks man-made and is I presume the ‘mystical stone circle’ the information board at the start of the walk talks about.

Heading back I spotted what could be another circle, though my brain may have been making circles out of anything at this point! This is at the end of the first field, just before the path heads to the right. You need to stand in the far corner from it to see some of the stones as they are hidden from the other direction by a small bank. This ‘circle’ is much smaller, maybe 2-3 metres across.

[visited 27/12/02] This is a large diamond shaped stone in the middle of a valley, just off the A35 to the North (stop at the carpark / layby before the turn off to Long Bredy). Its further west than The Nine Stones and looking at the map, I’m guessing the original track from The Nine Stones followed the valley floor, went past this stone and then crossed the A35 and headed down and round to the Valley of Stones. Its on arable land so visits in the summer may be unsuccessful.

The stone reminds me of some of the shapes at Avebury, but unlike them it stands alone, overlooked by various barrows but seemingly rarely visited. I picked my way carefully across the field to inspect it closely and was amazed at the openness of the valley from the stone.

[visited 27/12/02] My first visible bank barrow and what a brute. Its like someone had finished the mound at West Kennet and then added another half length again. The barrow sprawls over the crest of the hill it dominates. The ditches on either side are clearly visible as is the strange gap about a third of the way along its length, about 5 metres across.

The views to the south are special, Abbotsbury Castle and the hill on which Kingston Russell circle resides are prominent. A short walk to the north side of the bank barrow hill and The Helstone is visible in the valley beyond the A35.

[visited 27/11/02] Ideally get to this site via the Dog kennels next door as a public footpath goes through there apparently. Though a notice on their wall implied the footpath will be moving soon. Alternatively park in the next farm track a field past the barrows and work your way back, climbing over the fence of your choice.

I was amazed at the number and variation of the barrows here, not to mention the huge size of one of them. Another thing I noticed were strange parallel lines or track-ways leading up to the barrows and between them. Probably just plough marks but interesting nevertheless.

[visited 27/11/02] This is half buried on the verge of the A35, just past the AA layby (park here). I’m starting to hate this road. Nine Stones, Poor lot, Broad stone, Helstone, Long Bredy, Chilcombe and multiple barrows are affected by its continual roar.

The Broadstone lies about 5cm below the current verge level, the earth encroaching in from all sides. I cleared some mud off its surface and discovered another 1 ½ foot of its breadth. This is a stone in serious danger of disappearing completely.

Another stone lies in the field next to the AA layby and a third was seen by John Aubrey in 1687.

[visited 24/12/02] This is a wonderfully located Cairn Circle on a hilltop not far from the sea. A really peaceful place to while away a couple of hours in quiet contemplation. It is apparently the remains of a chambered round barrow and is a jagged looking circle in a small bank. Wellies are advisable if its been raining as mud rules for most of the walk to the site.

On the way there you walk past a disused quarry with some very interesting looking large rocks lying in front of it. Quarry debris, field clearance or the remains of another monument? you decide :)

[visited 24/12/02] Originally a Logan stone, this is a large natural rock outcrop that is impossible to miss. I came here after a long day out and it really is a delight. I for one wouldn?t have rocked it, as when you stand underneath it now it towers up as if it might fall at any moment.

The Puckstone is visible as a mound to the North and the large mound very close by to the west is artificial.

[visited 24/12/02] Apparently there is a standing stone on top of the possibly natural mound. I located a couple of possibles amongst the bracken, but I may have missed the actual Puckstone due to the bracken. The Agglestone is very obvious to the South.

[Visited 24/12/02] Finally after hearing about 3 destroyed or re-arranged stone rows in Dorset, I got to visit one still in its original setting and (I presume) intact. Its situated in marsh land and surprisingly hard to find.

The stones are smaller than any of the stones used in the existing Dorset circles, the tallest being 2ft high and presumably the shortest being buried under the marsh. They are of a comparable size to some of Hampton Down circle’s stones, which is itself thought to be made from the remains of at least one stone row.

Using Peter Knight’s Ancient stones as a guide, I found 4 of the 6 stones in the arrangement; 1,2,3 & 6. Stone’s 2 & 6 have OS marks on them. Stone 2 is probably the easiest to find, at around SZ025853; head northwest away from the road along the path to Redhorn Quay (marked on OS map) and the stone is off to the right. Having found this stone (good luck), move about another 100 metres to the Northwest and locate The Fishing Barrow to the south east. Its a clump of trees near the center of the dip in the hills, visible against the sky. The main row goes in a line towards that barrow from Stone 2, unfortunately its no longer visible from Stone 2 itself so you’ll have to extrapolate.

Two other stones are stone 6 on the other side of the road on the edge of the high ground to the south east, the other end of the row pointing to the Fishing barrow from 2. Also stone 1 is to be found about 1 ft high further along the path to Redhorn Quay from stone 2, slightly further away from the path.

[visited 24/12/02] This is a weirdly shaped standing stone in the middle of a valley in the middle of purbeck. A word of caution, wear wellies to get to this site as in winter the path from the nearest carpark (just to the south), is very very muddy. To get to the stone, park in the car park, walk north along the road to the footpath and set off down the hill. Go through the exceedingly muddy, steep path to the field at the bottom and head east. The harpstone is on the other side of the field past the three trees.

I really enjoyed visiting this site and look back to coming here in summer with a picnic. The stone is unfortunately the other side of a barbed wire fence, which is bypassable but only with care. Its a very strange shape (hence the name) and has what seemed to be its broken off tip resting against its base.

This site is is one of Dorset’s finest Megalithic monuments and well worth a visit.

[Holme Beach 10/12/02] So I came up here with a friend to see if any of the other structures were visible. And in some words, not really. However reading through pages about the place inc. photos, I see we were about half a mile west of where it was found.. doh.

All was not lost as we did see some large chunks of timber, looking as weathered as the seahenge timbers. They were seemingly carved in a way that made them look like stones from a stonecircle, but I may just have been overly hoping.

A word of warning, its very very cold on this beach in December when the wind picks up.

[visited 9/12/02] One or Two longbarrows? Dyer says 2 but having seen what’s available I’d opt for just the one. There is, what Dyer calls an oval longbarrow next to the road, which I thought looked like a ploughed round barrow. It was however pegged out, so will be there when someone who knows visits.. The defn. LB is very overgrown and is quite short compared to the Wessex variety.

Not much else to see here, other than the mounds, but worth the visit to see ancient history. There is a large round barrow nearby in the wood to the south, but you can’t get to it without tresspassing...

-- Update --
Apparently the one I was dubious about produced Windmill Hill style pottery, so is presumably Neolithic and hence “Long”.

[visited 9/12/02] Possibly the dullest hillfort in the world, despite the fantastic roadname. Peering through the hedge from the road you can just see a bank & ditch circling away from you.

This fort has been so ploughed that it can’t be more than 3 metres top of bank to bottom of ditch & probbly more like 1.5 metres... Oh and you can’t walk on it cos it has crops all over it.

Unless you happen to be “passing”, don’t bother.

[visited 9/12/02] Probably the second most visibly impressive monument in Norfolk (after Grimes graves) and defn. the most impressive I visited on a long day out. It’s a fine Iron Age hillfort with large ramparts, 2 banks and a ditch mostly.

Probably best visited on a warm summers day as in December, its a mite bit chilly..

[visited 9/12/02] Brr, its fking freezing up here in the depths of a Norfolk winter. According to ma guidebook, there are at least 4 large barrows here plus lots of “mini-barrows” making this the largest barrow cemetary in Norfolk.

I managed just two of the barrows, Gallows Hill & Halfpenny Hill. Both very respectably sized bowl barrows, covered in bracken. Halfpenny Hill is defn. the most impressive though Gallows Hill is easier to find and has 360 degree views from the top including the sea.

HH is at TG077422 & GH is at TG080425. The mini-barrows are (I think) in Taylors wood at TG069421

Try and visit this site after the bracken dies for maximal satisfaction.

[visited 9/12/02] A perishingly cold december day couldn’t temper the joy I had visiting this site. Really not much to see on the ground, just a depression with a low bank around it. It also has the pleasure of a fck off huge pylon right next to it..

But it’s a henge, in Norfolk. And its even on the Norwich A-Z, Alan Partridge would be proud...

Unfortunately another London monument of dubious antiquity, but don’t let that spoil it for you.

It looks like a large, well preserved bronze age barrow which seems from a cursory look to have a ditch. Its located on a high point and gives lovely views down a valley to the Thames.

While you are here, take a walk up to Parliament Hill and get a fantastic view over the city.

This really was a brucey bonus for me. I picked up a friend in Plumstead en route to Chislehurst Caves and he mentioned a mound nearby, so off we tootled. What a nice surprise, a genuine intact round barrow, with views to the north and west of the Thames Valley.

An unexpected little treat in surprisingly good condition.

A particularly irritating mound this one, not least because of my stupidity at searching for it, for at least two hours, whilst it was right next to me.

I can be forgiven somewhat as it is a severely denuded mound, a maximum of a metre in height at its center, and about 30 metres across. On the top of it sits a small war memorial, my assumption that they wouldn’t do that to an ancient monument led me to lots of mud, thorns and a bizarrely shaped flint.

You can find this mound easily because it is at the northern foot of a large manmade mound, road spoil from when they built the A3.

Not much to see here, just a circle in the ground, seemingly fill of mud. It is however still wet on very hot summer days and has only gone dry once(?) in recent history.

I’ve been here a couple of times now, and it is situated in a nice peaceful place and once you’ve tuned out the hum of the A3, its a nice place to spend a couple of hours watching South London walk past.

[visited 15/11/02] This is a great place to visit so long as you arn’t claustrophobic. I would recommend trying to find a quiet time to visit the caves as then you could be lucky enough (like us) to get a guide to yourself.

Whilst no definate evidence has been found, due presumably to continual reuse of the caves, it is likely that these caves had prehistoric use. Ignoring the very dubious stories of blood sacrifices that the guides like to tell, there are several dene holes (surface shafts) similar to those at Grimes Graves. These have radiating shafts but are unfortunately unvisitable. You can also see lumps of flint poking from the walls and in an area where prehistory is at a premium, I’ll take what I can get.

The caves are very quiet and rather spooky (as the guides like to emphasise) and well worth a visit.

Flying visit to this for the umpteenth time it seems, though the first in many years, this time to take a few alternate photos for TMA.
Its bigger than I remember and slightly more intimidating as well. I could picture the baying hordes sat on the banks in Roman times urging the gladiators on; the enlargements they made to the bank seemed to be to the fore in my mind.

Its a shame (as ever) that the standing stone from the entrance was removed as I feel that would help to make the site more respected. Currently its mostly used as a hangout for local kids...

Like views? Like hillforts? You’ll love Eggardon Hill. After a very wet & very foggy w/e in Askerswell, the weather cleared just in time for me to drag the missus up here on the sunday morning. Amazing views to the North, South and West, its one of the few places in Dorset where you really feel “up high”.

As a fort it is highly impressive, not quite so as Maiden Castle but almost certainly the second best in this area, and defn. worth a visit for the ramparts alone. A fence runs straight through the middle of this fort which kinda spoils the effect but you can access the entirity, once you find that elusive gate to the second side.

On your way in (or out) have a quick look at what I took to be a guard post to the east of the fort, next to what we used as a carpark...

(visited 13/9/02)
This was my second visit to these two sites, but my first at night. Parking & walking safely remains a challenge, though I think I solved it to Kit’s Coty. Heading away from Aylesford go past the strange dual carriageway & park in a weird layby type thing just up the hill.
Now go though the hedge into the field behind, walk round the edge of the field clockwise (it has a crop so be careful) , to the third side you reach and then find a gap in the hedge onto the public footpath. On the other side of the footpath is the field the dolmen is in.

Anyhow, at night this site is very peaceful. Town lights are visible on the horizon in two directions and light up the scene by reflecting off the low cloud that unfortunately decided to move in as I got there. I walked round the fence twice before locating the ‘gate’ and got up close to this amazing dolmen.
Unfortunately others had taken this opportunity to chalk graffiti on most of the stones, in a curious similarity to the victorian carved graffiti on what was presumably the inside of the longbarrow.
Other than that, its now a home to huge spiders; I counted at least 3 different varieties living in the holes in the rocks. Best not get too close at night if you don’t like them...

And so onto the Countless Stones. Its walkable from Kits Coty but I drove back down the hill and parked in the layby on the road/track that goes past the field the stones are in. Leaving my car with trepidation, nestled next to the burnt out remains of someone elses car, I set off across the field (the crop had been harvested). The huge pylons that run next to the stones made my hair stand on end and my teeth feel slightly funny, which was nice.
The stones are ungraffitied, which struck my as ironic given the ease of access to them. They lie in a no real order but were presumably like Coldrum originally facing to the east, now marked by a line of traffic lights along a ridge...
I stayed with the stones for 20 minutes, the incessant traffic & humming of electricity, eventually driving me home.

After 3 years of working nearby I finally tracked down the well at Clerkenwell and popped along one lunchtime.

The experience itself was as rewarding as the London Stone. I got to stand on a busy street and peer through a large window at the covered hole in the ground that is the well. One or two people walking past gave me some very strange stares.

There is a fair bit of history to read next to the well, but unless you either have the key to the room beyond the window or very good eyesight, you may have a few problems reading it.

Worth visiting if you are in the immediate viscinity but I wouldn’t bother making a day of it...

What a delight to find this so close to Bath, Tourist Central and yet have no-one else appear in the 2 hours we were at the site. On a fairly pleasant saturday afternoon too.
I couldn’t help but compare Stony Littleton to West Kennet, both are fairly large chambered long barrows after all. WK is quite a bit larger than SL; its side chambers are bigger, you can stand up in it and I was assured WK is longer. I wouldn’t be too keen on spending a solstice night with 30-40 stoners in SL...
However the peace of SL is amazing when compared to WK. I’ve never had longer than 20 minutes alone at WK, whereas SL was completely empty. A gem hidden very thoroughly in the modern world. Signposts do now point it out from the nearby village, but you’d need to know it was there and be determined to actually find it.

[Second visit 14th July 2002]
I popped back here whilst wandering around the common again, after inspecting several maps as to the actual location of the ditches. The addition of a much clearer head helped me spot the single bank and ditch visible from the fenced in footpath quite easily.
Basically, as you start on the path through the golf course, you cross the defenses which go away from you at right angles on either side. Note, you may need some imagination to see this part.
Now walk about 100 metres down the path keeping an eye out either side for the defenses to circle back round to you. You’ll see them as first a bank, then a ditch in the middle of the fairways on either side. And thats it.
With a bit of illegality, you can follow the path of the bank (or even ditch) most of the way round the hillfort, by trespassing onto the golf course, though of course it is illegal (and a bit dangerous).

visted 02/07/02
After a fairly lengthy quest starting with a very drunken conversation in a club, I finally found a longbarrow in Richmond Park. Ok so it might not actually be one, but until I’m convinced, it’ll do for me.
To find it, start at Pembroke Lodge Garden and head south. Take the path slowly diverging from the road to the west and you’ll walk straight across the barrow. It is about 40m long, 20m wide and 2-3m high.
It has been reduced to having two peaks (one at either end) and a dip in the middle, which may well have been caused by gravel digging. At least one other mound in the park has disapeared due to this. In addition you should be able to easily identify the barrow due to the large oak on the western end.

The site itself is peaceful with the occasional walker strolling past and worth a visit despite the delapidated state.